Image Details
Zev Radovan, courtesy of the Israel Department of Antiquities and Museums
Christian oil lamp. Although the Jewish symbol of a seven-branched menorah appears on this lamp, the lamp is, in fact, a Christian lamp of about the fourth century. On Christian lamps, the seven branches of the menorah are always oblique, resembling a palm branch. The central branch connects to the rings that surround the filling hole and the wick hole. Around the filling hole, these lamps usually have Greek inscriptions that praise Jesus. The motif of the cross also appears on these lamps (see photograph).