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The Scripture Readings
of the Three Degrees
by Sion M. Honea, MPS

The scripture readings of the three de-
grees are one of the most neglected areas
of Masonic study. Except for the very
rare chaplain who has memorized them,
few remember what they say or where
they are. Much less do we understand
what they are about. How many senior
deacons have fumbled through the Bible
helplessly trying to find one or other of
them when someone has carelessly let the
marker shp from its place? And yet these
passages occupy places of unusual prom-
inence in the degrees. an indication that
they are intended to be of special import-
ance.

The recitation of each passage halts the
progress of the degree cold. All action
stops while the chaplain solemnly in-
tones the words. The other participants
remain as though frozen in a timeless
moment. Then the passage concludes
and the degree continues. Why is such
emphasis placed upon these words that
are spoken only once in our ritual, unlike
so many others, and are not even alluded
to in any subsequent explanation?

I here intend to probe into these scrip-
tures and present a "Masonic exegesis"
(as I like to call it) of them. I will base my
exegesis on factual information, at least
as factual as the secondary literature of
modern scholarly authorities can ever
be. However, the exegesis is my own
interpretation of the passages in ques-
tion.

I warn my students to beware conclud-
ing that they understand a text simply
because they can read the words and
recognize their meanings. This warning
is especially appropriate in the case of
our Masonic passages, and of none more
so than of Psalm 133.

After the psalm's reference to brothers
dwelling together in unity, the specific-
ally Masonic content appears to wane,
and the remainder becomes so much
pretty, but inexplicable, imagery. What
is the anointing of Aaron all about, and
why is it like brotherly unity? What has
the dew of Hermon to do with anything,
and what is Hermon? What is the dew of
Hermon doing falling on Zion, and why
Zion?

Why does the psalm end with a refer-
ence to immortality, and why is it con-
nected with Zion?

After the death of Solomon, the king-
dom split into the northern kingdom of
Israel and the southern kingdom of
Judah. Israel was destroyed in 722/21 B.C.
by Assyria, and many of its people
were deported. Judah remained as a
much weakened political entity until it
too was destroyed by the Babylonians in
587 B. C. Most of its people were then
carried off to Babylon in the famous Bab-
ylonian exile. Upon the conquest of Bab-
ylon by Cyrus of Persia in 539 B. C . . the
Jews were allowed to return to Jerusalem
in 538. Thls is the so-called post-exilic
period. Zerubbabel rebuilt the temple in
520-15 B. C. and then disappeared from
history.

Among the ancient Hebrews it appears
that only two types of persons were
anointed: kings and priests. (1) In post-ex-
ilic times, the anointing of priests was
discontinued,(2) and there were no kings
because the royal line of David had van-
ished after Zerubbabel.

The anointment of the king or priest
with oil was more than merely symbolic.
The oil represented the spirit of God
(Hb. ru'ach) (3) descending on a person
and "enthusing" or inspiring him.(4) This
inspiration is the event that takes place
when we read of the prophets' receiving
the spirit, or as Saul receives it subse-
quent to anointment by Samuel (I Sarn-
uel 10:1-6). Priests also were anointed,
although the sources are not clear as to
whether the rite was limited to high
priests only. It appears that the practice
was not extended to priests of any type
until the monarchy had disappeared and
the leadership of the people had fallen to
the high priest. (5)Psalm 133 startlingly
equates brotherly unity to inspiration
with the spirit of God.

Psalm 133 is a post-exilic wisdom
psalm. The first two verses of the psalm
present to us the idea that brotherly unity
is the spirit of God coming effusively
upon the anointed one. Conversely, we
may conclude that the spirit is produc-
tive of loving goodwill and brotherly har-
mony. Then follows a reference to Her-
mon and Zion, with the dew from the one
falling upon the other.

Mount Hermon is one of, if not the
most, notable mountains in northern Is-
rael, as well as the highest mountain in
the region of Palestine. It rises to the
north and east of Dan, traditionally the
extreme northern limit of Israel. It was
the traditional northern extremity of Jos-
hua's conquests (Jo. 11:3). Zion was, of
course, in biblical times, that hill upon
which the temple stood in Jerusalem. In
poetical imagery we have a linking to-
gether of the two most prominent peaks
of the northern and southern kingdoms,
when both had long since disappeared.
The phrase poetically reunifies the sev-
ered kingdom and alludes to a golden age
of harmony. This reunification did not
happen in history, but a golden age is
predicted in messianic literature. This
messianic allusion is strengthened in the
conclusion of the psalm, which states
that it was on Zion that God decreed the
blessing of everlasting life
(chayyimmha'olam)...

