According to the Bible, Boaz (Hebrew : בֹּעַז Bōʿaz) and Jachin (יָכִיןYāḵīn) were two copper, brass or bronze pillars which stood on the porch of Solomon's Temple, the first Temple in Jerusalem. [1] They are used as symbols in Freemasonry and sometimes in religious architecture. They were probably not support structures but free-standing, based on similar pillars found in other nearby temples. [2]
The pillars were nearly six feet (1.8 metres) thick and 27 feet (8.2 metres) tall. The eight-foot (2.4 metres) high brass chapiters, or capitals, on top of the pillars bore decorations, in brass, of lilies. The original measurement as taken from the Torah was in cubits, which records that the pillars were 18 cubits high and 12 cubits around, and hollow—four fingers thick. (Jeremiah 52:21–22). Nets of checkerwork covered the bowl of each chapiter, decorated with rows of 200 pomegranates, wreathed with seven chains for each chapiter, and topped with lilies (1 Kings 7:13–22, 41–42).
The pillars did not survive the destruction of the First Temple; Jeremiah 52:17 reports: "The Chaldeans broke up the bronze columns of the House of the Lord". II Kings 25:13 has a similar account. The pillars were carried away in pieces for ease of transportation. When the Second Temple was built, the pillars were not returned, and there exists no record of new pillars being constructed to replace them. [3]
According to rabbi Raymond Apple, "Jewish commentators on I Kings 7:21 maintain that it was when one stood inside the building and looked out toward the entrance in the east" that Jachin was on the right (to the south) and Boaz was on the left (to the north). [4]
According to the first-century Romano-Jewish scholar Josephus' book Antiquities of the Jews , Jachin (Hebrew יָכִין yakin "He/it will establish") stood on the right on the portico of Solomon's Temple, while Boaz (Hebrew בֹּעַז boʿaz "In him/it [is] strength") stood on the left, and the two were made by an Canaanite craftsman named Hiram. [5] An explanatory note by William Whiston on paragraph 6 of the same chapter, [6] explains this as agreeing with the opinion of the Jewish commentators. [4]
Carl Watzinger (1877-1948), a German archaeologist, assuming that the point of view was in the east looking toward the temple, reversed this traditional placement of the pillars in a drawing of the temple which has been used by subsequent sources including Encyclopaedia Judaica . Due to this, some recent sources place Jachin to the north and Boaz to the south, contrary to the older tradition. [4]
The Romanesque Church of Santa Maria Maggiore at Tuscania, Italy, has a recessed entrance flanked by a pair of free-standing stone columns intended to evoke Boaz and Jachin. [7] Similar pillars intended to represent Boaz and Jachin also exist in Würzburg Cathedral (Germany) and Dalby Church (Sweden). [8] Columns representing Boaz and Jachin can be found in most Masonic lodges and are emblematic of their use in Masonic ritual. [9] The pillars are part of a symbolic use of Solomon's Temple itself. [10]
Jakin, an incorporated town in the U.S. state of Georgia, takes its name from the pillar. [11]
Some variants of the Tarot card The High Priestess depict Boaz and Jachin. [12]
The Molten Sea or Brazen Sea was a large basin in the Temple in Jerusalem made by Solomon for ablution of the priests. It is described in 1 Kings 7:23–26 and 2 Chronicles 4:2–5. It stood in the south-eastern corner of the inner court. According to the Bible it was five cubits high, ten cubits in diameter from brim to brim, and thirty cubits in circumference. The brim was like the rim of a cup or like a lily blossom, and its thickness was a hand breadth", three or four inches. It was placed on the backs of twelve oxen, standing with their faces outward. It was capable of containing two or three thousand baths of water. The fact that it was a wash basin which was too large to enter from above lends to the idea that water would likely have flowed from it down into a subcontainer beneath. The water was originally supplied by the Gibeonites, but was afterwards brought by a conduit from Solomon's Pools. The molten sea was made of brass or bronze, which Solomon had taken from the captured cities of Hadarezer, the king of Zobah. Ahaz later removed this laver from the oxen, and placed it on a stone pavement. It was destroyed by the Chaldeans.
The High Priestess (II) is the second Major Arcana card in cartomantic Tarot decks. It is based on the 2nd trump of Tarot card packs. In the first Tarot pack with inscriptions, the 18th-century woodcut Tarot de Marseilles, this figure is crowned with the Papal tiara and labelled La Papesse, the Popess, a possible reference to the legend of Pope Joan.
Boaz is a biblical figure appearing in the Book of Ruth in the Hebrew Bible and in the genealogies of Jesus in the New Testament and also the name of a pillar in the portico of the historic Temple in Jerusalem. The word is found 24 times in the Scriptures, two being in Greek.
Cabul, classical spelling: Chabolo; Chabulon, is a location in the Lower Galilee mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, now the Kabul local council in Israel, 9 or 10 miles (16 km) east of Acco.
