Z.
The Hebrew letter, Zain. Twenty-sixth and last letter of the English alphabet. In Hebrew the numerical value is seven. This letter was added to the Latin from the Greek in the time of Cicero. The Greek letter is zeta, .
ZABUD.
An historical personage at the court of King Solomon, whose name appears in several of the advanced Degrees. In that of Select Master in the American Rite, it has been corrupted into Izabud. He is mentioned in First Kings (iv, 5) where he is described in the authorized version as being "principal officer and the King's friend." The original is Zabud ben Nathan cohen regneh hahmelek, which is literally Zabud, son of Nathan, a Priest, the friend of the King Adam Clarke says he was "the king's chief favorite, his confidant." Smith (Dictionary of the Bible) says: "This position, if it were an official one, was evidently distinct from that of Counsellor, occupied by Ahithophel under David, and had more of the character of private friendship about it."
Kitto (Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature) says of Zabud and of his brother Azariah, that their advancement in the household of King Solomon ' may doubtless be ascribed not only to the young King's respect for the venerable Prophet (their father), who had been his instructor, but to the friendship he had contracted with his sons during the course of education. The office, or rather honor, of 'friend of the King,' we find in all the despotic governments of the East. It gives high power, without the public responsibility which the holding of a regular office in the state necessarily imposes. It implies the possession of the utmost confidence of, and a familiar intercourse with, the monarch, to whose person 'the friend' at all times has access, and whose influence is therefore often far greater, even in matters of state, than that of the recognized ministers of government."to Clay probably by Preston, and so it still remains
This conception has been fully carried out in the(see Fervency and Freedom).
legend of the Select Master's Degree.
ZABULON.
The Greek wording of Zebulun, the tenth son of Jaeob. Delaunay (Thuileur, page 79) says that some ritualists suppose that this was the true form of the word of which Jabulum is a corruption. This is incorrect. Jabulum is a corrupt form of Giblim. Zabulon has no connection with the advanced Degrees, except that in the Royal Areh he represents one of the stones in the Pectoral or Breastplate.
ZACCHAI.
The Hebrew word, ':T. The Latin words, Purus and Mundus, sometimes used as in Delauney's French Thuileur, to explain the Hebrew expression as Purest and Heavenly. A name applied to the Deity.
ZADKIEL.
The name of one of the angels of the seven planets, according to the Jewish Rabbis—the angel of the planet Jupiter.
ZADOK.
A personage in some of the Ineffable Degrees of the Ancient and Accepted Scottlsh Rite. In Scripture he is recorded as having been one of the two chief Priests in the time of David, Abiathar being the other. He subsequently, by order of David, anointed Solomon to be King, by whom he was rewarded with the post of High Priest. Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews x, 8, 6) says that "Sadoc, the High Priest, was the first High Priest of the Temple which Solomon built." Yet it een supposed by some authors, in consequence of his name
not being mentioned in the detailed account of the dedication, that he had died before the completion of the Temple.
ZAPHNATH-PAANEAH.
An Egyptian title given to the Patriarch Joseph by the Egyptian King under whom he was Viceroy. The name has been interpreted Revealer of secrets, and is a password in the old instructions of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite.
ZARATHUSTRA.
The name, in the Zend language, of that great reformer in religion more commonly known to Europeans as Zoroaster, which see.
ZARRIEL.
The angel that, in accordance with the Cabalistical system, governs the sun.
ZARTHAN.
The Zarthan of First Kings (vii, 46) appears to be the same place as the Zeredathah of Second Chronicles (ivw 17). In the Masonic lectures, the latter word is always used (see Zeredathah).
ZARVAN-AKAR-ANA.
A Sanskrit expression meaning, Time without limits. According to the Parsees, the name of a deity or abstract principle existing before the birth of Ahriman and Ormudz.
ZEAL.
Aanvulling
Ever since the Revival in 1717, for it is found in the earliest lectures, it was taught that Apprentices served their Masters with "Freedom, Fervency, anel Zeal"j and the symbols of the first two of these virtues were Chalk and Charcoal. In the oldest instructions, earthen pan, which see, was designated as the symbol of Zeal; but this was changed to Clay probably by Preston , and so it still remains (see Fervency and Freedom)
The instruction to the Operative Mason to serve his Master with freedom, fervency, and zeal—to work for his interests willingly, ardently, and zealously is easily understood. Its application to Speculative Freemasonry, for the Master of the Work we substitute the Grand Architect of the Universe, and then our zeal, like our freedom and our fervency, is directed to a higher end. The zeal of a Speculative Freemason is shown by advancing the morality, and by promoting the happiness of his fellow-creatures.