The idea ot everlasting life, immortal-
ity developed relativelv late in Jewish
religion during post-exilic times, and
even late in them.(7) Perhaps the earliest
definite reference to immortality may be
found in Daniel, an apocalyptic book
written in the mid-second century B.
C. (8) "And many of those who sleep m the
dust of the earth shall awake, some to
everlasting life (chayye' olam) . . . (Daniel
12:2) (9)

The ideas of resurrection and everlast-
ing life came to be associated with the
coming of the messiah and the golden
age that he would introduce. At that time
the dead would rise, be judged, and re-
ceive their reward, immortality in the
messiah's kingdom. (10) Furthermore, the
messiah was to appear first on Zion at
Jerusalem and there establish his reign.

In Psalm 133 we find a transformation
of the pious theme of brotherly love into
an apocalyptic theme of the messianic
kingdom at the end of time. At that time
God will pour out his spirit (ru'ach) on
Jerusalem and on the house of David
(Zech. 12 :1 ) . The result will be the estab-
lishment of God's Kingdom under the
messiah's rule.

For the Masonic context what does this
mean? I argue that the three scripture
passages of the degrees go together in
order to be fully intelligible, but certainly
some sense for us is immediate. This
passage teaches the newly entered ap-
prentice that his foremost goal should be
to establish brotherly amity in the lodge.
To do this he must learn to control his
desires and passions. It is only through
control of the individual's excessive de-
mands that true brotherhood can arise
and a new and better world be created.

Psalm 133 presents to us the goal of
universal brotherhood, which we are to
strive after in the lodge, but there is a
greater plan also. The brotherhood we
achieve in the lodge is but a small step
toward establishing God's kingdom on
earth, a time when people will live to-
gether without the dissension and strife
that still wrack our world a.s much today
as centuries, even millennia ago.

The selection for the second degree
(Amos 7:7-8) is far less direct than that
for the first. I can remember my own first
impression being to notice the plumb line
in the passage and suppose that was the
reason for its selection. Otherwise, I pre-
sumed that it was just a vague promise
by God that he would never overlook his
people, that he would ever protect them.
"I will never again pass them by"
seemed vaguely reminiscent of the pro-
mise after the flood. I was wrong.

Amos is the earliest prophet of the Old
Testament whose writings we possess.
He preached to the northern kingdom,
Israel (ca. 750 B.C.) during the genera-
tion before its destruction by Assyria.
His message was, briefly put, that unless
the people learned to obey God and cre-
ated a just society, they would be de-
stroyed. They did not and they were.

Our passage from Amos is the third of
four dire visions of Amos in which God
warns of Israel's impending destruction.
In the first (7:1-3), God fashions a plague
of locusts to devour the land. Amos
pleads for Israel on the grounds of its
weakness and God relents. In the second
(7:4-6), God prepares destruction by
fire. Amos makes the same plea and
again God relents.

In the third vision God effectively cuts
off Amos' pleas before they can be made.
The traditional explanation of this pas-
sage is that God has set a plumb line in
the midst of his people by which to judge
them. The plumb thus represents an in-
escapable standard of behavior that Is-
rael cannot evade. (11) Israel has received
many warnings, but now God in effect
says, "Here is the choice to be made,
what will you do? I will not overlook your
failure again.

The fourth of the visions (8:1-3) alludes
to the inevitable result of failure. Using
the image of the last fruits of summer,
proverbially small and stunted, the pro-
phet points to the immediacy of the end.
There is probably also a pun in the He-
brew on "summer fruit" that strength-
ens the idea of the approaching end. (12)

It is this unspoken, ominously unspo-
ken, element of the other three visions
that makes our passage so particularly
powerful. We receive only one of the
four, in isolation, but we are supposed to
know and understand the implications of
others. Ours is like an unresolved har-
mony in a musical cadence, pointing to
a resolution that we by our actions must
avert. The last vision goes beyond the
simple statement of urgent need to give
us a glimpse of the resulting catastrophe.

It is a glimpse of the future, all the more
emphatic and chilling, for remaining im-
plicit only.

Taken in the light of Psalm 133, I would
interpret Amos 7, Masonically, as em-
phasizing dramatically the immediacy of
the need of our commitment to action, to
work toward unity and brotherhood. Is-
rael failed to live in the spirit of God; the
result was social discord that ended in
destruction. Amos 7 impresses upon us
that our task is no light concern, that it is
really a life and death matter, whether we
see it as such or not, and this task de-
mands our immediate decision and ded-
ication. If we do not recognize the need
and act accordingly, the results of our
own failure will destroy us.

