User:John Carter/Hiram Abiff

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Hiram Abiff is a character, who figures prominently in an allegorical[1] play that is presented during the third degree of Craft Freemasonry. In this play, Hiram is presented as being the chief architect of King Solomon's Temple, who is murdered by three ruffians during an unsuccessful attempt to force him to divulge the secret password of Master Mason.

Numerous scholars, both Masonic and non-Masonic, have speculated that the character may have been based upon one or more Hirams that appear in the Bible. For example, in the Masonic ritual Hiram is referred to as 'the Widow's Son', which is similar to a biblical referrence to a Hiram found in 1 Kings 7:13–14.

Contents

[edit] Legend of the Third Degree

In the right of initiation for the Master Mason degree of Freemasonry, in the part of the ritual known as the Legend of the Third Degree, the Masonic story of Hiram Abiff is related, with the new candidate playing the role of Hiram. In this story, three characters, King Solomon, Hiram I, King of Tyre and Hiram Abiff appear. In this version of the story, Hiram is not the brass worker mentioned in Scripture, but rather the Grand Master of the building of the Temple of Solomon. Some of those who work under him are Fellowcrafts, who are to be given the secrets of a Master Mason upon completion of the temple.

Fifteen of these Fellowcrafts decide that they will wait no longer, and they form a plot to acquire the secrets early. Only three of them actually carry it out, however. These three accost Hiram at successively the East, South, and West gates. Each time, the three demand the secrets of a Master Mason. Hiram explains that neither the time nor place is correct, and that the secrets can only be revealed in the presence of King Solomon and Hiram, King of Tyre. The Fellowcrafts then threaten Hiram's life if he does not reveal the secrets, and Hiram refuses, saying, "My life you can have, my integrity - never." The first two encounters end the same way, with the assailant striking Hiram with a working tool and Hiram staggering to the next gate. At the third encounter, the assailant hits Hiram in the head with a setting maul and kills him.

Although the assailants have not learned what they sought, they now have a body to dispose of. They bury Hiram's corpse in some rubble and plan to return at midnight to give the body a better burial. They return at midnight, and carry the body to a hill west of Mount Moriah, which has by some been identified with Golgotha, where they rebury Hiram.

When Hiram cannot be found the next morning, a search for him is begun. The Fellowcrafts who planned, but did not take part, in the plot relate the plan. Ultimately, a grave is found, with Hiram's corpse in it. At this point, he had been buried for 15 days. King Solomon gives orders that the body be raised using the Grip of the Entered Apprentice and then the Grip of the Fellowcraft. Neither proves successful. Solomon states that he fears with the death of Hiram, the word of a Master Mason has been lost. He then orders that the first word spoken after Hiram is taken from the grave will be the substitute of the lost word, until it can be recovered. Solomon then raised Hiram from "a dead level to a living perpendicular" using the grip of a Master Mason, also referred to as the Lion's Paw. He embraces Hiram in the ritual manner, ultimately whispering the substitute for the lost word in Hiram's ear. In this way, the candidate, playing the role of Hiram, learns the new word.

[edit] Hirams in the Bible

Whether Hiram Abiff was or was not a real person has been stated to be irrelevant to the substance of the story itself. As A. E. Waite states in the New Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, "The legend of the Master-Builder [Hiram Abiff] is the great allegory of Masonry. It happens that his figurative story is grounded on the fact of a personality mentioned in Holy Scripture, but this historical background is of the accidents and not the essence; the significance is in the allegory and not in any point of history which may lie behind it."

The name "Hiram Abiff", or obvious variations thereto, does not appear in the Bible. There are however references to three people named Hiram that have in one way or another been linked to the allegory:

  • Hiram, King of Tyre, is credited in 2 Samuel 5:11 and 1 Kings 5:1-10 for having sent building materials and men for the original construction of the Temple in Jerusalem. This biblical Hiram is clearly not the inspiration for the Masonic Hiram Abiff, as the Masonic drama has a separate character named "Hiram, King of Tyre".
  • Hiram (KJV spells it Huram), a craftsman of great skill sent from Tyre. 2 Chronicles 2:13-14 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 "And now I have sent a skillful man, endowed with understanding, Huram my master craftsman (the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre), skilled to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, purple and blue, fine linen and crimson, and to make any engraving and to accomplish any plan which may be given to him, with your skillful men and with the skillful men of my lord David your father."[2] He has been linked to the Hiram of the ritual one the basis of being a master craftsman who worked on the Temple of Solomon.
  • In 1 Kings 7:13–14, Hiram is described as the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali who was the son of a Tyrian bronze worker, contracted by Solomon to cast the bronze furnishings and ornate decorations for the new temple. From this reference, Freemasons often refer to Hiram (with the added Abiff) as "the widow's son". Hiram lived or at least temporarily worked in clay banks (1 Kings 7:46-47) in the plain of the Jordan between Succoth and Zarthan.

Note that the older translation "Hiram my master craftsman" is now suspect.[citation needed] The problem centres on how the word "abi" is translated, for it can mean "father", "master [craftsman]" or simply be a family name. Peake's Commentary on the Bible, referring to Chronicles II-13, simply states "Huram-abi: RSV correctly reads this as the full name", and the ESV (English Standard Version) gives the same translation "Huram-Abi" rather than "Huram my master...".

