User:Hanuman Das/Jahbulon

Jahbulon or Jabulon is a word which can be demonstrated to have been used historically in the rituals of two Jusrisdictions of Royal Arch Masonry. The word's meaning, however is unclear. One Masonic scholar alleges that the word first appeared in an early 18th Century Royal Arch ritual, as the name of an allegorical explorer searching for the ruins of King Solomon's Temple; another Masonic scholar believes it is a discriptive name for God in Hebrew; and a few Anti-Masonic authors have alleged that it is a Masonic name for God, and even the name of a unique Masonic God.

It has been claimed that the last of these allegations "proves" that the Royal Arch Degree - and by extension all of Freemasonry - is incompatible with Christianity. The Southern Baptist convention has mentioned this as an offensive concept that is incompatible with Christianity.

Duncan's Masonic Ritual and Monitor uses the term in the Royal Arch degree and states in a footnote that this was a combination of sacred names. Masonic authors claim that this is an outdated exposure while other authors claim that it had been superseded by another explanation.

Royal Arch Masonry
Royal Arch Masonry is an appendant body to regular Freemasonry. In some areas it forms part of the York Rite. To be eligible to join one must first be a Master Mason. However the administration of the Royal Arch (or any other appendant body, for that matter) is entirely separate from the administration of Craft Freemasonry.

Most importantly, every Masonic organization (Craft or otherwise) is sovereign only in its own jurisdiction, and has no authority in any other jurisdiction. This means that there is no standardization whatsoever with regards to words, signs, grips, or any other Masonic "secrets".

Much of the available material that discusses the word Jahbulon ignores these distinctions, indicating that the authors are not Masons. In most cases, a "separate parts of the same whole" situation between Royal Arch and Craft Freemasonry has been assumed.

Suggested etymologies

 * According to Masonic Historian Art DeHoyos, early French versions of the Royal Arch degree say Jahbulon is the name of an allegorical explorer living at the time of Solomon


 * According to The Rev. Canon Richard Tydeman, in an address to the Supreme Grand Chapter of England on 13 November 1985, the word is a compound of three Hebrew terms:
 * יהּ (Yah, I AM, which indicates eternal existence),
 * בּעל (bul, on high, in heaven) and
 * און (on, strength); pronouncing three aspects or qualities of Deity, namely Eternal Existence, Transcendence, and Omnipotence and equating to "The True and Living God - Most High - Almighty".


 * According to Anti-masonic author Stephen Knight, following Walton Hannah the word is a compound of the names of three gods worshipped in the ancient Middle East.
 * Jah (= Yahweh)
 * Baal
 * On (a name in Genesis in the Bible (in "Potiphar priest of On"), thought in older times to be a name of Osiris (but now known to be a form of the Ancient Egyptian name of the city of Heliopolis).


 * It was this interpretation that was reported to have disturbed Albert Pike, the Grand Master of the Southern Jurisdiction when he first heard the name, who called it a "mongrel word" partly composed of an "appellation of the Devil".