Hebrew word · H3730

כַּפְתּוֹר

kaftor

capital

A rounded ornamental knob or bulb. It is used for the almond-bud knobs on the tabernacle lampstand (Exod 25:31–36) and for the capitals (column tops) of buildings (Zeph 2:14). Spelled the same as Caphtor (Crete or the Aegean region; Amos 9:7), though the two are probably unrelated in origin.

Appears 18 times in 12 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) bulb, knob, capital, capital of a pillar

1a) knob, bulb (as ornament)

1b) capital (of a pillar)

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Amos 9:1

Range of meaning

A rounded ornamental knob or bulb. It is used for the almond-bud knobs on the tabernacle lampstand (Exod 25:31–36) and for the capitals (column tops) of buildings (Zeph 2:14). Spelled the same as Caphtor (Crete or the Aegean region; Amos 9:7), though the two are probably unrelated in origin.

Against the English

KJV says 'lintel' (the beam over a door) and Vulgate says 'cardinem' (hinge), both guesses at a rare word. BSB, NIV and WEB say 'tops of the pillars'. ESV says 'capitals'. YLT's 'knob' is literal but obscure.

How it drifted

Earlier translators were unsure of the architectural meaning. Comparing Exodus and Zephaniah, and archaeological finds of carved column capitals at Samaria, Megiddo and Hazor, makes 'capital' the likely sense.

Used elsewhere in the period

Exod 25 and 37 (lampstand); Zeph 2:14 (birds roosting in the capitals of ruined Nineveh). Large stone capitals with voluted (scroll-shaped) tops from Israelite royal buildings at Samaria and Megiddo show the kind of feature an audience would picture.

Similar words

Where it appears

Exodus · 16

  1. Exodus 25:31 כַּפְתֹּרֶ֥יהָ bulbs its

    Then you are to make a lampstand of pure, hammered gold. It shall be made of one piece, including its base and shaft, its cups, and its buds and petals.

    Here: A rounded knob; elsewhere the word means the capital (top) of a pillar (Amos 9:1). Here probably the swelling at the base of a flower, between cup and petals.

  2. Exodus 25:33 כַּפְתֹּ֣ר כַּפְתֹּ֣ר a bulb

    There are to be three cups shaped like almond blossoms on the first branch, each with buds and petals, three on the next branch, and the same for all six branches that extend from the lampstand.

  3. Exodus 25:34 כַּפְתֹּרֶ֖יהָ bulbs its

    And on the lampstand there shall be four cups shaped like almond blossoms with buds and petals.

  4. Exodus 25:35 וְכַפְתֹּ֡ר וְכַפְתֹּר֙ וְכַפְתֹּ֕ר and a bulb

    For the six branches that extend from the lampstand, a bud must be under the first pair of branches, a bud under the second pair, and a bud under the third pair.

  5. Exodus 25:36 כַּפְתֹּרֵיהֶ֥ם bulbs their

    The buds and branches are to be all of one piece with the lampstand, hammered out of pure gold.

  6. Exodus 37:17 כַּפְתֹּרֶ֥יהָ bulbs its

    Then he made the lampstand out of pure hammered gold, all of one piece: its base and shaft, its cups, and its buds and petals.

  7. Exodus 37:19 כַּפְתֹּ֣ר כַּפְתֹּ֣ר a bulb

    There were three cups shaped like almond blossoms on the first branch, each with buds and petals, three on the next branch, and the same for all six branches that extended from the lampstand.

  8. Exodus 37:20 כַּפְתֹּרֶ֖יהָ bulbs its

    And on the lampstand were four cups shaped like almond blossoms with buds and petals.

  9. Exodus 37:21 וְכַפְתֹּ֡ר וְכַפְתֹּר֙ וְכַפְתֹּ֕ר and a bulb

    A bud was under the first pair of branches that extended from the lampstand, a bud under the second pair, and a bud under the third pair.

  10. Exodus 37:22 כַּפְתֹּרֵיהֶ֥ם bulbs their

    The buds and branches were all of one piece with the lampstand, hammered out of pure gold.

Amos · 1

  1. Amos 9:1 הַכַּפְתּ֜וֹר the capital

    I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and He said: “Strike the tops of the pillars so that the thresholds shake. Topple them on the heads of all the people, and I will kill the rest with the sword. None of those who flee will get away; none of the fugitives will escape.

    Here: The rounded decorative top of a column (elsewhere the 'knobs' on the tabernacle lampstand, and the column tops of ruined Nineveh in Zeph 2:14). The blow lands at the top of the building.

Zephaniah · 1

  1. Zephaniah 2:14 בְּכַפְתֹּרֶ֖יהָ on capitals its

    Herds will lie down in her midst, creatures of every kind. Both the desert owl and screech owl will roost atop her pillars. Their calls will sound from the window, but desolation will lie on the threshold, for He will expose the beams of cedar.

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