Menorah (English spelling)

Japanese: メノラー（英語表記）menorah

The menorah is one of the Jewish liturgical objects. Its prototype is a seven-branched candlestick made of pure gold that was placed in the Holy Place of the Tabernacle by God's command (Exodus 25:31-35). It had three branches on each side of a central trunk, allowing seven candles to be lit. This shape was inherited by the candlestick placed in the Holy Place of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, and it also became a symbol of the temple as a place of encounter with God. Even after the temple was lost and synagogues became the main liturgical places, the menorah was often depicted as a symbolic image in wall paintings.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

ユダヤ教の典礼具の一つである多枝燭台。その原型は，神の命令によって幕屋（まくや）の聖所に置かれることになった純金の七枝の燭台である(《出エジプト記》25：31～35)。中央の幹の両側に三つずつ枝が伸びた形で，七つの燭火がともせるようになっていた。この形はエルサレムの〈第二神殿〉の聖所に置かれた燭台にひきつがれ，神との出会いの場所としての神殿の象徴ともなった。神殿が失われ，シナゴーグがおもな典礼の場所になってからも，メノラーは象徴的図像として壁画にしばしば表現された。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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