Candelabra of ADONAI
As identified in Exodus 37:17, the menorah, a lamp or seven lights, was made by B’tzal’el (Bezalel) for the Tabernacle in the time of Moshe (Moses). Later it was placed in the Temple between the ten menorahs made by Hiram for Shlomo’s (Solomon’s) Temple. (1 Kings 7:49)
The branches of the lamps had apertures in which the wicks were placed turned in toward the center. Likewise, the menorah was placed so that its two branches pointed toward the east and west respectively. A priest performed the cleaning and refilling of the lamps, excluding the two most easterly, every morning. If the priest found them extinguished, he would immediately rekindle the light. The two eastern lamps were left burning until after the morning service, and were then cleaned and refilled (Tamid 3:9; Yoma 33a). The Ner Elohim, Light of God (1 Sam 3:3), was left burning all day and was refilled in the evening. It served to light all the other lamps in the Most Holy Place.
Symbolically, the Temple menorah represented the creation of the universe in seven days, with the center light symbolizing the Sabbath. The seven branches are the seven continents of the earth and the seven heavens, guided by the light of God. The menorah reappears in Revelation, where Yochanan (John) learns its “secret meaning”: The seven branches “are the Messianic communities (Rev 1:20), the congregations addressed in the rest of the last book of the Bible.
Exodus 37:17 (CJB)
17 He made the menorah of pure gold. He made it of hammered work; its base, shaft, cups, rings of outer leaves and flowers were a single unit.