1St Century Oil Lamp
The lamp was commonly used to furnish artificial light, and numbers of them have been found in the ruins of Jerusalem and other cities, some being made of terra cotta and others of glass. In the “golden candlestick” the light was obtained from lamps, and wherever the word “candle” occurs a lamp is signified. The lamp is used symbolically for the light that is obtained from it; thus “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet” (Psalm 119:105; Prov. 6:23). The ten virgins, when they went forth to meet the bridegroom, each took a lamp (more correctly a torch); but the issue made it manifest that the lamp without oil could give no light: a striking symbol of mere profession without the Holy Spirit (Matt. 25:1-8). Oil for the light is further exemplified in the candlestick in Zechariah 4, where the seven lamps are furnished with oil by pipes from two olive trees: to these God’s two witnesses in a future day are compared (Rev. 11:4). See LIGHT.
8th Century Oil Lamp