Boaz and Jachin
According to the Bible, Boaz (Hebrew: בֹּעַז Bōʿaz) and Jachin (יָכִין Yāḵīn) 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]
Description
In the Bible
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]
Josephus
According to the first-century Romano-Jewish scholar Josephus' book Antiquities of the Jews, Boaz (Hebrew בֹּעַז boʿaz "In him/it [is] strength") stood on the left on the portico of Solomon's Temple, while Jachin (Hebrew יָכִין yakin "He/it will establish") stood on the right, and the two were made by an Israelite craftsman named Hiram.[4]
Later references
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.[5] Similar pillars intended to represent Boaz and Jachin also exist in Würzburg Cathedral (Germany) and Dalby Church (Sweden).[6] Columns representing Boaz and Jachin can be found in most Masonic lodges and are emblematic of their use in Masonic ritual.[7] The pillars are part of a symbolic use of Solomon's Temple itself.[8]
Jakin, an incorporated town in the U.S. state of Georgia, takes its name from the pillar.[9]
Some variants of the Tarot card The High Priestess depict Boaz and Jachin.[10]
Gallery
Romanesque representation of one of the pillars in Dalby Church, Sweden, 11th century
Hiram the Architect, in Freemasonry known as Hiram Abiff, flanked by the pillars. Stained glass window, St John's Church, Chester, 20th century
The High Priestess or The Popess (II) in the Rider–Waite tarot deck
See also
References
- ^ See (1 Kings 7:15, 1 Kings 7:21; 2 Kings 11:14; 23:3).
- ^ R. B. Y. Scott (1939). "The Pillars Jachin and Boaz". Journal of Biblical Literature. 58 (2): 143–149. doi:10.2307/3259857. JSTOR 3259857.
- ^ "OzTorah » Blog Archive » Pillars of the Temple". www.oztorah.com. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
- ^ Josephus, Flavius (October 2001). The Antiquities of the Jews. Project Guternberg. Retrieved July 8, 2015. Book 8, Chapter 3, Paragraph 4.
- ^ Hamblin, William J. and Seeely, David Rolph, Solomon's Temple; Myth and History, Thames and Hudson, 2007, p. 109
- ^ Borgehammar, Stephan (2012). "Symboler i Dalby" [Symbols in Dalby]. In Borgehammar, Stephan; Wienberg, Jes (eds.). Locus celebris: Dalby kyrka, kloster och gård [Locus celebris: Dalby Church, monastery and estate] (in Swedish). Gothenburg: Makadam förlag / Lund University. pp. 77–79. ISBN 9789170611162.
- ^ "PS Review of Freemasonry". PS Review of Freemasonry. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
- ^ Moore, William D. (14 September 2018). Masonic Temples: Freemasonry, Ritual Architecture, and Masculine Archetypes. Univ. of Tennessee Press. p. 16–17. ISBN 9781572334960. Retrieved 14 September 2018 – via Google Books.
- ^ Resolution on Jakin centennial, Georgia House of Representatives Archived 2008-05-21 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Dean, Liz (15 May 2015). The Ultimate Guide to Tarot: A Beginner's Guide to the Cards, Spreads, and Revealing the Mystery of the Tarot. Fair Winds Press. p. 39. ISBN 9781592336579. Retrieved 13 September 2018 – via Google Books.
External links
- Treasury of Scripture Knowledge Definition
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