Greek word · G3088

λύχνος

lychnos

lamp

A portable oil lamp, usually a small clay vessel holding olive oil with a flax wick in its spout. It was the normal light source in a house.

Appears 14 times in 14 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

λύχνος, -ου, ὁ

[in LXX for נִיר (Exodus 25:37), al.) ;]

a lamp (portable, and usually set on a stand, λυχνία): Matthew 5:15, Luke 11:36; ἔρχεται ὁ λ., Mark 4:21; λ. ἅπτειν Luke 8:16 11:33 15:8; φῶς λύχνου, Revelation 18:23; id. opposite to φ.ἡλίου, Revelation 22:5; metaphorically, of the eye, Matthew 6:22 Luke 11:34; of John the Baptist, John 5:35; of the Lamb, Revelation 21:23; of prophecy, 2 Peter 1:19; of spiritual readiness, pl., λύχνοι (as always in LXX; frequently in Att.. λύχνα), Luke 12:35.†

SYN.: λαμπάς, q.v (AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of John 5:35

Range of meaning

A portable oil lamp, usually a small clay vessel holding olive oil with a flax wick in its spout. It was the normal light source in a house. Used figuratively for anything that gives light or guidance without being the source of light: God's word (Ps 119:105), the eye (Matt 6:22), the human spirit (Prov 20:27), a royal heir who keeps a dynasty alive (1 Kgs 11:36), the prophetic word (2 Pet 1:19).

Against the English

Most modern versions say 'lamp'. The KJV, following Tyndale, says 'a burning and a shining light'. In 1611 English 'light' could mean a lamp or candle, so the KJV was not wrong in its own day. A modern reader, though, hears 'light' and loses the contrast John's Gospel works hard to keep between the lamp (John) and the light (Jesus).

How it drifted

English 'light' used to cover lamps and candles too, as in 'lights' meaning lamps. That sense has faded, so the KJV now seems to put John on the same level as Christ, 'the Light'.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint) λύχνος translates Hebrew ner, 'lamp'. Exod 27:20 has the tabernacle lamp that was to 'burn continually' (λύχνος καίεσθαι). Ps 131:17 LXX (132:17 in English Bibles) reads 'I have prepared a lamp (λύχνον) for my anointed one (τῷ χριστῷ μου)'. 2 Sam 21:17 calls David 'the lamp of Israel'. In Rev 21:23 the Lamb is the city's λύχνος. Greek writers kept λύχνος (lamp) distinct from φῶς (light) and λαμπάς (torch).

From the study of Matthew 6:22

Range of meaning

A portable oil lamp, usually clay, with a wick. By extension, anything that gives light or guidance (Ps 119:105 LXX; 2 Pet 1:19).

Against the English

KJV renders it 'light' ('The light of the body is the eye'). That blurs the difference between the lamp (the instrument) and the light (phōs) that v.23 speaks of as 'the light in you'.

How it drifted

KJV's free rendering, together with modern ideas of the eye as a camera, leads readers to picture the eye as a window that lets light in. The image is of a lamp that shines.

Used elsewhere in the period

Matthew 5:15 (the lamp under a basket); Luke 11:33–36, the parallel saying. Greek writers on vision going back to Empedocles compared the eye to a lantern that sends out light (Empedocles fr. B84; Plato, Timaeus 45b–46c).

From the study of Revelation 22:5

Range of meaning

A portable oil lamp, usually a small clay vessel with a wick. It was the basic household light, and metaphorically anything that gives light or guidance (Ps 119:105; Matt 6:22).

Against the English

The KJV’s ‘candle’ suggests a wax taper, which modern readers picture. The object meant is an oil lamp. NIV, ESV, BSB and WEB correctly say ‘lamp.’

How it drifted

In 1611 ‘candle’ was a common word for any small household light. Since then it has narrowed to mean a wax candle.

Used elsewhere in the period

Revelation 18:23 says of Babylon, ‘the light of a lamp will shine in you no more’ (φῶς λύχνου οὐ μὴ φάνῃ ἐν σοὶ ἔτι), echoing Jeremiah 25:10, where losing the lamp means a city made desolate. Revelation 21:23 says the Lamb is the city’s ‘lamp’ (λύχνος). Lamps are among the most common objects found at Ephesus and other cities of Asia Minor.