ZEBULON.
Son of .Jacolv and Leah; in the Exodus his Tribe marched next to Judah and Issachar, and received the territory bounded on the East bv the southern half of the Lake of Galilce, including Rimmon, Nazareth, and the Plain of Buttauf, where stood Cana of Galilee. The Hebrew word means Heaven, or the abode of God (see Jabulum).
ZECHARIAH.
"The son of Iddo," born in Babylonia during the Captivity, who joined Zerubbabel on his return to Palestine. A leader and a man of influence, being both Priest and Prophet.
ZEDEKIAH.
A personage in some of the advanced Degrees, whose melancholy fate is described in the Second Book of Kings and in the prophecies of Jeremiah. He was the twentieth and last King of Judah. When Nebuchadnezzar had in his second siege of Jerusalem deposed Jehoiachin, whom he carried as a captive to Babylon, he placed Zedekiah on the throne in his stead.
By this act Zedekiah became tributary to the King of the Chaldees, who exacted from him a solemn oath of fidelity and obedience. This oath he observed no longer than till an opportunity occurred of violating it. In the language of the author of the Books of Chronicles, "he rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God" (Second Chronicles xxxvi, 13).
This course soon brought down upon him the vengeance of the offended monarch, who invaded the land of Judah with an immense army. Remaining himself at Riblah, a town of the northern horder of Palestine, he sent the army under his general, Nebuzaradan, to Jerusalem, which was invested by the Babylonian forces. After a siege of about one year, during which the inhabitants endured many hardships the'city was taken by an assault, the Chaldeans entering it through breaches in the northern wall.
It is very natural to suppose, that when the enemy were most pressing in their attack upon the devoted city; when the breach which was to give them entranee had been effected; and when, perhaps, the streets most distant from the Temple were already filled with Chaldean soldiery, a Council of his princes and nobles should have been held by Zedekiah in the Temple, to which they had fled for refuge, and that he should ask their advice as to the most feasible method of escape from the impending danger.
History, it is true, gives no account of any such assembly; but the written record of these important events which is now extant is very brief, and, as there is every reason to admit the probability of the occurrence, there does not appear to be any historical objection to the introduction of Zedekiah into the legend of the Super-Excellent Master's Degree, as having been present and holding a Couneil at the time of the siege.
By the advice of this Council, Zedekiah attempted to make his escape across the Jordan. But he and his attendants were, says Jeremiah, pursued by the Chaldean army, and overtaken in the plains of Jericho and carried before Nebuchadnezzar. His sons and his nobles were slain, and, his eyes being put out, he was bound in chains and carried captive to Babylon, where at a later period he died.
ZELATOR.
The word has two meanings of importance.
1. The First Degree of the German Rose Croix. The title expresses the spirit of emulation which should characterize the neophyte.
2. The First Degree in the First Order of the Rosicrucian Society.
ZEMZEM.
The holy well at Mecca in Arabia. Mecca was the birthplace of the prophet Mahomet, Muhammad, or Mohammed—the last name eommonly used—founder of the religion bearing his name.
ZENANŔ.
The inner portion of a gentleman 's house in India, devoted to the use of females. In contrast with the front or men's portion, it is devoid of comforts. Each woman has a small cell, on the second or third story, fronting on the inner court of the square structure.
ZENDAVESTA.
The scriptures of the Zoroastrian religion containing the doctrines of Zoroaster. Avesta means the sacred text, and Ze7zd the commentary.
The work as we now have it is supposed to have been collected by learned Priests of the Sassanian period, who translated it into the Pehlevi, or vernacular language of Persia. The greater part of the work was lost during the persecutions by the Mohammedan conquerors of Persia One only of the hooks has been preserved, the Vendidad, comprising twenty-te o chapters. The Yasna and the Vispered together constitute the collection of fragments which are termed Vendidad Sadé. There is another fragmentary collection called Yesht Sadé. And these constitute all that remain of the original text. So that, however comprehensive the Zendavesta must have been in its original form; the work as it now exists makes but a comparatively small book.
