8. Thelampstand
BOOK ONE
kindled by the hope of future rest and blessedness so that they may take pleasure in doing good works?
On the sabbath, therefore, the loaves were set upon the table of the Lord, and those who placed them there intended that when the sabbath was ended they might remain in the same place through the six days of working, and when the next sabbath came they might be consumed for the refreshment of the high priest and his sons. Doubtless th~s was because in the beginning those of us who lead lives devoted to God are promised that we shall receive the rest of life eternal, but only on condition that we attain to it through the labours and good works of this transitory life. Now the eating of the loaves of proposition by the high priest and his sons pertains to the entry into heavenly life, but it will be more appropriate to relate the explanation of this in its own place, in the exposition of the following verse.
The same loaves were taken up from the children of Israel because those who succeed to a position of priesthood or of teaching ought to be chosen and ordained from among the company of the spiritual servants of God.
And that which is added in conclusion, And they shall be for Aaron and his sons, contains a mystery which can be understood in two ways. For surely
Aaron in company with his sons eats the holy loaves that are taken from the table of the tabernacle when our High Priest takes his elect out of this life and leads them into the increase of his body which is in heaven (that is, the whole multitude of his elect). Or perhaps the holy loaves belong to Aaron and his sons when all the leaders and the peoples who are subject to them in the Lord are nourished unto life eternal by the examples of the fathers who have gone before.
(301 8.
THELAMPSTAND
25:3 1 You shall also make a lampstand of beaten work of the purest gold. Like the table, the lampstand in the tabernacle also designates the Church universal of the present time. For surely they are in front of the veil within which the ark of the covenant was placed because the Church does not yet deserve to be admitted to the vision of its Redeemer in heaven. [The Church] is a table, because every day it provides celestial nourishment to those who hunger and thirst for righteousness: lest they should fail in the midst of temptations; it is a lampstand, because it has shown the path of light to those who have gone astray; it is both table and lampstand together, because it has been taught by the Holy Writings and has learned to fill the 1 Lev. 24:9
2 Matt. 5:6
BEDE: ON THE TABERNACLE
hungry soul with good things' and to supply the light of the word to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death.2 Surely it is made as a lampstand for this light, as it were, when by restraining itself from its own pleasures it humbly submits itself to do what the word of God commands, and when it agrees to hope and love what the word promises by mising itself above visible joys. In humbling itself, it is setting heavenly authority before its own desires in every way and showing forth to all the brightness of the word of God, both by preachng and by doing.
25:31 Its shaft, and the branches, the cups, and the bowls and the lilies proceeding from it. The shaft of the lampstand ought to be understood as the one who is the head of the Church, the Mediator between God and humankind, theman Christ Jesux3 It is as though the Apostle were speaking of branches proceeding from a shaft when he says of [Christ's] body (which we are) thatporn him the whole bo& nourished and knit together by its joints and ligaments, grows in the increase of God.4 Doubtless this is because Almighty God our Redeemer, who in himself does not make progress in anything, still has increase daily through his members. Therefore the branches proceeding from the shaft are the preachers established by the Lord who have brought forth a sweet sound (that is, a new song) into the world. The branches are all the children of the Church to whom the prophet says, 'Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth; they willingly comply, resounding with praise to the Lord and saying, 'He directed my steps andput a new song in my mouth, a hymn to our God. '
Because cups are accustomed to be filled with wine, it is not unseemly for them to designate the minds of the hearers, which are filled with the wine of knowledge by the voices of those who are preaching. And because the hearts of the faithful strive toward God with indefatigable desire when they are inebriated with that same wine of love within, rightly are the spherical bowls on the lampstand made after the cups. For a sphere rolls along in every direction, and the minds of the elect can neither be held back by any of the adversities of the world nor corrupted by prospenties, but in everydung that happens they make progress toward God through holy
(311 1 Ps. 107:9 (106:9); Luke 153 2 Luke I :79
3 Col. 1:lS; 1 Tim. 2:5
4 Col. 2:19
5 Isa. 42:lO 6 Ps. 40:2-3 (39:3-4)
BOOKONE
desire. And lilies are properly fashioned after the branches, cups, and bowls on the lampstand, because after the grace of preachtng, after the intoxication of spiritual drink, after the incessant activity of holy labour, there follows that verdant homeland which blooms with holy souls (that is, with eternal flowers).
