The term "pillar" refers to a large vertical structure that is used to hold up a roof or other part of a building. Another word for "pillar" is "column."
* When Samson in the Old Testament was captured by the Philistines, he destroyed their pagan temple by pushing the supporting pillars and causing the structure to collapse.
* Sometimes a pillar was used as a memorial to mark a grave or to mark the place where an important event happened.
* In Bible times, pillars used as support in buildings were normally carved from a single piece of stone.
* Often a memorial pillar was simply a large stone or boulder set up on its end.
* Sometimes the term "pillar" refers to an idol that was made to worship a false god. It is another name for a "carved image" and could be translated as "statue."
* A "pillar" can also refer to something shaped like a pillar, such as the "pillar of fire" that led the Israelites at night through the desert or the "pillar of salt" that Lot's wife became after she looked back at the city.
* Depending on the context, this term could also be translated as, "statue" or "stone support beam" or "monument."
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