Seven-branched Candelabrum. — A candelabrum of purest gold, made in a single piece, placed on the southern side (Ex. 26:35) of the sanctuary (Vulg.: Sancta) of the Mosaic tabernacle and later of the Temple of Jerusalem, opposite the table of the bread of the Presence.
Its height, according to the Mishnah (Mēnābōth, III, 7; IV, 8; IX, 3), was three cubits, i.e., about 1.35 m. For it and its furnishings, a talent of pure gold was used (Ex. 25:39), i.e., 49.11 kg. A single base supported the main stem, from which three branches extended laterally, all terminating at the same level, i.e., at the height of the top of the central stem, which formed the seventh branch. It bore four ornamental cups shaped like almond blossoms, bulb-like vessels from which the flower emerged at the points where the lateral branches began; these branches in turn bore three such ornamental cups. On the seven branches were placed seven lamps (Ex. 25:31–39; 37:17–24), which, according to Zech. 4:2, 10, signify the seven eyes of the Lord that range over the earth.
The seven lamps were lit during the night (Ex. 27:21; Lev. 24:3); whether and how many lamps were also lit during the day cannot be determined with certainty from the biblical texts; tradition is uncertain: according to some, only the lamps were lit at night, while according to others, one or three lamps were lit during the day. The symbolism of the candelabrum is also variously explained. According to Flavius Josephus (Antiquitates Iudaicae, III, 6, 7; Bellum Iudaicum, V, 5, 5) and Philo (De Vita Mosis, II, 103), the seven lamps were a symbol of the seven planets; in rabbinic literature, however, the prevailing opinion is that they symbolized the presence of God among His people.
The candelabrum made by Moses was first in the tabernacle and then in Solomon’s Temple; Solomon placed beside it ten other golden candelabra, five on each side of the sanctuary (1 Kings 7:49; 2 Chronicles 4:7, 20). The Mosaic candelabrum, before the destruction of Solomon’s Temple in 587 BC, is said to have been hidden away (Strack-Billerbeck, III, pp. 181, 718). The candelabrum from the Temple of Zerubbabel was removed by Antiochus IV (1 Maccabees 1:21), and Judas Maccabaeus then had a new one made (1 Maccabees 4:49 ff.). According to Flavius Josephus (Antiquitates Iudaicae, III, 6, 7), this candelabrum, which was also in Herod’s Temple, had more ornaments than that of Moses, which accords with its representation on the Arch of Titus. The candelabrum taken by Titus to Rome was later kept in the Temple of Peace, built by Titus himself. It seems then to have been carried off along with the table of the bread of the Presence by the Vandals (AD 455) and taken to Africa, and later by Belisarius (AD 534) to Constantinople.