Hide one’s light under a bushel

Origin of: Hide one’s light under a bushel

Hide one’s light under a bushel

This saying is usually expressed in the negative form as in do not hide your light under a bushel and means do not be shy in displaying your full talents. Bushel here is the old word for a bush and not the measure. The source is Matthew 5:15, “Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.”