Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 25:31-36

31 And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same.

32 And six branches shall come out of the sides of it; three branches of the candlestick out of the one side, and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side:

33 Three bowls made like unto almonds, with a knop and a flower in one branch; and three bowls made like almonds in the other branch, with a knop and a flower: so in the six branches that come out of the candlestick.

34 And in the candlestick shall be four bowls made like unto almonds, with their knops and their flowers.

35 And there shall be a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, according to the six branches that proceed out of the candlestick.

36 Their knops and their branches shall be of the same: all it shall be one beaten work of pure gold.

We now hear the description for the temple menorah. As with the other temple instruments it is to be made of pure gold, and the manner of its fashioning is spelled out in explicit detail. It can be hard to follow in text form, but comparing the words to visual recreations of the temple menorah can help one to understand the design being given here. These words describe a central staff, with three pairings coming off of it, resulting in seven sections that are each composed of the decorative shapes here mentioned.

When reviewing modern day recreations, one will soon notice that the top oil-wells really do look like almonds and the bumps along each arm really do look like flowers. The word “knop” only means an ornamental knob, so that part is often depicted as a generic decorative element.

It is worth noting that the word “menorah” only means lamp, and there are different types of menorahs in the Jewish culture. Thus, not every image of a menorah might be a depiction of the temple menorah. The one that most people will encounter, the hanukkiah, is specific to the Hanukkah celebration and is totally separate from the temple menorah. As such, it will not follow the rules that apply to this temple menorah. As the temple menorah is only for use within the temple, and Israel currently has no temple, there is no actual, functioning temple menorah today, only illustrative recreations.

One final note is that there is clearly a lot of symbolization in the design of the menorah. Much has been made of numbering the different parts and assigning meaning to those figures. I do believe that God does not specify something so explicitly without purpose, and therefore I suspect that there are valid interpretations of those figures, but I do not know which interpretations those are. At the very least, I can say that the flowers and the knobs and the dividing structure bring to mind a living tree, flowering and bearing fruit, carrying the seed of life within. As such I would identify it with God, His living creations, and the nourishment He gives to preserve and develop that life.

Note: It can be difficult to visualize some of the structures described in these verses. Here is an excellent and extremely focused series of animations that show the visual form of the temple and its instruments, built up verse-by-verse from the Exodus record: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpjohncRg94EZ55nJrbaKfi-lfeo3MFgl&si=6wm1J9Sdnu7LKYC_

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Genesis 2:8-9

8 And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

9 And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Note that the presence of the tree of knowledge in the Garden of Eden was no coincidence. God adorned the grounds with all manner of plants: trees that were lovely to look at, trees to provide the food man needed to live, and even a tree that gave immortality. But He also intentionally added this one other tree, one that would enable mankind to fundamentally change his state from innocence to being able to perceive evil.

At times I have wondered what the nature of this tree was that it would give knowledge of good and evil. The thought occurs to me that just by God forbidding the eating of that tree it would already qualify as a tree of knowledge of good and evil, for now it could not be eaten except by an act of disobedience, which would necessarily break one’s innocence, which would bring them face-to-face with guilt and consequences. Had God instead commanded Adam to not lift a particular rock then we could just as easily be talking about the rock of knowledge of good and evil.

However this tree has the title of “knowledge of good and evil” even before God forbade the eating of it. That seems to suggest there was something inherent in its nature that God was steering Adam and Eve away from, just as He gives us commandments today to keep us from inherently harmful behavior.

But maybe these questions don’t matter, though. What is more pertinent to me is that this tree is an allegory for the breaking of innocence in my own life. I have had my own trees of knowledge of good and evil, like that time I colored red crayon on the carpet and found myself facing negative consequences on the one hand or the temptation to lie about it on the other. It was an opportunity planted in my life, able to bring me to a knowledge of both good and evil. And like Adam and Eve, I gave in to the temptation, I lied about the mess, and I entered a more fallen world as a result.