דברי הימים ב, פרק ד׳, פסוק ז׳

King Solomon’s construction of the Temple involved a grand expansion of the sacred vessels, notably creating a vast lighting system to accompany the original Menorah from the days of the Tabernacle. Ten new golden candelabras were crafted as exact replicas of the one forged by Moses in the desert. Every intricate detail, from the decorative cups and knobs to the floral patterns, was faithfully reproduced [מצודת דוד, רד"ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The seven lamps on each of these candelabras carried a deep symbolic weight, representing the seven visible celestial bodies: the sun, Venus, Mercury, the moon, Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars [רש"י].

Following the tradition of the Tabernacle, all the candelabras were positioned in the southern section of the Sanctuary [רש"י, מלבי"ם]. The vessels were arranged with five on the right and five on the left. This division did not refer to the outer walls of the room. Instead, Moses’s original Menorah was placed directly in the center, and Solomon’s ten new candelabras were arranged to flank it, forming an honor guard of five on its right side and five on its left [רש"י, מצודת דוד, מלבי"ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

The daily operation of this expanded lighting arrangement is a matter of ancient debate [מלבי"ם]. One perspective maintains that the priests would actively light the lamps on all ten of the new candelabras on a regular basis [רלב"ג]. Conversely, another tradition suggests that the daily lighting was performed exclusively on the original Menorah of Moses. According to this view, the ten additional replicas were never actually lit, but were stationed around the original solely to enhance the majesty and glory of the sacred space [ביאור שטיינזלץ].