Numbers 8:4

And this work of the candlestick was of beaten gold, unto the shaft thereof, unto the flowers thereof, was beaten work: according unto the pattern which the LORD had shewed Moses, so he made the candlestick.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(4) And this work of the candlestick . . . —Better, And this was the work of the candlestick, i.e., the material of which it was made.

Beaten gold.—Better, turned (or twisted) gold.

Unto the shaft thereof, unto the flowers thereof.—Literally, unto its base, unto its flower or blossom, i.e., the whole of the candlestick, from its base to its flowers. The several parts of the candlestick, beginning with the base and ending with the flowers, are enumerated in Exodus 25:31.

Benson Commentary

Numbers 8:4. Of beaten gold — Not hollow, but solid gold, beaten out of one piece, not of several pieces joined or soldered together.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

8:1-4 Aaron himself lighted the lamps, thus representing his Divine Master. The Scripture is a light shining in a dark place,

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The actual lighting of the lamps (compare the marginal references) was to be done to set forth symbolically the special presence which God had now Numbers 7:89 actually established among His people.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

2. Speak unto Aaron, &c.—The candlestick, which was made of one solid, massive piece of pure gold, with six lamps supported on as many branches, a seventh in the center surmounting the shaft itself (Ex 25:31; 37:17), and completed according to the pattern shown in the mount, was now to be lighted, when the other things in the sanctuary began to be applied to religious service. It was Aaron's personal duty, as the servant of God, to light His house, which, being without windows, required the aid of lights (2Pe 1:19). And the course he was ordered to follow was first to light the middle lamp from the altar-fire, and then the other lamps from each other—a course symbolical of all the light of heavenly truth being derived from Christ, and diffused by His ministers throughout the world (Re 4:5).

the seven lamps shall give light over against the candlestick—The candlestick stood close to the boards of the sanctuary, on the south side, in full view of the table of showbread on the north (Ex 26:35), having one set of its lamps turned towards the east, and another towards the west; so that all parts of the tabernacle were thus lighted up.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Beaten gold, not hollow, but solid and massive gold, beaten out of one piece, and not of several pieces joined or soldered together. See Exodus 25:18,31 37:17.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And this work of the candlestick was of beaten gold,.... As it is also said to be; See Gill on Exodus 25:31; and See Gill on Exodus 25:36,

unto the shalt thereof, unto the flowers thereof, was beaten work; of which, see Exodus 25:31,

according unto the pattern which the Lord had showed Moses; when on Mount Sinai with him:

so he made the candlestick; that is, ordered it to be made, and took care that it was made exactly to the pattern he had of it; otherwise Bezaleel was the artificer; and so the Targum of Jonathan here expresses him by name.

Geneva Study Bible

And this work of the candlestick was of beaten gold, unto the shaft thereof, unto the flowers thereof, was beaten work: {b} according unto the pattern which the LORD had shewed Moses, so he made the candlestick.

(b) And not set together of various pieces.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

4. beaten work] Repoussé work, hammered out of a solid plate of gold (Exodus 25:31; Exodus 25:36; Exodus 37:17-22). This work was employed also for the Cherubim (Exodus 25:18; Exodus 37:7) and the two silver clarions (Numbers 10:2).

unto the base … and unto the flowers] The Heb. idiom means both base and flowers. The flowers were the ornamentation on each of the six shafts and on the central stem. In every shaft there were three cups, and on the central stem four, each consisting of a calyx and petals of an almond blossom. The lampstand of Herod’s temple was made on this model, and is familiar from its representation on the arch of Titus.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 4. - And this work of the candlestick. For the meaning of the details here given see Exodus 25:31, sq. According unto the pattern which the Lord had shewed Moses, - viz., in the mount (see Exodus 25:40) so he made the candlestick. This has been recorded in Exodus 37:17. The repetition of the statement in this place seems to be conclusive that these verses are out of their historical position, and that their insertion here is due to some fact connected with the original records with which we are not acquainted. It may be simply this, that these verses originally followed verse 89 of the previous chapter, and followed it still when it was inserted, for reasons already suggested, after the narrative of the offerings of the princes. Why, or how, such an admission should discredit the sacred narrative or imperil the truth of its inspiration it would be hard to say. The only thing really likely to imperil the sacred narrative is to persistently deny the obvious literary conclusions which arise from an honest consideration of the text.

CHAPTER 8:5-26 THE HALLOWING OF THE LEVITES (verses 5-23). Numbers 8:4

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Consecration of the Levites. - The command of God to consecrate the Levites for their service, is introduced in Numbers 8:1-4 by directions issued to Aaron with regard to the lighting of the candlestick in the dwelling of the tabernacle. Aaron was to place the seven lamps upon the candlestick in such a manner that they would shine פּניו אל־מוּל. These directions are not a mere repetition, but also a more precise definition, of the general instructions given in Exodus 25:37, when the candlestick was made, to place the seven lamps upon the candlestick in such a manner that each should give light over against its front, i.e., should throw its light upon the side opposite to the front of the candlestick. In itself, therefore, there is nothing at all striking in the renewal and explanation of those directions, which committed the task of lighting the lamps to Aaron; for this had not been done before, as Exodus 27:21 merely assigns the daily preparation of the candlestick to Aaron and his sons; and their being placed in the connection in which we find them may be explained from the signification of the seven lamps in relation to the dwelling of God, viz., as indicating that Israel was thereby to be represented perpetually before the Lord as a people causing its light to shine in the darkness of this world. And when Aaron is commanded to attend to the lighting of the candlestick, so that it may light up the dwelling, in these special instructions the entire fulfilment of his service in the dwelling is enforced upon him as a duty. In this respect the instructions themselves, coupled with the statement of the fact that Aaron had fulfilled them, stand quite appropriately between the account of what the tribe-princes had done for the consecration of the altar service as representatives of the congregation, and the account of the solemn inauguration of the Levites in their service in the sanctuary. The repetition on this occasion (Exodus 27:4) of an allusion to the artistic character of the candlestick, which had been made according to the pattern seen by Moses in the mount (Exodus 25:31.), is quite in keeping with the antiquated style of narrative adopted in these books.