Hiram Abiff is an allegorical figure in Masonic ritual, referred to in Duncan's Masonic Monitor as "the Widow's Son",Duncan's Masonic Monitor found on www.sacred-texts.com who is figuratively the master of the construction of King Solomon's Temple.

According to the traditional history used in ritual Hiram Abif was murdered by three craftsmen working on the construction of the temple in an effort to elicit information from the Master Mason. Whatever the information or secret was, Abif did not reveal it to them before his death.

Hiram's corpse was hidden by the assailants, later being recovered by King Solomon and suitably interred.

Hiram in the Bible

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Hiram Abif does not specifically appear in the Bible, however two possible candidates for Hiram appear. It is clear from ritual that Hiram Abif is the craftsman, however this may be an allegorical tool:

• 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 a widow's son from Tyre, contracted by Solomon to cast the bronze furnishings for the new temple. From this text reference, Freemasons often refer to Hiram Abif as "the widow's son". Hiram lived or at least temporarilly worked in clay banks (1 Kings 7:46-47) along the Jabbok River, on the east bank of the Jordan River, near their confluence.

Hiram in Freemasonry

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Albert Mackey states that Hiram is a name given to the gavel of the Worshipful Master in Freemasonry.Mackey, Lexicon of Freemasonry; page 192 Abiff shows up in embellished versions of the Freemasonic ritual. An example of current ritual is the 1991 English Emulation Ritual.Emulation Ritual ISBN 085318187X pub 1991, London Masons and Revisionist historians, Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas, argue in their book The Hiram Key that Hiram Abiff was Theban pharaoh Tao II the Brave, with much speculation.

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.David Allen Hulse, (Book two: Western Mysteries) page cvii Hulse also states that a substitute word is now used, and serves as a password until the true lost word is recovered.

Notes

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References

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• 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 085318187X
• 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.

Freemasonry

Hiram Abif | Hiram Abif | Hiram Abif