Temple of Solomon Pt 1. by William Stark [Mt. Hermon No. 7] Reprinted CANMAS 4 th October, 2006. BEFORE considering the construction and wonder of the Temple itself and of the group of buildings of which it formed a part, let us briefly consider the original progenitor and its founder and builder. During the long, and in spots tempestuous, reign of King David, (who, by the way, was the son of Jesse and the youngest son of ten), it had always been the cherished wish of that monarch to erect a Temple to Jehovah, (or, rather, Jahweh), to replace the Tabernacle by a more permanent building, and, in a measure, to atone for the waging of many wars, the spilling of much blood, and other depredations which had occurred in consolidating his kingdom. Therefore, towards the close of his long reign and after his kingdom was tranquil and all his enemies overthrown, he determined to prepare for the erection of the Temple and the other buildings so urgently required for the proper conducting of the affairs of the kingdom. He accordingly numbered the workmen found in his kingdom; selected the hewers of stone and the bearers of burdens; appointed the overseers of the work; prepared a great quantity of brass, iron and other metals, and cedar and other timber, and amassed an immense treasure with which to support and carry out the work. But before commencing he consulted the prophet, Nathan, (who might be termed his 'Father Confessor and spiritual guide), and that holy man told him that although his pious intention was pleasing to God, yet he would not be permitted to carry it into execution. The divine prohibition was proclaimed in these emphatic words: "Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars; thou shalt not build a house unto My name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in My sight." The great task was therefore reserved far the mare peaceful Solomon, his son and success or Hence, when David was about to die he charged Solomon to build the Temple of God and the other buildings as soon as he should have received the kingdom. He also gave him instructions in relation to the construction of the buildings, and put into his possession the money (amounting to ten thousands talents of gold and ten times that amount of silver) which he had collected and laid aside for defraying the expenses. This immense treasure totalled between two and three billions of dollars, computed in our present day currency. It might be mentioned here that King David is not alluded to in the legends or symbolism of Masonry, except incidentally as the father of Solomon. Solomon (the name means "the peaceful one") ascended the throne of Israel 1015, B. C. He was the son of David's old age, the fourth and last of all his sons. Josephus says of him that he was "a powerful sorcerer, but had no military taste or talent," and further that "it was not his cruelty but his clemency which was exceptional." When he ascended the throne he was only twenty years of age. He commenced his reign with the decision of a legal question of some difficulty, and the way in which he arrived at the truth immediately made him famous and has greatly helped to maintain his reputation for
wisdom ever since. It showed an instinctive insight into the workings of the human heart very remarkable in so young a man, a keenness of practical discernment of a kind invaluable in one whose chief duty was to act as the supreme judge in all disputed cases throughout Israel. As we read in Holy Writ: "All Israel heard of it, and feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to do judgment." Solomon had scarcely ascended the throne when he prepared to carry out the pious designs of his father. For this purpose, however, he found it necessary to seek the assistance of Hiram, King of Tyre, the ancient friend and ally of his father. The Tyrians, Sidonians and Phoenicians, the subjects of King Hiram, had long been distinguished for their great architectural skill. In fact many of them, as the members of a mystic operative society, the fraternity of Dionesyian artificers, had long monopolized the profession of building in Asia Minor. By the way, the invention of letters is attributed to the Phoenicians and also the manufacture of glass. The Jews, on the contrary, were rather more eminent for their military valor than for their knowledge of the arts of peace, and King Solomon at once perceived the necessity of invoking the aid of foreign "architects if he expected to complete the Temple and other buildings he was about to erect in reasonable time and with the splendor and magnificence the sacred object deserved. For this purpose he addressed the following letter to King Hiram: "Know thou that my father would have built a Temple to God but was hindered by wars and continual expeditions, for he did not leave off to overthrow his enemies until he had made them all subject to tribute. But I give thanks to God for the peace I at present enjoy, and on that account I am at leisure and desire to build a house to God, for God foretold to my father that such a house should be built by me; wherefore I desire thee to send some of thy subjects with mine to Mount Lebanon, to cut down timber, for the Sidonians are more skillful than our people in the cutting of wood. I will pay whatever price thou shalt determine." King Hiram, mindful of the former amity and alliance that had existed between himself and David, was disposed to extend the friendship he had felt for the father to the son. He replied, therefore, to the letter of Solomon as follows: "It is fit to bless God that he hath committed thy father's government to thee, who art a wise man endowed with all virtues. As for myself I rejoice at the condition thou art in, and will be subservient to thee in all that thou sendest to me about; for when by my subjects I have cut down many large trees of cedar and cypress wood, I will send them to sea and will order my subjects to make floats of them and to sail to what places soever of thy country thou shalt desire, after which thy subjects may carry them to Jerusalem. But do thou take care to procure us corn for this timber which we stand in need of because we inhabit an island." Hiram lost no time in fulfilling this promise of assistance, and accordingly we are informed that he sent to the forests of Lebanon a total of 35,221 workmen to prepare the timbers required for the work. These workmen were divided up as follows:
