Lexical Summary
ner: Lamp, light
Original Word:נִיר
Part of Speech:Noun Masculine
Transliteration:niyr
Pronunciation:nair
Phonetic Spelling:(neer)
KJV: candle, lamp, light
NASB:lamps, lamp
Word Origin:[from a primitive root (seeH5214 (נִיר - break)]
1. H5135) properly, meaning to glisten
2. a lamp (i.e. the burner) or light (literally or figuratively)
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
candle, lamp, light
Or nir {neer}; also neyr {nare}; or ner {nare}; or (feminine) nerah {nay-raw'}; from a primitive root (seeniyr;nuwr) properly, meaning to glisten; a lamp (i.e. The burner) or light (literally or figuratively) -- candle, lamp, light.
see HEBREWniyr
see HEBREWnuwr
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom an unused word
Definitiona lamp
NASB Translationlamp (18), lamps (25).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
I.
Exodus 25:37 ; — absolute
Exodus 27:20 +, construct
1 Samuel 3:3 +; suffix
Psalm 18:29, ""
2 Samuel 22:29, etc.; plural absolute
Leviticus 24:4 +; construct
Exodus 39:37; suffix
Exodus 25:37 (twice in verse) +,
1 Chronicles 28:15; 2Chronicles 4:20; —
lampin shrine at Shiloh
1 Samuel 3:3; especially of
lampsin temple
1 Kings 7:49 7t. Chronicles, and in tabernacle
Exodus 25:37 (twice in verse) + 15 t. P; compare in Zechariah's vision
Zechariah 4:2 (twice in verse) as token of merrymaking
Jeremiah 25:10; used in search
Zephaniah 1:12, compare (figurative)
Proverbs 20:27; used in household work
Proverbs 31:18; figurative of prosperity
2 Samuel 21:17 (embodied in David); also
Job 18:6;
Job 21:17;
Job 29:3;
Psalm 18:29 =
2 Samuel 22:29;
Psalm 132:17;
Proverbs 13:9;
Proverbs 20:20;
Proverbs 24:20; of God's word as a guide
Psalm 119:105, compare
Proverbs 6:23.
I. ; — always figurative1 Kings 11:26, i.e. that his family may remain on the throne; compare1 Kings 15:4;2 Kings 8:19 2Chronicles 21:7; happiness, delight (construct)Proverbs 21:4 (so Vrss Thes Buhl Now Wild, > Ew Del SS Frankenb = II. below II. below).
Topical Lexicon
Overviewנֵר (Strong’s H5216) denotes an oil-fed lamp or its flame. While the object is small and ordinary, Scripture employs it in ways that span everyday life, priestly service, royal covenant, wisdom teaching, judgment, and messianic hope.
Everyday and Household Use
Ancient Israelite homes depended on the humble נֵר for light after sunset (for example,Proverbs 31:18). Clay or bronze bowls held olive oil; a flax wick drew the fuel to sustain a steady flame. Job uses extinction of such a lamp as a vivid picture of disaster: “Indeed, the light of the wicked is extinguished; the flame of his fire does not glow” (Job 18:5).
Tabernacle and Temple Worship
Exodus 27:20–21 commands pure beaten olive oil so “the lamp may be kept burning continually.” Although the golden seven-branched מְנוֹרָה is described with a different term, each individual flame is still a נֵר.Leviticus 24:2–4 institutes a perpetual light outside the veil—an enduring symbol of God’s presence. In later Jewish tradition this became the נֵר תָּמִיד (ner tamid), a continual lamp that still hangs above synagogue arks today.
The Lamp of God and Prophetic Call
In the transitional days of Eli, “the lamp of God had not yet gone out” (1 Samuel 3:3). The notice is more than a time-marker; it quietly underlines that, despite priestly corruption, God’s light persists until He raises up Samuel.
Dynastic “Lamp” for David
God pledges an unfailing “lamp” to preserve the Davidic line:
•1 Kings 11:36—“so that My servant David will always have a lamp before Me in Jerusalem.”
•1 Kings 15:4;2 Kings 8:19;2 Chronicles 21:7 echo the promise even when kings rebel.
When Abishai shields the weary monarch, the troops protest: “You must never again march out with us, so that the lamp of Israel may not be extinguished” (2 Samuel 21:17). The phrase ties David’s personal survival to national hope and, ultimately, to Messiah (compareIsaiah 42:6–7;Revelation 22:16).
Moral and Spiritual Illumination
Proverbs 6:23—“For this command is a lamp, this teaching is a light.”
