From the book
Ancient Mystic Oriental Masonry
R. Swinburne Clymer · Diotimos Editions · 2026
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At a Glance
- The wordHiram Abiff is the builder whose legendary death and the resulting loss of the Word organize a central Masonic drama in the book.
- In Ancient Mystic Oriental MasonryThe Degrees narrative distinguishes him from Hiram, king of Tyre.
- In this editionBoth Abiff and Abif occur in the source.
- A place to readD.6: “After Solomon had deplored the loss of Hiram Abiff, and with him the Master's Word and” …
Meaning
Hiram Abiff is the builder whose legendary death and the resulting loss of the Word organize a central Masonic drama in the book.
Use in the book
The Degrees narrative distinguishes him from Hiram, king of Tyre. Later interpretation explicitly contrasts the death drama with accounts of the craftsman’s continuing work and takes that discrepancy as a reason to read symbolically. Hiram is compared with Osiris and other figures of death and restoration. The Symbolism division also acknowledges that the Masonic legend stands unsupported by history beyond its own traditions.
Places to read
- Degrees of the Mystic Oriental Rite · Block 6“After Solomon had deplored the loss of Hiram Abiff, and with him the Master's Word and the Secret manner of using it, Hiram, King of Tyre, arose and reminded King Solomon” …
- Mystic Masonry · Block 71“70. " Hiram Abiff is dramatically represented to have lost his life when the temple was near completion, and yet it is recorded that after the completion of the temple he” …
- Mystic Masonry · Block 73… “any person to recognize in the Master Mason Hiram, the Osiris of the Egyptians, the Mithras of the Persians, the Bacchus of the Greeks, the Atys of the Phrygians, of which” …
- Masonic Symbolism · Block 41… “its own traditions; yet we readily recognize in Hiram Abif, one of the Grand Masters of Freemasons, the Osiris of the Egyptians, the Mithras of the Persians, the Bacchus of the” …
In this edition
Both Abiff and Abif occur in the source. Bare Hiram can also refer to the king, so its count does not isolate the builder.
Reading the argument
This acknowledgment is essential. The legend is used to teach the search for truth and inward regeneration; its moral or symbolic value does not depend on presenting the whole drama as a biblical event.
Related texts
First Kings 5 names Hiram the king, while 1 Kings 7:13–14 introduces the craftsman, a widow’s son. These passages do not narrate the Masonic death drama.13
Hiram Abiff
“Hiram Abiff” — 3 occurrences in 3 text blocks: D.3, 6; M.71.
Hiram Abif
“Hiram Abif” — 7 occurrences in 6 text blocks: S.30, 39–42, 51.
Hiram
“Hiram” — 31 occurrences in 22 text blocks: D.3, 5–7; M.29, 45, 62, 68–69, 71, 73–75; F.93, 132, 138; S.30, 39–42, 51.
Khurum
“Khurum” — 1 occurrence in 1 text block: M.75.
Source note
Biblical references. The Holy Bible, King James Version. References identify passages underlying the book's wording or the editorial comparisons; they do not imply that the biblical text teaches every esoteric interpretation assigned to it. Project Gutenberg ebook 10 supplies an accessible public-domain American reading text. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10