"l5.32S'rx'lorandnes dndh come outProm'fne hdes,threefrom one side and three from the other. It is well known that six, the number [of days] inwhich the world was made, designates the perfection of works. But since the description of the branches specified that they were to be divided into two sets of three, it is more important for us to speak about the number three. Surely three branches shall come out from one side of the shaft and three from the other because befort: the coming of the Lord in flesh there were teachers who described the faith of the Holy Trinity in mystical language and preached as much as the ignorant people at that time were able to grasp. Hence there is that saying of the psalmist: By the Wordof the Lordwere the heavens made, andall their power by the Spirit ofhis mouth.
The Father he calls by the name of 'Lord', the Son by the name of 'Word', and the Holy Spirit by its own name: 'the Spirit of his mouth'. He clearly indicates that the power, will, and opemtion of that Holy Trinity are one when he asserts that the heavens are made by the Word of the Lord and all their power by the Spirit of his mouth. In like manner, the teachers openly preach the same faith in the Holy Trinity in such a way that all who belong to Christ are bound to be consecrated in that same faith, as the Lord says to the apostles: 'Go, therefore, teach all nations, baptizin them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Hok Spirit. '
Hence Paul also, when he prays for the faithful and desires that they may be strengthened in the faith that they have received, says: 'The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the charity of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. *
Likewise, three branches come forth from one side of the lampstand and three from the other because both before and after the Lord's incarnation there were inthechurchthree statesofthosewhoservedtheLordfaithfully,
1 Gen. 1:31
2 Ps. 33:6 (32:6), 'spirit' = sprrrfus, which also means 'breath'.
3 Man. 28:19
42Cor. 13:13
BEDE: ON THE TABERNACLE
namely: the married, the continent, and the rulers.'Ezekiel the prophet mystically dstingwshes them from one another when he foretells that there rue only three men who will be delivered when the time of plagues comes, namely: Noah, Daniel, and Job.2 For surely in Noah, who steered the ark overthe waves, he shows those who are set over the Church; in Daniel, who was zealous to live continently in the royal court, he shows the continent or virgins; in Job, who whle situated in mamed life exhibited a wonderful example of patience to all, he shows the life of the virtuous married people.
Similarly, in the New Testament the Lord suggests the diversity of the same [states of life] under the figure of those who on the day of judgement will be found in bed, in the field, or at the mill, some of whom, he says, will be taken and some of whom will be left.3 For surely the quiet life of the continent is portrayed in the bed; the industry of those who preach in the cultivation of the field; and the labour of those who are married in the turning of the millstone. And because in all of these states some will be chosen, some reprobated, it is rightly said of each state that one out of two will be taken and the other IeJ.
In the company of the elect, the merit of those who preach is more sublime than that of those who are zealous to devote themselves to continence only, and not to the work of teaching as well; likewise, the life of the continent is more sublime than that of the mamed. Rightly, then, do the highest branches that were proceeding from the shaft on one side and on the other designate those in both testaments who have, among othervirtues, applied themselves to the pursuit of teaching; rightly do the lowerbxanches, which likewise come forth from both sides of the shaft, represent the continents' life devoted to God; rightly do the lowest branches, which are themselves sprung from the same stem of the one lampstand, show forth by means of a type the life that virtuous married persons in the time of both testaments faithfully devoted to one and the same Lord.
The branches, then, proceed from different places on the shaft; nevertheless, they all reach to the same height at the top, each one in its own place
1 Cf. Bede, In Luc. 5 (CCSL 120: 321, 1019-26; In Sam. 1; 2 (CCX 119: 21, 403-12; 97,
1221-25). A somewhat different triad appears below in Bede's comment on Exod. 25:34-5
(CCSL 119A: 34, 1167 - 35, 1173) and in De remplo 1 (CCX 119A: 163,642-68), where he speaks of the married, the continent (who were formerly married but have put away their spouses), and the virgins. On Bede's explanation in the latter passage that it was the continent who established the primitive Christian community in Jerusalem along monastic lines, see
Olsen (1982), 527-9. For the various patristic exegetical traditions delineating three levels of perfection in the Church, see de Lubac (1959-64). 1, 2: 571-4 and Quacquarelli (1953).
2 Ezek. 14:14
3 Luke 17:34-5
BOOK ONE
bending upward in succession so that the lights which are on them remain positioned at the same level. The elect are doubtless imbued with one true faith, even if their merits differ in rank; for they will come to one light of eternal truth in heaven, even though the ones who endeavour to cleave to Christ higher up in this life will enjoy a closer vision of him in that life.