The ancients, to whom it was familiar, as well as the modern Parsees, attribute its authorship to Zoroaster. But Doctor Haug, rightly conceiving that it was not in the power of any one man to have composed so vast a work as it must have been in its original extent, supposes that it was the joint production of the original Zarathustra .Sitama and his successors, the high priests of the religion, who assumed the same name.
The Zendavesta is the scripture of the modern Parsee; and hence for the Parsee freemason, of whom there are not a few, it constitutes the Book of the Law, or Trestle-Board. Unfortunately, however, to the Parsee it is a sealed book, for, being written in the old Zend language, which is now extinct, its contents cannot be understood. But the Parsees recognize the Zendavesta as of Divine authority, and say in the Catechism, or Compendium of Doctrines in use among them: "We consider these books as heavenly books, because God sent the tidings of these books to us through the holy Prophet Zurthost."
Brother Albert Pike prepared elaborate commentaries on the Irana-Aryan Faith and Doctrine of the Zen,davesta, a volume bearing that title and edited by Brother Marshall W. Wood, being published by the Supreme Council, Southern Jurisdiction, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, 1924.
ZENITH.
That point in the heavens which is vertical to the spectator, and from which a perpendicular line passing through him and extended would reach the center of the earth. From of old the documents of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite are dated "under the Celestial Callopy of the Zenith which answers to "; the latitude of the place whence the document is issued being then given to fill the blank space. The latitude alone is expressed because that indicates the position of the sun's meridian height. Longitude, however, is always omitted, because every place whence such a document is issued is called the GSrarzd East, the specific spot where the sun rises. The theory implied is, that although the South of the Lodge may vary, its chief point must always be in the East, the point of sunrising, where longitude begins.
ZENNAAR.
The sacred cord used in the Hindustance initiation, which writers on ritualism have compared to the Masonic Apron. Between eight and fifteen years of age, every Hindu boy is imperatively required to receive the investiture of the Zenrzaar. The investiture is accompanied by many solemn ceremonies of prayer and sacrifices. After the investiture, the boy is said to have received his second birth, and from that time a Hindu is called by a name which signifies "twice born." Coleman (Mythology of the Hindus, page 155) thus describes the Zennaar:
The sacred thread must be made by a Brahman. It consists of three strings, each ninety-six hands, fortyeight yards, which are twisted together: it is then folded into three, and again twisted, these are a second time folded into the same number, and tied at each end in knots. It is worn over the left shoulder, next the skin extending half-way down the right thigh, by the brahmans, Ketries, and Vaisya castes. The first are usually invested with it at eight years of age, the second at eleven, and the Vaisya at twelve. The period may, from especial causes, be deferred; but it is indispensable that it should be received, or the parties omitting it become outcasts.
ZERAIAS.
One of the three officers appointed by King Solomon to superintend the hewing of the timbers in the Forests of Lebanon.
ZERBAL.
The name of King Solomon's Captain of the Guards, in the Degree of Intimate Secretary. No such person is mentioned in Scripture, and it is therefore an invention of the ritualist who fabricated the Degree. If derived from Hebrew, its roots will be found in Zer, an enemy, and by:, Baal, and it would signify an enemy of Baal.
ZEREDATHAH.
The name of the place between which and Succoth are the clay grounds where Hiram Abif is said to have cast the brazen utensils for the use of the Temple (see Clay Ground).
ZERUBBABEL.
Pronounced Zer-oobbawbel, the accent or emphasis on the last syllable. In writing the life of Zerubbabel from a Masonic point of view, it is incumbent that reference should be made to the legends as well as to the more strictly historical details of his eventful career. With the traditions of the Royal Arch, and some other of the higher Degrees, Zerubbabel is not less intimately connected than is Solomon with those of Symbolic or Ancient Craft Masonry. To understand those traditions properly, they must be placed in their appropriate place in the life of him who plays so important a part in them. Some of these legends have the concurrent support of Scripture, some are related by Josephus, and some appear to have no historical foundation. Without, therefore, vouching for their authenticity, they must be recounted, to make the Masonic life of the builder of the second Temple complete.
