"UPROXX" Style Masonry

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…

1. According to the Talmud and the sources listed below, upon the completion of the temple, King Solomon ordered all the craftsman killed so they would not be able to build another temple to any false God or build anything else in their lives with more splendor than what they had just completed. Hiram was not in fact killed, but called to Heaven, like Enoch. 

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. 

~RHJ

Bro. Robert Johnson, 32° is the Managing Editor of the Midnight Freemasons blog. He is a Freemason out of the First North-East District of Illinois. He is the Master of Waukegan Lodge No. 78 and Education officer for the 1st N.E. District of Illinois. He is also a member of the York Rite bodies Royal Arch, Cryptic Council, Knights Templar, AMD, The Illinois Lodge of Research and a member of the Scottish Rite Valley of Chicago as well as a charter member of the Society of King Solomon, a charity organization run by the Grand Lodge of Illinois. Brother Johnson currently produces and hosts weekly Podcasts (internet radio programs) Whence Came You? & Masonic Radio Theatre which focus on topics relating to Freemasonry. In addition, he produces video shorts focusing on driving interest in the Fraternity and writes original Masonic papers from time to time. He is also a cohost of The Masonic Roundtable, a Masonic talk show. He is a husband and father of three. He works full time in the safety industry and is also a photographer on the side as well as an avid home brewer. He is currently working on a book of Masonic essays.