Accordingly, it is said of certain ones on account of the merit of their great virtue, These are those whofollow the Lanib wherever hegoes;' just before, it is said of others, as if of the nearby branches on the lampstand, And they were singing a new song, as it were, before the throne and before the four living creatures andbefore the elders.* By th~s it is shown that all the saints throughout the streets of that heavenly city sing a new song of gladness to God, but those who in this life transcended the common life of the faithful by the special privilege of sacred virginity are there raised up into a special position above the others in the joy of song.
25:33 Three cups shaped somewhat like nuts for every branch, together with a bowl and a lily; and three cups, likewise in the form of nuts, on the other branch, together with a bowl and a lily. This shall be the workmanship of the six branches that are to extend out from the shaft. Solomon bears witness that a nut is customarily employed as a figure of the present Church when in the Song of Songs he speaks in the character of the faithful teachers, saying: 'I went down to the nut garden, to see the fiuits of the valley. Forjust as a nut has a sweet fruit on the inside but does not show it on the outside unless its hard shell can be broken, so in the same way do the righteous maintain the sweetness of spiritual grace in their inmost heart while they are in this present life, so that its magnitude cannot be perceived by their neighbours until the time when the bodily dwelling is dissolved and the souls freed from it can gaze upon one another in heavenly light, and they individually shne so much with the grace of the Holy Spirit, and they are loved so much by one another, that absolutely nothing remains hdden. The cups on the lampstand are shaped like nuts when any of the elect, desiring to be filled with the wine of knowledge, are busy to conform themselves to the example of the righteous who have gone beforc, whom they know to have been filled with the great sweetness and love of invisible blessings.
That there were three cups, bowls, and lilies for every branch signifies the three divisions of time in which the elect lived devotedly for God, both before and after the Lord's incarnation For there were righteous persons
1 Rev. 14:4
2 Rev. 14:3
3 S. of S. 6: 10
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before the law, as there were under the law, and as there were in the time of the prophets; likewise, after the Lord's ascension the primitive Church was gathered from Israel, now it is gathered from the Gentiles, and at the end of the world it will be gathered from the remnants of Israel. The first branch had three cups, bowls, and lilies on one side because in the company of teachers before the incarnation of the Lord there were three orders of those who like cups thirsted for the drink of heavenly grace, who like round bowls ran quickly in the way of the Lord, and who waited joyfully for the gift of supernal reward as for the radiance and scent of lilies; that is, there were thdse before the law, thoseunder the law, and those under the prophets.
The second branch also had three cups, bowls, and lilies, because the continent ones of that time similarly had three orders of saints [distinguished] according to the previously-mentioned distinction of times, desiring the spiritual drink, running in the way of the Lord's commandments, and expecting heavenly rewards. Similarly, the third branch had three cups, three bowls, and three lilies, because there were many mamed persons before the law, many under the law, and many in the days of the prophets who rejoiced to hear the word of the Lord, and to run in his way, and to expect from him the rewards of good works. Likewise, on the other side of the shaft the first branch, and the second, and the third, each had three cups and bowls and three lilies also, because in the New Testament there were among the teachers, and among the continent, and among the married persons devoted to God, three groupings at dfferent times, that is: in the primitive Church, from Israel; in [the time of] our election, from the Gentiles; and in the final collecting, from the remnants of Israel. Eachgroup in its own time, they all desired to be intoxicated with the word of life, to hasten in the way of peace, and to see the radiance of perpetual light.
(341 25:34-5 And on the lampstand itself there shall be four cups shaped like nuts, and for every one there shall be bowls and lilies-the bowls under two branches in three places, which together make six proceedingout of theone shaft. We have said that the lampstand (that is, the middle stem of the lampstand from which the branches were proceeding), designates the Lord Saviour, by whose grace the righteous have received whatever good things they possess. Hence in the gospel, after he himself had said to the disciples, 'I am the vine, you are the branches, J he immediately added: Xs the branch cannot bewfruit by itselJ unless it abides in the vine, so neither you, unless you abide in me. ' It is as if he were saying in other words: 'I am the lampstand and you are my branches. As the branch is not able to set itself up to bring light unless it abides steadfast in the stem of the 1 John 15:4-5
BOOK ONE
lampstand, so neither are you, unless you abide in me, able to bear the light of truth and faith in yourselves.'
