“Command the people of Israel to bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to keep the lamps burning continually.
Parallel translations
- WEB “You shall command the children of Israel, that they bring to you pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually.
- KJV And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always.
- BSB And you are to command the Israelites to bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to keep the lamps burning continually.
- NKJV “And you shall command the children of Israel that they bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to cause the lamp to burn continually.
- NASB “And you shall command the sons of Israel that they bring you clear oil of beaten olives for the light, to make a lamp burn continually.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Israel was to bring pure beaten olive oil so the lamp could burn continually. The light in the sanctuary was to be maintained without fail.
Overview
The people supplied the finest olive oil to keep the lampstand burning perpetually before the Lord. This continual light symbolized God's abiding presence and the ongoing worship of His people. The ever-burning lamp anticipates Christ, the light of the world, and the Spirit-filled witness His people are called to sustain (Matthew 5:16).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Lev 24:1–4Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
- Ps 23:5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over.
- Zech 4:11–14Then I asked him, “What are these two olive trees on the right side of the lamp stand and on the left side of it?”
- Judg 9:9“But the olive tree said to them, ‘Should I stop producing my oil, with which they honor God and man by me, and go to wave back and forth over the trees?’
- Exod 39:37the pure lamp stand, its lamps, even the lamps to be set in order, all its vessels, the oil for the light,
- Exod 25:31–37“You shall make a lamp stand of pure gold. Of hammered work shall the lamp stand be made, even its base, its shaft, its cups, its buds, and its flowers, shall be of one piece with it.
- Rev 11:4These are the two olive trees and the two lamp stands, standing before the Lord of the earth.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 27:20 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.