The third passage, Ecclesiastes 12-17,
sums up the argument of the first two.
There are many explanations of the elab-
orate symbolism of verses two through 6,
and there is no need to recapitulate those
here, for the main ideas appear in verses
one and seven.

The first verse enjoins us to remember
God in our youth, while we still retain
vitality. This is a poignant reminder of
the immediacy of the need for action. By
holding mortality before our eyes the
passage reinforces the urgency of the
message in a way different from Amos.
In Amos, destruction and ruin stand as
the inevitable result of failure to act upon
the message. Ecclesiastes reminds us
that there is a limitation on our ability
to act: mortality itself. "Act now!" the
verse says, "before it is too late, before
you are unable to act. Otherwise there
will come a day when you will realize
your folly and will be unable to rectify
it. " Amos speaks of historical conse-
quences, Ecclesiastes of personal ones.
We are thus presented with both these
aspects of human life.

Mortality is the theme of the passage,
and it is one obviously appropriate to the
third degree. The seventh verse calls our
attention to what is truly important. Our
bodies return to the earth; our spirit
(ru'ach) to God who gave it.The appear-
ance of "spirit" here raises a problem of
interpretation that I must discuss briefly.

The Book of Ecclesiastes is relatively
late, written most likely in the third cen-
tury B. C. (14) The modern English reader
would probably take the reference to
spirit to be an allusion to immortality,
but this is not so. The presumed date of
composition makes the concept of an im-
mortal soul improbable for aJewish text
but not impossible. The author however,
makes himself clear on the issue:

" For the fate of the sons of men and fate
of beasts is the same; as one dies, so does
the other. They all have the same breath
(ru' ach), and man has no advantage over
the beasts; for all is vanity. All go to one
place; all are from the dust, and all turn
to dust again. Who knows whether the
spirit (ru'ach) of man goes upward and
the spirit (ru'ach) of the beast goes down
to the earth? " (3:19-21).

The author refers, apparently, to a con-
cept in an afterlife, but rejects it as at best
speculative, nothing to build a way of life
on. Why then does he emphasize
"spirit" in our passage?

We today tend vaguely to equate soul
and spirit. This would be an error in
approaching an ancient text. The subject
is a complex one, (15) but it can generally
be stated that "spirit" is that external
life-force which gives life to an individual
being, while "soul" is the internal and
individual non-physical essence of that
being, often conceived as being vitalized
by spirit. (16)

In this particular instance ru'ach might
well be translated as "breath of life,"
which comes from God. the writer of
Ecclesiastes is trying to emphasize, in
accordance with the basic attitude, that
it is God who is important, that he de-
fines and must define human life, even
in the face of all seemingly contrary evi-
dence. This is a position with which the
Mason must agree.

On the other hand it is justifiable to set
aside this more historical view and, in
light of its specific Masonic usage, to
develop our Masonic exegesis accord-
ingly. In this way the significance of verse
seven remains a reference to the individ-
ual immortal soul. I would wish to em-
phasize, though, that the more historical
understanding is itself also entirely con-
sistent with Masonic principles.

I would like to call attention to a limi-
tation of this essay. I have treated the
passages without regard to their histori-
cal dimension in the Craft, i.e., when
they were introduced, how, in what se-
quence, etc. As a result, my interpreta-
tion cannot be said to have "historical"
validity for any period of the Craft's his-
tory other than the present, unless it can
be shown that the passages were used at
that period.

In summary, I maintain that the three
scripture passages should be taken to-
gether as an outline for a Masonic mis-
sion in which each individual Mason
functions to carry forward a greater, all
embracing program of action. This pro-
gram is "messianic" in nature and has
as its object the preparation for and es-
tablishment of, in effect, the kingdom of
God on earth. The means to this end is
the promulgation of true brotherly love.
The program is not merely vital, but is
the most vital of concerns, for it involves
the recognition and realization of our
true spiritual natures. As such it requires
our immediate attention and action.

Notes
1. D. S. Russell, Method and Message of Jewish Apoc-
alyptic (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1964), 304-
05. I do not here include the rite with oil of Lev.
14:7 as of the same type, for it is for the purpose
of purification rather than inspiration. It seems
qmte possihle that the two types may have a
common orign, but orign alone does not speak
to the issue of how each functioned at a later date.

2. Roland de Vaux, Ancicnt Israel trans. John
