G3087 — λυχνία (lychnia)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G3087
Original: λυχνία
Transliteration: lychnia
Pronunciation: lookh-nee'-ah
Part of Speech: Feminine noun
Root: From G3088 (λύχνος, lamp/candle) — the stand that holds the lamp
Occurrences: 11 in NT (12 tokens)
Books: 5 (Matthew, Mark, Luke, Hebrews, Revelation)
First Occurrence: Mat 5:15 — "Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From G3088; a lamp-stand (literally or figuratively):—candlestick.

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain: 006.014 — Lights and Light Holders
Other words in domain: λαμπάς (G2985), λύχνος (G3088), φανός (G5322), φῶς (G5457)

UBS Semantic Domains¶

Domain: 006 — Artifacts
Representative neighbors: ἀγγεῖον (G30), ἄγγος (G30), ἄγκιστρον (G44), ἄγκυρα (G45), ἀλάβαστρος (G211), ἀλόη (G250)

Domain Neighbors (006.014 — Lights and Light Holders)¶

Strong's	Word	Occurrences	Primary KJV
G2985	λαμπάς (lampás)	9	lamps, a lamp
G3088	λύχνος (lýchnos)	11	a candle, light
G5322	φανός (phanós)	1	lanterns
G5457	φῶς (phōs)	48	light, a light

Key difference from G3088: λυχνία is the stand that holds the λύχνος (lamp). The lamp gives light; the lampstand holds and elevates it.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
candlesticks	5	45.5%
candlestick	4	36.4%
a candlestick	1	9.1%
the candlestick	1	9.1%

KJV uses "candlestick" throughout, though the object is a lamp stand, not a candle holder.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Revelation	6	1.5
Luke	2	0.2
Hebrews	1	0.3
Matthew	1	0.1
Mark	1	0.1

Revelation accounts for more than half of all occurrences. The high density in Revelation (1.5 per 100) reflects the vision of the seven golden lampstands. Hebrews and the Synoptics each contribute one or two occurrences in entirely different registers.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Household Lamp Stand (light for a room)¶

Mat 5:15 — "Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house"
Mar 4:21 — "Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick?"
Luk 8:16 — "No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth [it] under a bed; but setteth [it] on a candlestick"
Luk 11:33 — "No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth [it] in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick"

2. Tabernacle Furnishing (holy place)¶

Heb 9:2 — "For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein [was] the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread"

3. Symbol of the Seven Churches (Revelation 1–2)¶

Rev 1:12 — "I saw seven golden candlesticks"
Rev 1:13 — "And in the midst of the seven candlesticks [one] like unto the Son of man"
Rev 1:20 — "The seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches"
Rev 2:1 — "These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks"
Rev 2:5 — "I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent"

4. Symbol of the Two Witnesses (Revelation 11)¶

Rev 11:4 — "These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
ἑπτά (seven)	G2033	4x (36%)	"seven golden candlesticks" (Rev)
λύχνος (lamp)	G3088	4x (36%)	lamp placed on the lampstand
τίθημι (put/place)	G5087	4x (36%)	act of placing the lamp on the stand
χρύσεος (golden)	G5552	4x (36%)	"seven golden candlesticks" (Rev)
βλέπω (see/behold)	G991	3x (27%)	visionary seeing of the lampstands
μόδιος (bushel/vessel)	G3426	3x (27%)	antithetical pairing: under bushel vs. on stand
ἐκκλησία (church)	G1577	2x (18%)	lampstand = church identification (Rev 1:20)
ἄγγελος (angel)	G32	2x (18%)	angel of each church in Rev 2–3 context

Word Family / Cognates¶

G3088 λύχνος (lýchnos) — masculine noun, the portable lamp/candle itself; λυχνία is derived from it as the stand that holds it

Synonyms¶

No additional curated synonyms were surfaced by search_relationships.py beyond the immediate lamp / lampstand family already listed above.

Antonyms¶

No curated antonyms were surfaced by search_relationships.py for this entry.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
μְנוֹרָה (mᵉnôwrâh)	H4501	both "candlestick" in KJV	H4501 is the specific Hebrew tabernacle lampstand (menorah); G3087 is its NT/LXX Greek equivalent
λύχνος (lýchnos)	G3088	both "candle/light" contexts	G3088 is the lamp itself; G3087 is the stand holding it

Hebrew Source (via LXX)¶

Hebrew	Strong's	Transliteration	Co-occ	PMI Score
מְנוֹרָה	H4501	mᵉnôwrâh	28x	32.20 (primary)
נִיר	H5216	nîyr	12x	20.15
פֶּרַח	H6525	perach	6x	16.42
כַּפְתֹּר	H3730	kaphtôr	5x	15.52

H4501 is the clear primary source. The lower-ranked words (perach = blossom, kaphtôr = knob/capital) describe parts of the menorah in Exodus 25—the LXX uses λυχνία for the whole while surrounding context uses it for components.