"King Solomon sent for Hiram of Tyre; he was the son of a widow of the tribe of Naphtali but his father had been a Tyrian, a bronze worker. He came to King Solomon and did all this work for him: He cast two bronze pillars..."
     - I Kings 7: 13-15

"I have dispatched Huram-abi, a skilled artisan, endowed with understanding, the son of one of the Danite women, his father a Tyrian. He is trained to work in gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, and in purple, blue, and crimson fabrics and fine linen, and to do all sorts of engraving and execute any design that may be assigned him, with your artisans, the artisans of my lord, your father David."
     - II Chronicles 2:13-14

"There is some doubt about the name of this Tyrian craftsman. II Chronicles 2:13-14 calls him Huramabi and states that his mother was from Dan rather than Naphtali."
     - John Wiliam Wevers, "The First Book of Kings" in Old Testament History

Hiram is "probably more accurately Adoniram. 'Adoniram' is manifestly derived from 'Adona', the Hebrew word for 'Lord'..."
     - Baigent & Leigh, The Temple and the Lodge

"The birth of Cain...is ascribed to a union of Satan and Eve." Hiram Abiff, the architect of the metal objects in the Temple of Solomon, "descended from the line of Cain through Tubal-Cain who, with his son, was said to be the only survivor of the superior race after the flood. That race, we are told was, or was created by, the Elohim, 'the serpent people', those of the fire snake."
     - David Wood, Genisis

"Yahweh sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses, and said, 'We have sinned, for we have spoken against Yahweh and against you; pray to Yahweh, that he may take away the serpents from us.' So Moses prayed for the people. And Yahweh said to Moses, 'Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and every one who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.' So Moses made a bronze serpent, and set it on a pole; and if a serpent bit any man, he could look and the bronze serpent and live."
     - Numbers 21:5-9

"...This tale was derived from the so-called Elohim (E) text of c. 750 B.C., and was apparently the origin legend designed to account for the serpent-god of bronze that was in those days worshipped in the Temple of Jerusalem, together with certain images of his Canaanite goddess-spouse, Aherah."
     - Joseph Campbell, Creative Mythology

"The Dionysiac Architects constituted an ancient secret society, its principles and doctrines much like the modern Freemasonic Order. They were an organization of builders bound together by their secret knowledge of the relationship between the earthly and the divine sciences of architectonics. They were supposedly employed by King Solomon in the building of his Temple, although they were not Jews, nor did they worship the God of the Jews, being followers of Bacchus and Dionysos. The Dionysiac Architects erected many of the great monuments of antiquity. They possessed a secret language and a system of marking their stones. They had annual convocations and sacred feasts. The exact nature of their doctrines is unknown. It is believed that Hiram Abiff was an initiate of this society."
     - Manly P. Hall, Masonic, Hermetic, Quabbalistic & Rosicrucian Symbolical Philosophy

"They made their appearance certainly not later than 1000 B.C., and appear to have enjoyed particular privileges and immunities. They also possessed secret means of recognition, and were bound together by special ties only known to themselves. The richer of this fraternity were bound to provide for their poorer brethren. They were divided into communities, governed by a Master and Wardens and called (connected houses). They held a grand festival annually, and were held in high esteem. Their ceremonials were regarded as sacred. It has been claimed that Solomon, at the instance of Hiram, King of Tyre, employed them at his temple and palaces. There were also employed at the construction of the Temple of Diana at Ephesus. The had means of intercommunication all over the then known world, and from them, doubtless, sprang the guilds of the Traveling Masons known in the Middle Ages."
     - John A. Weisse, The Obelisk and Freemasonry

"The Roman Collegia of skilled architects were apparently a subdivision of the greater Ionian body, their principles and organization being practically identical with the older Ionian institution. It has been suspected that the Dionysians also profoundly influenced early Islamic culture, for part of their symbolism found its way into the Mysteries of the dervishes. At one time the Dionysians referred to themselves as Sons of Solomon, and one of the most important of their symbols was the Seal of Solomon - two interlaced triangles. This motif is frequently seen in conspicuous parts of Mohammedan mosques. The Knights Templars... are believed to have contacted these Dionysian artificers and to have introduced many of their symbols and doctrines into medieval Europe."
     - Manly P. Hall, Masonic, Hermetic, Quabbalistic & Rosicrucian Symbolical Philosophy

Hyperlinks

·The Enigmatic Fate of the Ark
·The Holy Grail - Chalice or Manna Machine?
·Jachin and Boaz
·Masonic Beliefs and Practices
·The Serpent in Mythology
·The Temple of Solomon