Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 5:15

"Neither do [men] light a lamp, and put it under the bushel, but on the stand; and it shineth unto all that are in the house." — Matthew 5:15 (ASV)

Light a candle—The word translated as "candle" was likely a portable lamp rather than a candle in the common sense of the word. The lights of the seven-branched candlestick in the Temple were undoubtedly oil-fed lamps, and the "candles" of household use probably were as well. The word is not the same, however, as the one used for the "lamps" of the Wise and Foolish Virgins (Matthew 25:1). It was apparently applied to the cheaper vessels of the poor rather than to those of the wealthy. Wycliffe translates it as "lantern."

The image was drawn from objects familiar to all who were listening. The presence of the definite article in the Greek—"under the bushel," "on the lampstand"—implies this familiarity, as each cottage would have had such an item. The "bushel" was a Roman measure, nearly the same as an English peck.

It adds to the interest of the illustration to remember that since these items were commonly made of wood, articles like them must have often been produced in the carpenter’s shop at Nazareth for its neighbors.

It should also be remembered that the very same word had been applied a short time earlier by our Lord to John the Baptist (John 5:35). In this way, His disciples were to continue the Baptist’s work.