H3974 H3974
Luminary, light, light-bearer — a source of illumination, whether celestial body, sacred lamp, or figurative radiance
The noun מָאוֹר designates a source or bearer of light, from the great luminaries of the creation account to the sacred lamps of the tabernacle. In Genesis 1:14-16 God creates the מְאֹרֹת — sun, moon, and stars — to govern day and night, a usage confirmed by every target language shifting to plural forms ('lumbreras,' 'luminaires,' 'Lichter'). The same word describes the golden lampstand's light in Exodus and Leviticus, and it extends figuratively to 'the light of the eyes' that gladdens the heart (Prov 15:30) and 'the light of God's face' that exposes hidden sin (Ps 90:8).
Senses
1. light, luminary (singular/general) — A light-source or luminary in the singular or general sense, covering the sun, the moon, the sacred lampstand, and figurative radiance. The majority of occurrences fall here, including the 'greater luminary' and 'lesser luminary' of Gen 1:16, the menorah described as מְנֹרַת הַמָּאוֹר ('the lampstand of the light') in Exod 35:14, and the metaphorical 'light of the eyes' in Prov 15:30. Multilingual glosses converge on singular light-nouns: English 'the light,' Spanish 'Luz de,' French 'la lumiere,' German 'das Licht,' Arabic 'al-nur' — all confirming a unified sense of luminous source without distinction between celestial and cultic referents. 15×
AR["الإِنارَةِ", "الضُّوءِ", "النُّورَ", "الْإِنَارَةِ", "لِ-الإِضاءَةِ", "لِ-الإِنارَةِ", "لِ-لْإِضَاءَةِ", "لِلـ-إِنارَةِ", "لِنُورِ", "نوراً", "نورُ-"]·ben["আলো", "আলো-", "আলোকে", "আলোর", "আলোর-জন্য", "জ্যোতি", "প্রদীপের", "প্রদীপের-জন্য", "সেই-আলোর-জন্য"]·DE["das-Licht", "der-Licht", "der-Mond", "fuer-der-Licht", "in-der-Licht-von", "von-Licht"]·EN["for-the-light", "in-the-light-of", "the-light", "the-light-of", "the-moon"]·FR["de-lumière", "la-lumière", "le-lumière", "pour-le-lumière", "à-lumière", "מאור"]·heb["ה-מאור", "ל-ה-למאור", "ל-ה-מאור", "ל-מאור", "מאור", "מאור־"]·HI["ज्योति", "ज्योति-का", "दीपक-के-लिए", "प्रकाश", "में-ज्योति", "रोशनी-का", "रोशनी-की", "रोशनी-के-लिए"]·ID["Terang-", "dalam-terang", "pelita", "penerang", "untuk-penerang", "untuk-penerangan"]·IT["da-luce", "il-luce", "il-luce-di", "luminare", "per-il-luce"]·jav["ing-pepadhang", "ing-pepadhangan", "kang-pepadhang", "kangge-padhang", "kanggé-damar,", "kanggé-padamaran", "kanggé-padamaran,", "padamaran", "padamaran;", "padhang-saking", "pepadhang", "pepadhang-punika"]·KO["그-광명", "그-빛", "그-빛의", "등불-을-위하여", "빛-에", "빛-을", "빛은-", "빛을-위한", "에-그-등잔"]·PT["Luz-de-", "a-luz", "o-iluminar", "o-luzeiro", "para-a-iluminação", "para-a-luminosidade", "para-a-luz", "à-luz-de"]·RU["-светило", "для-светильника", "на-свет", "свет-", "света", "светило"]·ES["Luz-de", "a-luz-de", "el-alumbrado", "la-lumbrera", "la-luminaria", "la-luz", "luminar", "para-el-alumbrado", "para-el-luminar", "para-la-luminaria", "para-la-luz"]·SW["cha-taa", "katika-nuru-ya", "kwa-taa", "mwanga", "mwanga-", "mwanga-wa", "nuru", "ya-mwanga", "ya-taa"]·TR["-aydınlatmanın", "-e-ışık", "-ışığı", "aydınlatma-için", "icin-ısıgın", "ışığı", "ışığı-", "ışığın-", "ışığına"]·urd["روشنی", "روشنی-کا", "روشنی-کے", "روشنی-کے-لیے", "لِ-روشنی"]
