Scripture · Matthew 25:11-12
Matthew 25:8
The Ten Virgins
The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’
Women gather with lamps and oil vessels, some still lying down, while a raised lamp at the upper left trails smoke without a visible flame.
About the artwork
The group holds several stages of waking and preparation at once. A burning lamp and tall jug stand near the center, while the smoking lamp introduces the shortage that will divide the party. Millais makes the practical objects—the flame, vessel, and reserve of oil—carry the difference between readiness and alarm.
This Dalziel engraving appeared in Good Words in 1863. Millais also designed a separate Foolish Virgins for the later book, showing the closed door farther on in the story. The two images are related moments, not interchangeable titles for the same scene.
Featured in: John Everett Millais’s Bible Paintings: The Holy Family That Made Dickens Furious
What does Matthew 25:8 mean?
Matthew 25:8 records the request for oil after the bridegroom’s arrival is announced. All ten women have slept during the delay; the difference is that five brought an additional supply. The problem is readiness when the long-awaited event actually arrives.
The story proceeds to an urgent attempt to buy oil and then a shut door. This engraving remains at the earlier recognition of need. Its smoking lamp helps the reader see why the request matters, while the whole parable ends with the call to watch because the time is unknown.
Matthew 25:8 gives the smoking lamp its narrative importance: the delay has exposed a lack of preparation.
Sources
John Everett Millais’s Bible Paintings: The Holy Family That Made Dickens Furious. Artwork reading adapted from this guide.
Matthew 25 — Berean Standard Bible. Context for Matthew 25:8.
Also from Matthew:Marriage of the VirginThe Dream of Saint Joseph
Continue looking:Saints Augustine and MonicaSaint Monica in a Landscape