Four cups were made on tlus lampstand, doubtless because in the four books of the holy gospel which were written about the Lord we find the taste of new wine (that is, of heavenly doctrine) that old wineskins (that is, minds still clinging to earthly desires) cannot receive, but only the hearts of the faithful renewed by the Spirit of grace.' Bowls and lilies are fashioned together for every cup because the same Lord who brought us the goblet of spiritual wisdom has also shown us that we should take the smooth and easy path of pious labour, and he has given us the power to take it, and lest we should run in vain he has promised us the brightness of the heavenly homeland to which we have been directing our course, and by his grace he has disclosed to us the entranceway into it. Or, since the cups, bowls, and lilies are commanded to be made under two branches in three places, perhaps we can interpret these ttungs mystically to mean that to the three grades of the faithful of which we have spoken more than once (namely, the married, the continent, and the virgins), he has revealed the doctrine of truth, enjoined the path of good work, and both promised and delivered the blessing of an inheritance that is always unfading and
The cups, bowls, and lilies of the lampstand are aptly ordered to be not over the branches but under the branches, because the hearts of those who preach (or perhaps we should say of all the elect) are upheld by the Lord's gifts, commandments, and promises, and lifted up to love and to seek heavenly things, lest they should be liable to fall to the depths below. For here indeed the Holy Church (that is, the bride of Christ) boasts about him, saying: 'His left hand is under niy head, and his right hand shall ernbrace me. Surely the left hand of the bridegroom is placed under the head of the bride because the Lord raises up the minds of the faithful with temporal benefits, separating them from earthly pleasures and longings so that they may desire and hope for eternal blessings. And he shall embrace her with his right hand because by revealing the vision of his majesty he glonfies her without end.
Aptly are the cups, bowls, and lilies under two branches, because in each of the two testaments the same devotion in serving the Lord is commanded of the faithful (albeit in different religious ceremonies), and the same gloy of the heavenly kingdom is maintained. But the fourth cup, bowl, and lily which were over the bnnches, all near the highest point of the lampstand
1 Matt. 9:17
2 1 Pet. 1.4
3 S. of S . 2:6
BEDE: ON THE TABERNACLE
itself, properly pertain to the Lord Saviour. Not only did he impart the knowledge, labour, and reward of virtues to his elect, but the same human
Christ also exhibited the figure of a cup in his own person when he declared himself full of the Holy Spirit. He held out the form of a round bowl when he appeared in the world and rejoiced like a giant to run the way' without any hindrance from the things that were clamoring round about. And he showed the semblance of a lily when in rising from the dead and ascending to heaven he was lorified with the glory that he had with the Father before the world existed.
And rightly did this cup, this bowl, and this lily protrude higher than the branches, doubtless because the gifts that God the Father conferred upon the Mediator between God and humankind, the man Jesus Christ,3 transcend every manner of human comprehension. For to everyone ofusgrace wasgiven, according to the measure of Christ gift,^ but in Christ himself, as the Apostle says, all the fullness ofDivinity dwells ~orporeally.~
And there properly follows:
25:36 Then both the bowls and the branches shall all be of the same beaten work of the purest gold. Every piece of work on the lampstand
(that is, both the middle stem and the branches proceeding from it, with each of their ornaments) is made from gold. For the Lord himself appeared in the world especially fIee from sin and splendid in all the works of righteousness, and his members imitate the same innocence and righteousness in this transient life as far as they are able, but in the future they will make true progress by cleaving to him. And because something is made of beaten work by being smitten, aptly was the same [lampstand] made of beaten gold. For our Redeemer, who from his conception and birth existed
(361 as perfect God and perfect man, endured the pains of suffering and thus came to the glory of the resurrection. All who want to live godly in him sufler persecution;6 it is through the blows of suffering that they make progress toward the grace of immortality, just as metal is stretched out b being smitten. Hence also in the fourth psalm, which is entitled In verses, the Church in the guise of the mystical branches of faith says to her
Redeemer, 'In distress, you have enlarged me, ' as if beaten gold should 1; 1 Ps. 195 (18:6) 2 John 175 3 1 Tim. 2:5
4 Eph. 4:7
5 Col. 2:9
6 2 Tim. 3: 12
8 Ps. 4:
1 (4:2) 7 Ps. 4:l (Vulg.)