by Midnight Freemason Contributor
WB. Robert H. Johnson
In the tradition of social media articles that appear in our news feeds, those sensational pieces with tag lines like “10 things you didn't know George Lucas said about Harrison Ford”, send our fingers racing to tap the story and read something mind blowing. I thought it was time to give the Midnight Freemasons one of these articles. Below you'll find three things that will blow your mind about Freemasonry and the legends attached to the craft. And for you scholars out there, I’ll even give you references ;) Get ready…
Reference : Jewish Encyclopedia - Art - Freemasonry; New Age Magazine Vol 22-23 : Supreme Council, 33; Ancient and Accepted Scottish rite of Freemasonry, Southern jurisdiction, U.S. A., 1915
2. The North in the lodge is a place of darkness, but not because of the light being unable to reach it. During the early inspection of the temple, Hiram is inspecting the North Gate construction, he is in a state of carelessness due to some personal matters. In his folly, he dislodges a stone and the stone falls. The stone strikes a worker named Cavelum who is kin to King Solomon. Cavelum is killed. Hiram, fraught with grief orders the North Gate sealed up and to be a place of mourning and grief. Now ask yourself these two questions; 1. Is a place of grief and sadness also a place of "darkness"? And 2, If Hiram had not walled up the North Gate, would he have survived his encounter? Does this mean that in a round about way, Hiram was his own assassin due to his carelessness?
References : Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, Albert G. Mackey,
Rev. Hawkins and Hughan
3. The Queen of Sheba and Hiram Abiff's forbidden love. According to some lore, Hiram Abiff is killed not by ruffians, but by hired assassins hired by none other than King Solomon. In this story and there a few different versions. When The Queen of Sheba comes to visit Solomon for whatever reason, take your pick, she demands to meet the architect of the temple. When she finally meets Hiram Abiff, they fall in love at sight and King Solomon can see this is very apparent. In order to “fix the situation", King Solomon hires three Fellowcrafts to "take care" of Hiram Abiff. One night while Hiram and the Queen are trying to steal away, he is attacked. He throws his jewel into a pit and tries to escape but not before meeting his untimely end.
References : Solomon and Sheba. Faye Levine. Richard Marek Publishers, New York, 1980; Colliers Encyclopedia; Encyclopedia Americana; Great People of the Bible and How They Lived. Reader’s Digest Assoc., Inc. Pleasantville, NY, 1979; Deceptions and Myths of the Bible; International standard Bible Encyclopedia; The Geography of the Bible. Denis Ably. Harper and Rowe, New York 1974; King Solomon. Fredric Thinne. East and West Library, New York, 1947; The Secret Societies of All Ages and Countries. Charles William Heckthorn; The First Book of Kings. J. Robinson. Cambridge at the University Press 1972 ; Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version; The story of the Queen of Sheba is recorded in the Old Testament in I Kings 10:1-13; a similar version also appears in II Chronicles 9:1-12. Other references to the Queen of Sheba are: Psalms lxxii, 15, and in the New Testament, Matthew 12:42 and Luke 11:31; The Queen of Sheba and Her Only Son Menyelek: the Kebra Nagast. Budge, Sir Ernest A. Wallis, translator. Oxford University Press, London, 1932; Solomon and Solomonic Literature. Conway, Moncure Daniel. Haskell House, NY, 1973, pp.59-65 ; All of the Women of the Bible. Dean, Edith. Harper and Row, San Francisco, 1955; The Lore of the Old Testament. Gaer, Joseph. Little-Brown, Boston, 1951, pp. 242-44; Legends of the Bible. Ginzberg, Louis. Simon and Schuster, NY, 1956, pp. 560-64
All info is pulled from the source Old Legends of Hiram Abiff - A short Talk Bulletin and is compiled here for the reader.
All info is pulled from the source Old Legends of Hiram Abiff - A short Talk Bulletin and is compiled here for the reader.
~RHJ
Copying legends of Hiram Abif from another source eg Masonic World is non-masonic. There are no TALMUDIC references to the killing of the workers - if so please delineate clearly. Such a killing would have seiouslyangered King of Tyre who sent most of his people to do the work. There is a rabbinic legend acc to Joseph Fort Newton WITH NO SERIOuS REFERENCE [as it comes under the heading of FM] but isqualified by the word ABSURD!!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, there is nothing copied. That source was read in it's entirety, and compiled for the reader. It was sourced as well. Second, the sources for these are what had been listed in the full text, and so I would suggest to you, if you have an issue with the Talmud used as a reference, I might get in contact with the original author, perhaps through the MSA who publishes the Short Talk Bulletins. Calling me "unmasonic" is a cheap shot. Thanks for reading the article, even though you feel it was "absurd". I appreciate your zeal and even your misanthropic attitude, but perhaps it is misdirected.
ReplyDeleteIt is clear that you did not read the reference re Ginsburg and thus repeat a misnomer. It reads as follows:
ReplyDeleteAccording to the measure of the zeal displayed by Solomon were the help and favor shown him by God. During the seven years it took to build the Temple, not a single workman died who was employed about it, nor even did a single one fall sick. And as the workmen were sound and robust from first to last, so the perfection of their tools remained unimpaired until the building stood complete. Thus the work suffered no sort of interruption.
After the dedication of the Temple, however, the workmen died off, lest they build similar structures for the heathen and their gods. Their wages they were to receive from God in the world to come, and the master workman, Hiram, was rewarded by being permitted to reach Paradise alive.
Your quote, taken from another source, was a continuation of an antiSemitic twist to the legend. Solomon did not kill any workmen.
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/6335-freemasonry
ReplyDeleteMr. Barrett, thank you for you comment, and thank you for you opinion. I believe the sources of this article were previously cited. If you have a problem with the facts, take it up with the original source as it was previously suggested. You're more than welcome to comment in the future, but if you do so, I would appreciate you demonstrate a higher level of civility and respect. There was no reason to strike that tone, and your points may have been better received if you'd framed them as an argument rather than an attack. If you can't be polite, I'll block your ability to comment on here at all. There is no excuse for bad behavior. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThe article posted was a breath of fresh air. Thank you for providing an alternative explanation of some of the events during the building of the temple. The Hiramic legend is not meant to be taken as factual but merely used as a tool for teaching the brother the lessons of integrity and the mortality of man.
ReplyDeleteTotally enjoyed it. I will be s hiring with the craft.