The Two Pillars
Why this matters
At the porch of King Solomon's Temple, according to the published account in 1 Kings, stood two great pillars of brass. The one on the right was named Jachin and the one on the left was named Boaz. Each was eighteen cubits tall, with a chapiter (a capital) of five cubits, ornamented with chain work, network, and pomegranates. Every regular Lodge in the world reproduces these two pillars in some form, and the published Fellowcraft lecture walks the candidate between them.
The two pillars are the published gateway of the second degree. They carry specific names with specific meanings (Boaz = 'in strength,' Jachin = 'he will establish'), and they stand at the entrance of every published account of Solomon's Temple. Knowing the pillars (their names, their ornaments, their dimensions, their published lesson) is half the published Fellowcraft material.
What this chapter is
Boaz and Jachin: the two great pillars at the porch of King Solomon's Temple, freely described in monitorial lectures and reproduced in every regular Lodge.
How to practise it
A lesson walks the same seven steps every time. Read the intro, study the material, then drill it through Quick Fire, Matchup, Sequence, Flashcards, and the Mix capstone. Each step opens to the next; no choices to make in the middle of the work.
What if · take it further ▸
Sit with this
- Read 1 Kings 7:13-22 in your own VSL. The pillars are described in published detail, by Hiram of Tyre's hand. Notice what the lecture takes from the Bible and what it adds to it.
- If you had to teach a non-Mason what 'Boaz' and 'Jachin' mean and why the two pillars are placed where they are, could you, in two sentences? Try it before reading the chapter. The exercise locates where your published knowledge actually is.
Connect to
- Form and Furniture of the Lodge
Form and Furniture of the Lodge. Where the pillars sit in the published room.
- The Mosaic Pavement
The Mosaic Pavement. Another published Temple-floor element treated in the same set of lectures.
- The Three Great Lights
The Three Great Lights. The pillars stand at the porch; the Great Lights rest at the altar.