Hiram Abiff

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hiram Abiff is an allegorical figure mentioned in Masonic ritual, referred to in Duncan's Masonic Monitor as "the Widow's Son",^[1] who is figuratively the master of the construction of King Solomon's Temple.

According to this allegory, Hiram Abiff was murdered by three craftsmen working on the construction of the Temple in an effort to elicit information from him. Whatever the information or secret was, Hiram Abiff remained true to his promises and did not reveal it to them before he was slain. Hiram's corpse was hidden by the assailants, later being recovered by King Solomon and suitably interred.^{[citation needed]}

Contents 1 Hirams in the Bible 2 Hiram in Freemasonry 2.1 The lost word 3 Notes 4 References

[edit] Hirams in the Bible

The name "Hiram Abiff" does not appear as such in the Bible, but there are three references to people named Hiram that are present:

• Hiram, King of Tyre, is credited in 2 Samuel 5:11 for having sent building materials and men for the original construction of the Temple in Jerusalem.

• Hiram, a craftsman of great skill sent from Tyre. Second Chronicles 2:13 relates a formal request from King Solomon of Jerusalem to King Hiram I of Tyre, for workers and for materials to build a new temple; King Hiram responds "I am sending you Huram-Abi, a man of great skill, whose mother was from Dan and whose father was from Tyre. He is trained to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood and with purple, blue and crimson yarn and fine linen. He is experienced in all kinds of engraving and can execute any design given to him. He will work with your craftsmen and with those of my lord, David your father."

• In 1 Kings 7:13–14, Hiram is described as the son of a widow of a Tyrian citizen, contracted by Solomon to cast the bronze furnishings for the new temple. From this reference, Freemasons often refer to Hiram Abiff as "the widow's son". Hiram lived or at least temporarily worked in clay banks (1 Kings 7:46-47) along the Jabbok River, on the east bank of the Jordan River, near their confluence.

[edit] Hiram in Freemasonry

Albert Mackey states that Hiram is a name given to the gavel of the Worshipful Master in Freemasonry.^[2] Abiff shows up in embellished versions of the Freemasonic ritual. It is clear from ritual that Hiram Abiff is the craftsman and not the king, but this may be an allegorical tool. An example of current ritual is the 1991 English Emulation Ritual.^[3] Masons and Revisionist historians, Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas, argue (very speculatively) in their book The Hiram Key that Hiram Abiff was the Theban pharaoh Tao II the Brave.

[edit] The lost word

According to the author David Allen Hulse, in Masonic lore, the lost word is in the rituals of the third degree concerning the assassination of Hiram, King Solomon's chief architect, and after the murder his body is found and is raised from the grave by uttering this lost word.^[4] Hulse also states that a substitute word is now used, and serves as a password until the true lost word is recovered.^[4]

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Bradford University, example of the Third degree illustrating the Hiram Myth
• deHoyos, Arturo and Morris, Brent S. - Freemasonry in Context: History, Ritual, Controversy - Lexington Books; Lanham, MD; 2004
• Duncan, Malolm C. - Duncan's Masonic Ritual and Monitor, Third Edition - Dick & Fitzgerald pub.; New York, NY; 1866 (as found on www.Sacred-Texts.com)
• Emulation Ritua1 - Lewis Masonic; London, 1991 - ISBN 0-85318-187-X
• Hulse, David Allen - Key of it All (Book two: Western Mysteries) - Llewellyn Publications, (date?) - ISBN 1-56718-429-4
• Mackey, Albert Gallatin - A Lexicon of Freemasonry - Charleston (South Carolina), 1845.