Psalm 119:105—“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
Here נֵר stresses immediate, step-by-step guidance.Proverbs 20:27 extends the thought inward: “The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD, searching out his inmost being.”
Judgment Imagery
God can snuff out a lamp in retribution (Job 21:17;Proverbs 24:20). Jerusalem’s impending fall is pictured as darkness: “The sun will set for the prophets, and the day will go dark for them” (Micah 3:6); elsewhere the lamp is removed (compareRevelation 2:5, which alludes back to this Old Testament motif).
Festive and Covenant Celebrations
Esther 8:16 uses נֵר figuratively—“light and joy, gladness and honor”—for national deliverance. The Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah) originated in the cleansing of the Temple and the relighting of the lamps (1 Maccabees 4:50–56), a post-biblical event yet rooted in the perpetual-lamp mandate.
Messianic and Eschatological Overtones
The Davidic “lamp” anticipates the true Light. Zechariah’s night vision of a lampstand supplied by two olive trees (Zechariah 4) points to the Spirit-empowered rule of the Branch.Psalm 132:17 foretells, “There I will make a horn grow for David; I have prepared a lamp for My anointed.” Revelation completes the arc: “The Lamb is its lamp” (Revelation 21:23).
Representative Occurrences
Genesis 15:17;Exodus 27:20;Leviticus 24:2;1 Samuel 3:3;2 Samuel 21:17;1 Kings 11:36;2 Kings 8:19;2 Chronicles 21:7;Psalm 18:28;Psalm 132:17;Proverbs 6:23;Proverbs 20:27;Job 18:5;Job 29:3;Esther 8:16;Isaiah 62:1;Ezekiel 1:13;Zechariah 4:2.
Practical Ministry Reflections
1. Worship: Regular corporate gatherings should mirror the priestly charge—maintain the lamp with pure oil, undiminished by compromise.
2. Leadership: Churches and families entrusted with oversight carry a “lamp of David”; faithfulness keeps it burning.
3. Discipleship and Preaching: God’s Word illuminates both path and conscience; proclamation that darkens or distorts that light invites removal of the lampstand.
4. Hope: However dim circumstances appear, the covenant lamp remains lit until fulfilled in Christ, “the true Light” (John 1:9).
Forms and Transliterations
בַּנֵּר֑וֹת בנרות הַנֵּר֑וֹת הַנֵּר֔וֹת הַנֵּרֹ֔ת הַנֵּרֹ֖ת הַנֵּרֹ֛ת הַנֵּרֽוֹת׃ הנרות הנרות׃ הנרת וְ֝נֵר֗וֹ וְהַנֵּר֛וֹת וְהַנֵּרֹ֛ת וְנֵ֖ר וְנֵ֤ר וְנֵרֹֽתֵיהֶם֙ וְנֵרֹתֵיהֶ֗ם וְנֵרֹתֶ֑יהָ וְנֵרֹתֶ֔יהָ וְנֵרֹתֶ֙יהָ֙ והנרות והנרת ונר ונרו ונרתיה ונרתיהם לַנֵּר֖וֹת לנרות נִ֖יר נִ֛יר נִ֣יר נֵ֖ר נֵ֝֗ר נֵ֝ר֗וֹ נֵ֣ר נֵ֣רֹתֶ֔יהָ נֵ֥ר נֵ֭רוֹ נֵֽר׃ נֵירִ֖י נֵרִ֑י נֵרָֽהּ׃ נֵרֹ֛ת נֵרֹתֶ֑יהָ נֵרֹתֶ֖יהָ נֵרֹתֶ֗יהָ נֵרֹתֶ֙יהָ֙ נֵרֹתֶֽיהָ׃ נֵר־ ניר נירי נר נר־ נר׃ נרה׃ נרו נרי נרת נרתיה נרתיה׃ ban·nê·rō·wṯ banneRot bannêrōwṯ han·nê·rō·wṯ han·nê·rōṯ hanneRot hannêrōṯ hannêrōwṯ lan·nê·rō·wṯ lanneRot lannêrōwṯ nê·rāh nê·rî nê·rō·ṯe·hā nê·rōṯ nê·rōw neiRi ner nêr nêr- neRah nêrāh neRi nêrî nero neRot nêrōṯ nêrōṯehā neroTeiha nêrōw nir nîr vehanneRot veNer veneRo veneroTeiha veneroteiHem wə·han·nê·rō·wṯ wə·han·nê·rōṯ wə·nê·rō·ṯe·hā wə·nê·rō·ṯê·hem wə·nê·rōw wə·nêr wəhannêrōṯ wəhannêrōwṯ wənêr wənêrōṯehā wənêrōṯêhem wənêrōw
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