3 Super Excellent Masters 24 Excellent Masters 4 Grand Architects 8 Architects 1,188 Master Masons 300 Mark Masters 600 Markmen 23,100 Fellowcrafts 10,000 Entered Apprentices To the quarries of Tyre were sent a total of 58,454 masons, made up as follows: 6 Super Excellent Masters 48 Excellent Masters 8 Grand Architects 16 Architects 2,376 Master Masons 700 Mark Masters 1,400 Markmen 53,900 Fellowcrafts After three years had been occupied in "hewing, squaring and numbering" the stones, and in "felling and preparing the timbers," these two bodies of masons from the forests and the quarries united for the purpose of properly arranging and fitting the materials so that no metallic tool might be required in putting them up. The materials were then carried to Jerusalem. Here the whole body was congregated under the superintending care of Hiram Abif. This most able architect and worker in brass was sent by Hiram, King of Tyre, to Solomon - a far more important gift than either men or materials, one whose skill and experience in
superintending the labors of the craft and in adorning and beautifying the building was unexcelled. He is mentioned in Holy Writ as a "curious and cunning workman." To the hosts of workmen assembled were now added 420 lodges of Tyrian and Sidonian fellowcrafts, having 80 in each, and the 20,000 entered apprentices of the levy from Israel, who had heretofore been at rest. These latter were added to the lodges of their degree, making them now consist of 300 in each, so that the whole number engaged in the construction at Jerusalem totalled 217,281 men. And now to pass to the construction and wonders of the Temple itself. It should be remembered that the Temple and its surrounding courts were only the highest part of a complex of edifices and courts within a greater court surrounded by a high, strong and massive wall. It must further be remembered that the Temple was built only as a part of the royal houses and the government offices. It is necessary, in order to have a clearer conception of the Temple itself, to consider briefly the other buildings of the group. To the south of the Temple court, and separated from it by a wall with one entry only, lay a second inner court, called the middle court, containing the King's house (or palace) and the house of the Daughter of Pharaoh. The rest of the group of buildings - the Hall of Justice, or the Throne Hall, the Pillared Hall, or Hall of Pillars, the House of the Forest of Lebanon, and some minor structures - lay on the other side of the King's palace from the Temple proper. The construction of all these buildings, with their various individual courts, the great court encompassing the whole, as well as the great all-surrounding wall, was started at practically the same time although they were not completed at one time. For instance, the Temple proper was completed, as we know, in a little over seven years, whereas the King's palace took upwards of thirteen years to complete, and the others some more and some less. The fact that the construction of all was carried on at the same time accounts for the immense number of workmen employed and the large amount of treasure spent on the work as a whole; for it can be easily surmised from the comparatively small size of the Temple proper that it could not have taken the work of such a large force of men over a period of more than seven years to erect it, especially when it is remembered that the material was already prepared. Before proceeding to any consideration of the other buildings, let us first take up the one in which we are most interested, the Temple itself. King Solomon laid the foundation stone and commenced erection of the Temple in the fourth year of his reign, on Monday, the second day or - the second Month - the Hebrew month Zif which answers to the twenty-first day of April - four hundred and eighty years after the departure of the children of Israel from Egypt and 1012, B. C., or, as some historians have it, 1111, B. C. Advised in all the details, as Masonic tradition informs us, by the wise and prudent counsels of Hiram, King of Tyre, and Hiram Abif, who, with himself, constituted at that time the Grand Masters of the Craft. Solomon made every arrangement in the disposition
and government of the workmen, in the payment of their wages, and in the maintenance of concord and harmony which should insure success. To Hiram Abif was entrusted the general superintendence of the Temple building, while subordinate stations were assigned to other eminent artists whose names and offices have been handed down in the traditions of the Craft. In short, the utmost perfection of human wisdom was displayed by Solomon in the disposition of everything that related to the construction. Men of the most comprehensive minds, imbued with the greatest share of zeal and fervency and inspired with the strongest fidelity to his interests, were employed as masters to instruct and superintend the workmen, while those who labored in inferior stations were excited to enthusiasm by the promise of promotion and reward. The Temple was at length finished in the month Bul, answering to our November, in the year 1004, B. C., being a little more than seven years since its commencement. This was the year of the world 3000, according to the Hebrew chronology, and although there has been much difference of opinion among chronologists in relation to the precise date, this is the one that has been generally accepted, and it is therefore adopted by Masons in their calculations of different Masonic epochs. (to be continued) Authorities consulted: The Old Testament; the writings of Josephus; "Ancient Jerusalem," by Selah Merrill; "Jerusalem," by George Adam Smith, "Encyclopoedia of Freemasonry," by A. G. Mackey; "Dictionary of the Bible," by Dr. William Smith, &c. -The Square, Vancouver, January, 1922