The Holy of Holies is a term in the Hebrew Bible that refers to the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle, where God's presence appeared. According to Hebrew tradition, the area was defined by four pillars that held up the veil of the covering, under which the Ark of the Covenant was held above the floor. According to the Hebrew scripture, the Ark contained the Ten Commandments, which were given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai. The Temple in Jerusalem was said to have been built by King Solomon for keeping the Ark.
Hiram Abiff is the central character of an allegory presented to all candidates during the third degree in Freemasonry.
The Hiram Key: Pharaohs, Freemasonry, and the Discovery of the Secret Scrolls of Jesus, is a 1996 book by Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas. The authors, both Freemasons, present a theory of the origins of Freemasonry as part of their "true story" of the historical Jesus and the original Jerusalem Church.
Solomon's Porch, Portico or Colonnade, was a colonnade or cloister, located on the eastern side of the Temple's Outer Court in Jerusalem, named after Solomon, King of Israel, and not to be confused with the Royal Stoa, which was on the southern side of Herod's Temple.
Boaz is a biblical figure in the Book of Ruth.
The Scottish Rite Cathedral in Indianapolis, Indiana is a historic building designed by architect George F. Schreiber and located in downtown Indianapolis. It is owned by the Valley of Indianapolis Scottish Rite, an affiliated body of Freemasonry. It was built between 1927 and 1929 at the cost of $2.5 million. The cathedral is one of the largest Masonic buildings in the world and the largest Scottish Rite building anywhere. It has been described as one of the finest examples of Neo-Gothic architecture in the United States.
Masonic ritual is the scripted words and actions that are spoken or performed during the degree work in a Masonic lodge. Masonic symbolism is that which is used to illustrate the principles which Freemasonry espouses. Masonic ritual has appeared in a number of contexts within literature including in "The Man Who Would Be King", by Rudyard Kipling, and War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy.
Dalby Church, sometimes also called the Church of the Holy Cross in Dalby is a church in Dalby, Lund Municipality in the Swedish province of Scania. It is one of the oldest churches in Sweden. When it was built Dalby was part of Denmark, and the church was commissioned by King Sweyn II of Denmark. It was constructed during the second half of the 11th century. For six years, it served as the seat of a bishop, before the diocese was merged with the Diocese of Lund nearby. The church was built with inspiration from Hildesheim Cathedral, and masons from Hildesheim appear to have worked on its construction site.
Replicas of the Jewish Temple are scale models or authentic buildings that attempt to replicate the Temple of Solomon, the Second Temple and Herod's Temple in Jerusalem.
The Level Club is a residential building on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City, located at 253 West 73rd Street. It was built as a men's club by a group of Freemasons in 1927; it served this original function for just about three years. Afterwards, the building was used, in turn, as a hotel and a drug re-hab center. It has now been remodeled as a condominium.
Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple, was a biblical Temple in Jerusalem believed to have existed between the 10th and 6th centuries BC. Its description is largely based on narratives in the Hebrew Bible, in which it was commissioned by biblical king Solomon before being destroyed during the Siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar II of the Neo-Babylonian Empire in 587 BCE. Although no remains of the temple have ever been found, most modern scholars agree that the First Temple existed on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem by the time of the Babylonian siege, though there is significant debate over the date of its construction and the identity of its builder.
The Royal Stoa was an ancient basilica constructed by Herod the Great during his renovation of the Temple Mount at the end of the first century BCE. Probably Herod's most magnificent secular construction, the three-aisled structure was described by Josephus as deserving "to be mentioned better than any other under the sun." A center of public and commercial activity, the Royal Stoa was the likely location of Jesus' cleansing of the Temple recounted in the New Testament. The Royal Stoa overlooked Jerusalem's residential and commercial quarters, and at its southwestern corner was the place from which a ram's horn was blown to announce the start of holy days.
Saint Edmund's Church is a redundant church building located on Clement Royds Street in the Falinge area of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England. Commissioned by Rochdale's local industrialist and Freemason Albert Royds, the construction of the building was completed to a high and rich specification in 1873, with an "enormous" cost of around £25,000. It is the only known church building in England so overtly dedicated to Masonic symbolism and is therefore unique within English architecture.
1 Kings 7 is the seventh chapter of the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible or the First Book of Kings in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is a compilation of various annals recording the acts of the kings of Israel and Judah by a Deuteronomic compiler in the seventh century BCE, with a supplement added in the sixth century BCE. This chapter belongs to the section focusing on the reign of Solomon over the unified kingdom of Judah and Israel. The focus of this chapter is the reign of Solomon, the king of Israel.
Dius was an ancient historian of Phoenicia.
... thus it follows, that the pillar Jakin, on the right hand of the temple was on the south, against our left hand; and Boaz on the north, against our right hand.
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