Where it appears

Matthew · 2

  1. Matthew 5:15 λύχνον a lamp

    Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they set it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.

    Here: A small clay oil lamp that fits in the hand, burning olive oil through a wick. It was the ordinary light of a home, not a candle.

  2. Matthew 6:22 λύχνος lamp

    The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.

    Here: A small clay oil lamp, the ordinary light of a one-room house. It is a light source, not the light itself. Matthew keeps the two apart: the lamp here, 'the light (phōs) in you' in v.23.

Mark · 1

  1. Mark 4:21 λύχνος lamp

    Jesus also said to them, “Does anyone bring in a lamp to put it under a basket or under a bed? Doesn’t he set it on a stand?

    Here: A small hand-held clay oil lamp, burning olive oil with a flax wick. Not a candle. It was the ordinary source of light in a house after dark.

Luke · 6

  1. Luke 8:16 λύχνον a lamp

    No one lights a lamp and covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he sets it on a stand, so those who enter can see the light.

    Here: A small clay oil lamp, filled with olive oil and burning a wick. It was the ordinary light source in every house. It is not a candle.

  2. Luke 11:33 λύχνον a lamp

    No one lights a lamp and puts it in a cellar or under a basket. Instead, he sets it on a stand, so those who enter can see the light.

    Here: A small hand-sized clay lamp that burned olive oil through a wick. It was the ordinary light of every home, and it is the picture word of the whole saying. Verse 34 picks it up again: "the lamp of the body is the eye."

  3. Luke 11:34 λύχνος lamp

    Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body is full of darkness.

    Here: A small clay oil lamp, the ordinary source of light in a house. It picks up the lamp of 11:33. The lamp is the thing that gives light, not a window that lets it in.

  4. Luke 11:36 λύχνος lamp

    So if your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, you will be radiant, as though a lamp were shining on you.”

    Here: A small clay oil lamp with a wick, the normal light of a house. In v. 34 the eye is called the body's lamp, so the image comes back here.

  5. Luke 12:35 λύχνοι lamps

    Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning.

    Here: A small clay oil lamp with a flax wick. It burned for a few hours and then had to be refilled and trimmed. A lit lamp at night meant someone was awake and looking after it.

  6. Luke 15:8 λύχνον a lamp

    Or what woman who has ten silver coins and loses one of them does not light a lamp, sweep her house, and search carefully until she finds it?

John · 1

  1. John 5:35 λύχνος lamp

    John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you were willing for a season to bask in his light.

    Here: A small clay oil lamp, not light itself. It shines only because it has been lit and is burning fuel. That sets John apart from Jesus, who is 'the light' (John 1:8–9; 8:12).

2 Peter · 1

  1. 2 Peter 1:19 λύχνῳ to a lamp

    We also have the word of the prophets as confirmed beyond doubt. And you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

    Here: A small clay oil lamp that lights a few feet around it. The picture is modest and real: enough light to keep you from stumbling, not daylight. It echoes Psalm 119:105, 'your word is a lamp to my feet.'

Revelation · 3

  1. Revelation 18:23 λύχνου of lamp

    The light of a lamp will never shine in you again, and the voices of a bride and bridegroom will never call out in you again. For your merchants were the great ones of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery.”

    Here: A clay oil lamp, the ordinary light of every home. When no lamp is lit anywhere, the city is empty.

  2. Revelation 21:23 λύχνος lamp

    And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its lamp.

    Here: An oil lamp, the everyday source of light after dark and the light of the temple's lampstand. The Lamb is the lamp through which God's glory shines.

  3. Revelation 22:5 λύχνου of a lamp

    There will be no more night in the city, and they will have no need for the light of a lamp or of the sun. For the Lord God will shine on them, and they will reign forever and ever.

    Here: The clay oil lamp found in every ancient house, the only artificial light after dark. It deliberately recalls 18:23, where in judgment the lamp of Babylon will ‘shine in you no more.’

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.