Page 41 - MML - Journal - Centenary Edition - Vol. 01 / 2023

in Hebrew and the second is a proper name occurring in the Old Testament. According to some scholars the latter was adopted because it was the only word occurring in the Authorised Version of the Bible resembling the original word: whether this was done by the Ancients or by the Modems there is no evidence to show.
Now in the ritual we are given the words and their "meanings", and since neither as it stands can have the meaning given it follows that either a word having that meaning has become corrupt, or that a wrong meaning has been given to the word; in the latter case also there is no guarantee that the original word has not been distorted. It has been seen that spurious meanings are given in our ritual to some Masonic words. Therefore, as per one school of thought, in the present instance the same process has most probably occurred and that the real meaning is different from that given in the ritual. Obviously in such a matter and under such circumstances no dogmatic statement can be made, but it may be mentioned that Hebrew words meaning "the son is dead" and "Alas, my (or the) son is dead." have very nearly the same sound as the M.M's. words, and further that two tenses of an Arabic verb identical with these two words mean, literally, "not dying" and "we did not die" respectively. Any of these meanings would be singularly apposite, the first relating to the prototypes of Hiram Abif (The Widow's Son) mourned by the mother (Isis, Ishtar, etc.), and the others to the subject of the Degree.
"Caught hold of a shrub ... which ... came easily out of the ground":
It seems probable that the compilers of the modern ritual took this incident from the Aeneid, where Aeneas discovers the body of the murdered Polydorus by accidentally plucking up a shrub that was near him on the side of a hill. The two accounts are too much alike for mere coincidence, especially when
we find that in some rituals (e.g., that of the Scotch Constitution) the body of Hiram Abif is said to have been found on the slopes of Mount Moriah. It is possible, however, that the resemblance is due to a common origin.
Acacia:
The importance which even apparently insignificant details in the ritual may possess as landmarks is well illustrated in the "sprig" of Acacia. This tree was in ancient Egypt peculiarly associated with the soul, and with Osiris as God of the Resurrection; according to the most ancient accounts it was an Acacia which grew up and enclosed his coffin - more modern accounts state that it was either a tamarisk or a sycamore. In the Egyptian “Tale of the Two Brothers:”, the hero deposited his soul in an Acacia, and so intimately was his fate bound up in it that he fell dead when it was cut down and came to life again when one of its seeds was thrown into water.
It may be mentioned, also, that the sacred character of this tree is not by any means peculiar to Egypt; in Patagonia and in Arabia, for instance, it is regarded as the intermediary between this world and the next, and any acacia near a village is always loaded with offerings. In India and many parts of Africa, its wood is essential for the ceremonial making of fire by friction, and it is the Shittim wood of the Old Testament, of which the Ark and Tabernacle were made.
In conclusion, I would like to emphasize that the Third Degree has far too many elements – allegorical, metaphysical, and moral – to be covered in one Paper. One can write a tome about it and still not due adequate justice to the subject. Suffice it to say that though the ceremony may be hair-raising for some, it is definitely uplifting for all! I only hope that this has served as an hors d’oeuvre to stimulate you to make your own research.
Au revoir!
Madras Masonic Journal Vol. 01 / 2023 - Centenary Year Edition
A Publication of Madras Masters Lodge No. 103, GLI
40