{
  "id": "dict_004505",
  "term": "Pole",
  "slug": "pole",
  "letter": "P",
  "entry_type": "biblical_object",
  "entry_family": "theological_term",
  "depth_profile": "standard",
  "short_definition": "A pole is an upright shaft or carrying bar mentioned in Scripture, used for transporting sacred objects or lifting an object into view.",
  "simple_one_line": "A common wooden shaft or carrying bar used in biblical settings.",
  "tooltip_text": "An ordinary object in Scripture, often used for carrying or displaying something.",
  "aliases": [],
  "scripture_references": [],
  "original_language_terms": [],
  "related_entries": [
    "Bronze Serpent",
    "Tabernacle",
    "Ark of the Covenant",
    "altar",
    "staff",
    "serpent"
  ],
  "see_also": [
    "Numbers 21",
    "Exodus 25",
    "Exodus 27",
    "2 Kings 18:4"
  ],
  "lede_intro": "In the Bible, a pole is an ordinary wooden shaft or carrying bar used in practical and symbolic ways. Its significance comes from the context in which it appears, especially in relation to sacred furniture and the bronze serpent.",
  "at_a_glance_definition": "An upright shaft or bar used in Scripture to carry, support, or display an object.",
  "at_a_glance_key_points": [
    "Used for carrying sacred items in the tabernacle",
    "appears in the bronze serpent account",
    "it is an object of context, not a doctrine in itself."
  ],
  "description_academic_short": "In Scripture, a pole can refer to a carrying bar for sacred furniture, a staff used in construction or transport, or an upright shaft on which something is raised, such as the bronze serpent. Because the term names an ordinary object with several uses, it is best treated as a Bible-object entry rather than a theological concept.",
  "description_academic_full": "In Scripture, a pole is an ordinary wooden shaft or staff used in several practical and symbolic settings. Poles were used to carry items such as the ark and altar according to the Lord’s instructions, and the bronze serpent was set on a pole so that afflicted Israelites could look and live. The term itself does not name a distinct doctrine; its meaning depends on context. As a Bible-object entry, it functions as a cross-reference to passages where poles are used in worship, transport, or visible display.",
  "background_biblical_context": "The Old Testament uses poles in connection with the tabernacle furnishings, where carrying poles were attached to certain holy objects so they could be transported without being touched directly. Another well-known use appears when Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole, so that those who looked at it in faith were healed.",
  "background_historical_context": "In the ancient world, poles and staffs were common tools for carrying loads, raising objects, and marking visibility. In Israel’s worship, however, even such ordinary items could be placed under divine instruction and made part of holy use.",
  "background_jewish_ancient_context": "Ancient Israelite worship distinguished between common objects and objects set apart for sacred service. Carrying poles for holy furnishings reflected reverence for the holiness of God and the careful ordering of the tabernacle.",
  "key_texts_primary": [
    "Exod. 25:13-15",
    "Exod. 27:4-7",
    "Num. 21:8-9"
  ],
  "key_texts_secondary": [
    "2 Kings 18:4"
  ],
  "original_language_note": "The English term pole translates ordinary Hebrew terms for a staff, shaft, or carrying bar, with the exact sense determined by context.",
  "theological_significance": "A pole itself is not a doctrine, but it can illustrate obedience to God’s instructions, reverence for holiness, and the role of God-appointed signs in redemptive history. In Numbers 21, the pole with the bronze serpent functioned as a visible means by which God directed faith toward his saving provision.",
  "philosophical_explanation": "This entry concerns a concrete object, not an abstract idea. Its meaning is contextual rather than conceptual: the same kind of object can serve ordinary labor, sacred transport, or symbolic display depending on how Scripture uses it.",
  "interpretive_cautions": "Do not turn the pole into a mystical symbol on its own. The bronze serpent account must be read in its historical setting, and later theological application should remain secondary to the text’s original meaning.",
  "major_views_note": "Readers sometimes connect the bronze serpent lifted on a pole with later references to Christ being lifted up, but that theological connection should be made only where the text itself supports it and not pressed beyond the passage.",
  "doctrinal_boundaries": "This entry should not be used to build doctrine from the object itself. The theological weight lies in the biblical context, God’s command, and the response of faith, not in the pole as an object.",
  "practical_significance": "This entry helps readers identify a common biblical object and understand why it matters in passages about sacred transport, obedience, and God’s provision of healing.",
  "meta_description": "Pole in the Bible: a carrying bar or upright shaft used in sacred transport and in the bronze serpent account.",
  "public_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/pole/",
  "json_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/data/dictionary/pole.json",
  "final_disposition": "PUBLISH_CANONICAL"
}