Gen 1:16, Gen 1:16, Exod 25:6, Exod 27:20, Exod 35:8, Exod 35:14, Exod 35:14, Exod 35:28, Exod 39:37, Lev 24:2, Num 4:9, Num 4:16 (+3 more)
2. luminaries, lights (plural/celestial bodies) — The plural form מְאֹרֹת / מְאוֹרֹת designating the celestial luminaries as a class — sun, moon, and stars as created light-bearers set in the firmament. This sense clusters tightly in Genesis 1:14-16, where God says 'let there be luminaries in the expanse,' and in Ezek 32:8 where judgment darkens 'all the luminaries of light in the heavens.' The shift to plural is clearly marked across languages: Spanish 'lumbreras/luminarias,' French 'luminaires,' German 'Lichter,' distinguishing these cosmic light-bearers from the singular lamp or general radiance of sense 1. 4×
AR["أَنْوَارٌ", "أَنْوَارِ", "الأَنْوَارِ", "لِأَنْوَارٍ"]·ben["আলোর", "জ্যোতি", "জ্যোতির-জন্য"]·DE["Lichter", "[מאורי]", "zu-Lichtern"]·EN["for-lights", "lights", "luminaries-of", "the-lights"]·FR["le-luminaires", "luminaire", "luminaires", "pour-luminaires"]·heb["ה-מאור", "ל-מאור", "מאור", "מאורי"]·HI["के-लिए-ज्योतियों", "ज्योतियाँ", "ज्योतियां"]·ID["benda-benda-penerang", "benda-penerang", "penerang", "untuk-penerang"]·IT["[מאורי]", "il-lights", "lights", "per-lights"]·jav["ing-pepadhangan", "kangge-pepadhangan", "pepadhang", "pepadhangan"]·KO["광명들", "그-광명들", "빛나는-것들을", "에-광명들"]·PT["luminárias-de", "luzeiros", "para-luzeiros"]·RU["-светила", "для-светил", "светила"]·ES["las-lumbreras", "las-luminarias-de", "lumbreras", "para-lumbreras"]·SW["kwa-mianga", "mianga", "mikubwa-", "vyanzo-vya"]·TR["-ışıkları", "ışıklar", "ışıklar-olarak", "ışıklarını"]·urd["روشنیاں", "روشنیوں-کو"]
Related Senses
H4325 1. water, waters (582×)H6965b 1. Qal: to rise, arise, get up (432×)H2091 1. gold (the metal) (389×)H0068 1. stone, rock (material/object) (267×)H5178a 1. bronze/copper as metal (131×)H6083 1. dust, dry earth, soil (108×)H8313 1. burn, set fire to (94×)H2734 1. anger was kindled (82×)G5204 1. water (80×)H2822 1. darkness, absence of light (80×)G5457 1. light (illumination) (71×)G0450 1. rise, stand up (physical) (69×)H6965b 2. Qal: to stand firm, endure, be valid (50×)H6999a 2. burn sacrifice on altar (Hifil) (45×)H5553 1. rock, cliff (physical feature) (43×)H6965b 4. Hifil: to establish, confirm (covenant/kingdom/word) (40×)H1197a 1. burn, be on fire (39×)H4306 1. rain, showers (38×)H1653 1. rain, precipitation (34×)G4655 1. darkness (30×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† מָאוֹר n.m. luminary—abs. Gn 1:16 +; cstr. מְאוֹר Pr 15:30 +; pl. מְאוֹרֹת Gn 1:15; מְאֹרֹת v 14, 16; cstr. מְאוֹרֵי Ez 32:8—light, light-bearer, luminary, lamp, of sun & moon Gn 1:14, 15, 16(×3) (P) Ez 32:8; moon ψ 74:16; מְנֹרַת הַמָּאוֹר the lamp-stand of the luminary or light (where הַמּ׳ is sum of seven sacred lamps on golden lamp-stand) Ex 35:14(×2), 28; 39:37 Nu 4:9, 16, cf. Ex 25:6;…