CANDELABRUM WITH SEVEN BRANCHES. - A candlestick of purest gold, of a single piece, placed on the southern side (Ex. 26:35) of the sanctuary (Vulg.: Sancta) of the Mosaic tabernacle and then of the temple of Jerusalem, in front of the table of the bread of the Presence.
Its height, according to the Mišnah (Mēṇāḥāth, III, 7; IV, 8; IX, 3), was 3 cubits, that is, about 1.35 m. For it and for its furnishings a talent of pure gold was used (Ex. 25:39), that is, 49.11 kg. A base supported the main shaft, from which three branches extended laterally, all ending at the same level, that is, at the height of the tip of the central shaft, which formed the seventh branch. It bore four ornamental cups in the shape of an almond blossom, a kind of bulb, from which the flower emerged at the points where the lateral branches departed, which in turn bore three of these 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 "seven eyes of the Lord that range over the whole 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 deduced with certainty from the biblical texts; the tradition is uncertain: according to some, the lamps were lit only at night; according to others, one or three lamps were lit during the day. The symbolism of the candlestick is also presented differently. According to Flavius Josephus (Antiq. Iud., III, 6, 7; Bell. Iud., V, 5, 5), and Philo (Vita Moysis, II, 103), the seven lamps were a symbol of the seven planets; in rabbinic literature, however, the prevailing opinion is that they were a symbol of God's presence among his people.
The candlestick made at Moses' command stood first in the tabernacle, then in Solomon's temple; the latter placed beside it 10 other golden candlesticks, five on each side of the sanctuary (1 Kings 7:49; 2 Chron. 4:7, 20). The Mosaic candlestick, before the destruction of Solomon's temple in 587, is said to have been hidden (Strack-Billerbeck, III, pp. 181, 718). The candlestick of the temple of Zerubbabel was carried off by Antiochus IV (1 Macc. 1:21), and then Judas Maccabeus had a new one made
(1 Macc. 4:49 ff.). According to Flavius Josephus (Antiq. Iud., III, 6, 7), this candlestick, which was also in Herod's temple, had more ornaments than that of Moses, which agrees with its representation on the arch of Titus. The candlestick carried by Titus to Rome was later kept in the temple of Peace, built by Titus himself. Then it seems that it was carried off together with the table of the bread of the Presence by the Vandals (A.D. 455) and transported to Africa, then by Belisarius (A.D. 534) to Constantinople.
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Arduino Kleinhans