Hebrew word · H4212

מְזַמֶּרֶת

vehamzamerot

snuffer

An implement for trimming lamp wicks, from zamar II, 'to prune, trim' (Leviticus 25:3-4 uses the same root for pruning a vineyard). Usually in the plural.

Appears 5 times in 5 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

snuffers (temple utensil)

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 Jeremiah 52:18

Range of meaning

An implement for trimming lamp wicks, from zamar II, 'to prune, trim' (Leviticus 25:3-4 uses the same root for pruning a vineyard). Usually in the plural.

Against the English

KJV/WEB/YLT 'snuffers' suggests putting the flame out. BSB/NIV 'wick trimmers' is closer to the root. They may have been small shears or tongs that cut and removed the charred wick so the lamp kept burning cleanly.

How it drifted

'Snuffers' in 1611 English meant scissors-like tools for trimming candle wicks (the burnt 'snuff'). Today 'snuffer' means a bell-shaped tool for putting a candle out.

Used elsewhere in the period

1 Kings 7:50 and 2 Kings 12:13 (12:14 in Hebrew); 2 Chronicles 4:22. The gold versions belonged to the inner sanctuary. The parallel 2 Kings 25:14 lists bronze ones as here.

From the study of 2 Kings 25:14

Range of meaning

A cutting tool, from the root zamar II, 'to prune.' It is found only in temple utensil lists (1 Kings 7:50; 2 Kings 12:13 [12:14 Hebrew]; Jeremiah 52:18; 2 Chronicles 4:22). Its exact shape and use are unknown.

Against the English

'Snuffers' (KJV, WEB, YLT, ESV) and 'wick trimmers' (BSB, NIV) both assume it was used on lamps. Some scholars suggest knives or shears.

Used elsewhere in the period

In 1 Kings 7:50 these tools are made of gold. Here they are counted with the bronze items. The temple seems to have had sets in both metals, or the list is loose.

Where it appears

1 Kings · 1

  1. 1 Kings 7:50 וְהַֽמְזַמְּר֧וֹת and the snuffers

    the pure gold basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, ladles, and censers; and the gold hinges for the doors of the inner temple (that is, the Most Holy Place) as well as for the doors of the main hall of the temple.

    Here: From the verb zamar, 'to prune' (the same root as mazmerah, the 'pruning hook' of Isaiah 2:4). These were cutting tools, most likely for trimming the charred wicks of the lamps on the lampstands named in the verse before.

2 Kings · 2

  1. 2 Kings 12:13 מְזַמְּר֤וֹת snuffers

    However, the money brought into the house of the LORD was not used for making silver basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, trumpets, or any articles of gold or silver for the house of the LORD.

    Here: Lamp tools for trimming wicks. The word comes from a root meaning 'to prune', not the like-sounding root 'to sing', so this has nothing to do with music.

  2. 2 Kings 25:14 הַֽמְזַמְּר֣וֹת the snuffers

    They also took away the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, dishes, and all the articles of bronze used in the temple service.

    Here: Cutting tools, from a root meaning 'to prune' (as in pruning a vineyard, Leviticus 25:3). They were probably used to trim lamp wicks, though they may have been knives or shears with a wider use.

2 Chronicles · 1

  1. 2 Chronicles 4:22 וְהַֽמְזַמְּר֧וֹת and the snuffers

    the wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, ladles, and censers of pure gold; and the gold doors of the temple: the inner doors to the Most Holy Place as well as the doors of the main hall.

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 52:18 הַֽמְזַמְּר֜וֹת the snuffers

    They also took away the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, dishes, and all the articles of bronze used in the temple service.

    Here: Lamp tools. The name comes from a verb meaning 'to prune' (as in pruning a vine), so the picture is of trimming the burnt wick rather than snuffing the flame out.

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