“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105) The concept of light in scripture brings to mind concepts like clarity, brightness, direction, guidance, warmth and encouragement. Consequently, lamps have an important place in Israeli history, especially because of the absence of what we take for granted these days – electricity!
The earliest known lamps were adapted from ordinary, plain, pottery bowls filled with oil; the wick was simply placed in the oil and lit. Later on, in order to ensure a steady, controlled supply of oil to the wick, a pinched rim was devised. In time this pinched rim developed into a real spout. During the Middle Canaanite Period, most oil lamps had four pinched spouts, whereas in later periods seldom did oil lamps have more than one spout.
The oil lamps in our replicas represent 3 eras of lamps – the time of Abraham, the time of King David and the time of Jesus.