[edit] Additional legends

Some have indicated that the "Abdemon" mentioned by Josephus who assisted Hiram I in solving riddles posed him by Solomon was in fact Hiram Abiff.

In the book The Secret Societies of All Ages and Countries, Charles William Heckethorn relates a different version of the story.

Hiram Abiff is described as being a descendant of Tubal-Cain, who worked in the construction of the Temple of Solomon and several other structures. On the visit of the Queen of Sheba (here named Balkis), Solomon showed her the Temple. Balkis was very impressed, and repeatedly asked to see the architect. Solomon repeatedly delayed the introduction, but was ultimately forced to introduce them. On being introduced to all the workmen, Hiram leapt to a stone to increase his visibility and drew a Tau symbol in the air, after which all the workers in sight assembled around him. Balkis was very impressed, and fell in love with Hiram. Solomon, seeing this, set to destroy the affection and humiliate and ruin Hiram. Solomon collected three Fellowcrafts who envied Hiram because of his refusal to promote them to Master level, named Jubela, Jubelo, and Jubelum. They conspired to ensure that Hiram's upcoming casting of a brazen sea would prove to be a failure. On the day of the event, with Balkis in attendance, the molten metal was released, but flowed outside the mold that had been prepated. The crowd ran off, while Hiram tried to stop the flow of metal with water, without success.

Hiram was himself rescued by his ancestor Tubal-Cain, who drew Hiram into the furnace from which the metal was released, to meet Cain, their ancestor. On returning Hiram to the outside world, Tubal-Cain gave him a hammer with which he could finish the task of casting the brazen sea. Hiram used the hammer to cast the metal, and the next morning the bronze was cast. Balkis exulted at the sight.

Later, Balkis and her maids left Jerusalem, to find Hiram thinking alone. They professed their love for each other. Upon hearing of this, Solomon hinted to his three chosen Fellowcrafts that he would have no objections to the death of Hiram. Upon Hiram's subsequently entering the Temple, they killed him, carried it to a hill and burying it, planting a sprig of acacia over the grove.

After seven days, Solomon was forced to order Hiram searched for by the clamor of the people. Three Masters found the body, and, suspecting the involvement of the three assailants, determined to change the word that Hiram had. When the three assailants were found, they committed suicide and their heads were subsequently brought to Solomon.

The author himself clearly states that the entire story is unsupported by any historical evidence and that there is no reason to believe it is not a total fabrication. However, it is not entirely clear that the story as related above necessarily existed whole from the beginning, or may have itself been developed subsequently, or that any later additions are themselves the work of Freemasons. His version of the story does not match any of the authorized published versions of Masonic ritual, nor that of any other unauthorized exposé.[citation needed]

Others have indicated that Hiram may have been a member of the cult of Dionysian Artificers. Another legend indicates that before construction on the Temple began, Hiram won a contest sponsored by Solomon for the best design proposed by the workmen.

There is an account from Islam which indicates that Hiram had his word inscribed on a jewel on a chain around his neck. When he was attacked, he threw the jewel down a well. This legend provides a version of the recovery of Hiram's word.

A legend from rabbinical lore indicates that Hiram, with all the other workmen, escaped execution by Solomon upon the completion of the Temple by being taken up into Heaven in the same way as Enoch and Elijah.

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] Interpretations

It is explained in the lecture that follows this play that the story is a lesson in fidelity to one's word, and in the brevity of life. Other interpretations of the legend put forward by Masonic writers include seeing it as a reference to:

  • the expulsion of Mankind from the Garden of Eden,
  • Cain and Abel,
  • Noah and the Ark,
  • Joseph mourning Jacob,
  • the death and resurrection of Jesus,
  • the murder of Thomas Becket,
  • the destruction of the Knights Templar,
  • the oppression of the British people by the Stuarts,
  • oppression of Stuart pretenders to the throne
  • the expulsion of James II,
  • the spiritual regeneration of man, nature, or both,
  • immortality of the soul, body, or both,
  • separation of mankind from God, and subsequent return,
  • a story of what happens to people as they age
  • a story found in many cultures of the loss of an important thing as a result of evil which is later found and helps society.

It has also been pointed out that the story of Hiram Abiff bears strong parallels to a number of death and rebirth stories, including those of Jesus, Adonis, Osiris, Persephone, and other Life-death-rebirth deities. The parallels have led some, generally non-Masons, to speculate that the story related in the Legened of the Third Degree may have initially ended with Hiram being revived from the dead, although there is no known evidence for any such version of the story.

[edit] Other uses of the name Hiram in Freemasonry

Albert Mackey states that Hiram is also a name given to the gavel of the Worshipful Master.[3]. Also, the Lodge of Master Masons in California has designated the highest honor it can give one of its members as the "Hiram Award", after Hiram Abiff.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Emulation Lodge Of Improvement (2007). Emulation Ritual. London: Lewis Masonic. ISBN 0-8531-8244-2. 
  2. ^ 2 Chronicles 2:13-14, New King James Version - From BibleGateway.com
  3. ^ MacKey, Albert G. (1993). Lexicon of Freemasonry. Kessinger Publishing, 192. ISBN 1-5645-9463-7. 

[edit] References