‘Rewarding loyalty and faithfulness that has no equal’

     
Freemasonry is not the first word that comes to my mind when Syria or Lebanon are mentioned, but the truth is the Grand Lodge of New York established its District Grand Lodge of Syria-Lebanon in 1955, the diamond jubilee of which was celebrated recently with a visit by Grand Master Jeffrey M. Williamson. (New York Freemasons can read all about it in the current—Spring 2017—issue of The Empire State Mason Magazine, a Special Commemorative Edition marking the anniversary.) There are ten lodges comprising the District, seven of which pre-date the District’s existence, with the first two having been warranted in 1924—Syrio-American Lodge 1 and New York Lodge 2.

I think that’s kind of amazing.

Grand Master Williamson traveled extensively, visiting lodges (Suleiman 1905, El Berdawni 1907, Three Pillars 1912, and others), but also taking in the natural beauty and historic locations the land offers. There was a stop at Kahlil Gibran’s tomb, sightseeing amid the Cedars of God, a visit to the City of Ehden, a tasting at Ksara Winery—with the chance to meet RW Asaad Zogheib, mayor of Zahleh—and also time for the pleasures of the hookah!

Courtesy The Masters Craft

This edition of The Magpie Mason began four months ago, when Bro. John Bridegroom of the Masters Craft shared this photo on Facebook. John is the prolific creator of Masonic jewels, pins, coins, and other goods, as well as the Art Director for The Journal of the Masonic Society. I asked the Grand Master about the new medal so I could publish information about it here. He asked me to wait until publication of this issue of the ESM, so here we are.

While at the diamond jubilee celebration, MW Williamson welcomed RW Andre Layoun, PDDGM to the podium, and announced: “In commemoration and celebration of 60 years of loyalty and faithfulness demonstrated by the brethren of the District Grand Lodge of Syria-Lebanon, the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York is pleased to proclaim the creation of a new Grand Lodge medal. This medal is named in honor of RW Khaled E. Tabet, the first District Grand Master of the District Grand Lodge of Syria-Lebanon, from 1955 to 1964.”

Writing the article in the ESM, Williamson continues:

“The award consists of a bronze top bar engraved with the words “New York.” Below the ribbon is the round bronze medallion struck with the actual likeness of RW Khaled E. Tabet. Around the medal are engraved the words “Loyalty and Faithfulness.” The medal is suspended on a distinctive red and white ribbon, along with a green stripe running through the center, symbolizing the national flag of Lebanon. This medal will be conferred by the Grand Master to any deserving member within the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York, specifically for loyalty and faithfulness to our Grand Lodge.

“The first recipient of the RW Khaled E. Tabet Medal is RW Andre Layoun, who was District Grand Master for 23 years, from 1971 to 1994. His term of leadership within our District Grand Lodge was concurrent with the Lebanese Civil War, which lasted from 1975 to 1990. It is estimated that there were over 250,000 fatalities during this period. RW Andre Layoun’s loyalty to Freemasonry in general and to the Grand Lodge of the State of New York in particular has no equal.”


Huzzah!
     

‘A temple in Syria’

     
Amid all the horrible news of death and destruction in Syria today comes updated word of a most curious ancient temple archeologists have been excavating and studying. The ’Ain Dara temple in northern Syria is, according to the Biblical Archaeology Society, practically a twin of the ancient center of Israelite life: Solomon’s Temple.

I don’t think I’ve ever reproduced anyone else’s entire article before on The Magpie, but this is worthwhile. ©Biblical Archaeology Society, 2013. (In the past I have recommended subscribing to its magazine, and do so again. Click here.)

Searching

for the Temple

of King Solomon

For centuries, scholars have searched in vain for any remnant of Solomon’s Temple. The fabled Jerusalem sanctuary, described in such exacting detail in 1 Kings 6, was no doubt one the most stunning achievements of King Solomon in the Bible, yet nothing of the building itself has been found because excavation on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, site of the Temple of King Solomon, is impossible.

Fortunately, several Iron Age temples discovered throughout the Levant bear a striking resemblance to the Temple of King Solomon in the Bible. Through these remains, we gain extraordinary insight into the architectural grandeur of the building that stood atop Jerusalem’s Temple Mount nearly 3,000 years ago.

The black basalt ruins of the Iron Age temple discovered at ’Ain Dara in northern Syria offer the closest known parallel to the Temple of King Solomon in the Bible. Photo: Ben Churcher

As reported by archaeologist John Monson in the pages of BAR, the closest known parallel to the Temple of King Solomon is the recently discovered ’Ain Dara temple in northern Syria. Nearly every aspect of the ’Ain Dara temple—its age, its size, its plan, its decoration—parallels the vivid description of the Temple of King Solomon in the Bible. In fact, Monson identified more than 30 architectural and decorative elements shared by the ’Ain Dara structure and the Jerusalem Temple described by the Biblical writers.

The ’Ain Dara temple and the Biblical Temple of King Solomon share very similar plans. Images: Ben Churcher

The similarities between the ’Ain Dara temple and the temple described in the Bible are indeed striking. Both buildings were erected on huge artificial platforms built on the highest point in their respective cities. The buildings likewise have similar tripartite plans: an entry porch supported by two columns, a main sanctuary hall (the hall of the ’Ain Dara temple is divided between an antechamber and a main chamber) and then, behind a partition, an elevated shrine, or Holy of Holies. They were also both flanked on three of their sides by a series of multistoried rooms and chambers that served various functions.

Even the decorative schemes of ’Ain Dara temple and the temple described in the Bible are similar: Nearly every surface, both interior and exterior, of the ’Ain Dara temple was carved with lions, mythical animals (cherubim and sphinxes), and floral and geometric patterns, the same imagery that, according to 1 Kings 6:29, adorned the Temple of King Solomon in the Bible.

It is the date of the ’Ain Dara temple, however, that offers the most compelling evidence for the authenticity of the Biblical Temple of King Solomon. The ’Ain Dara temple was originally built around 1300 B.C. and remained in use for more than 550 years, until 740 B.C. The plan and decoration of such majestic temples no doubt inspired the Phoenician engineers and craftsmen who built Solomon’s grand edifice in the tenth century B.C. As noted by Lawrence Stager of Harvard University, the existence of the ’Ain Dara temple proves that the Biblical description of Solomon’s Temple was “neither an anachronistic account based on later temple archetypes nor a literary creation. The plan, size, date and architectural details fit squarely into the tradition of sacred architecture from north Syria (and probably Phoenicia) from the tenth to eighth centuries B.C.”

Gigantic footprints belonging
to the resident deity were carved
at the temple’s entrance.
Photo: A.M. Appa

Certain features of the ’Ain Dara temple also provide dramatic insight into ancient Near Eastern conceptions of gods and the temples in which they were thought to reside. Carved side-by-side in the threshold of the ’Ain Dara temple are two gigantic footprints. As one enters the antechamber of the sanctuary, there is another carving of a right foot, followed 30 feet away (at the threshold between the antechamber and the main chamber) by a carving of a left foot. The footprints, each of which measures 3 feet in length, were intended to show the presence (and enormity) of the resident deity as he or she entered the temple and approached his or her throne in the Holy of Holies. Indeed, the 30-foot stride between the oversize footprints indicates a god who would have stood 65 feet tall! In Solomon’s Temple, the presence of a massive throne formed by the wings of two giant cherubim with 17-foot wingspans (1 Kings 6:23–26) may indicate that some Israelites envisaged their God, Yahweh, in a similar manner.