Zerubbabel, who, in the Book of Ezra, is called Sheshbazzar, the Prince of Judah, was the grandson of that King Jehoiachin, or Jeconiah, who had been deposed by Nebuchadnezzar and carried as a captive to Babylon. In him, therefore, was vested the regal authority, and on him, as such, the command of the returning captives was bestowed by Cyrus, who on that occasion, according to a Masonic tradition, presented to him the sword which Nebuchadnezzar had received from his grandfather, Jehoiachin.
As soon as the Degree of the Persian monarch had been promulgated to his Jewish subjects, the Tribes of Judah and Benjamin, with the Priests and Levites, assembled at Babylon, and prepared to return to Jerusalem, for the purpose of rebuilding the Temple. Some few from the other Tribes, whose love of their country and its ancient worship had not been obliterated by the luxuries of the Babylonian court, united with the followers of Zerubbabel, and aecompanied him to Jerusalem.
The greater number, however, remained; and even of the Priests, who were divided into twenty-four courses, only four courses returned, who, however, divided themselves, each class into six, so as again to make up the old number. Cyrus also restored to the Jews the greater part of the sacred vessels of the Temple which had been carried away by Nebuchadnezzar, and five thousand and four hundred were received by Zerubbabel, the remainder being brought back, many years after, by Ezra.
Only forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty Israelites, exclusive of servants and slaves, accompanied Zerubbabel, out of whom he selected seven thousand of the most valiant, whom he placed as an advanced guard at the head of the people.
Their progress homeward was not altogether unattended with danger; for tradition informs us that at the river Euphrates they were opposed by the Assyrians, who, incited by the temptation of the vast amount of golden vessels which they were carrying, drew up in hostile array, and, notwithstanding the remonstrances of the Jews, and the Edict of Cyrus, disputed their passage. Zerubbabel, however, repulsed the enemy with such ardor as to insure a signal victory, most of the Assyrians having been slain in the battle, or drowned in their attempt to cross the river in their retreat. The rest of the journey was uninterrupted, and, after a march of four months, Zerubbabel arrived at Jerusalem, with his weary followers, at seven o'clock in the morning of the 22d of June, five hundred and thirty-five years before Christ.
During their captivity, the Jews had continued, without intermission, to practise the rights of Freemasonry, and had established at various places regular Lodges in Chaldea. Especially, according to the Rabbinical traditions, had they instituted their mystie Fraternity al Naharda, on the Euphlates; anal, according to the same authority, we are informed that Zerubbabel carried with him to Jerusalem all the secret knowledge which was the property of that Institution, and established a similar Fraternity in Judea. This coincides with, and gives additional strength to, the traditions of the Royal Arch Degree.
As soon as the pious pilgrims had arrived at Jerusalem, and taken a needful rest of seven days, a Tabernacle for the temporary purposes of divine worship was erected near the ruins of the ancient Temple, and a Council was called, in which Zerubbabel presided as King, Jeshua as High Priest, and Haggai as Scribe, or principal officer of State. It was there determined to commence the building of the second Temple upon the same holy spot which had been occupied by the first, and the people liberally contributed sixty-one thousand drachms of gold, and five thousand minas of silver, or nearly a quarter of a million of dollars, toward defraying the expenses; a sum which sinks into utter insignificance, when compared with the immense amount appropriated by David and Solomon to the construction of their Temple.
The site having been thus determined upon, it was found necessary to begin by removing the rubbish of the old Temple, which still encumbered the earth, and prevented the workmen from making the necessary •arrangements for laying the foundation. It was during this operation that an important discovery was made by three Sojourners, who had not originally accompanied Zerubbabel, but who, sojourning some time longer at Babylon, followed their countrymen at a later period, and had arrived at Jerusalem just in time to assist in the removal of the rubbish.
These three Sojourners, whose fortune it was to discover that stone of foundation, so intimately connected with the history of Freemasorz nd to whieh we have before had repeated occasion to allude, are supposed by a Masonic tradition to have been Esdras, Zachariah, and Nehemiah, the three holy men, who, for refusing to worship the golden image, had been thrown by Nebuchadnezzar into a fiery furnace, from which they emerged uninjured. In the Chaldee language, they were known by the names of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
It was in penetrating into some of the subterranean vaults, that the Masonic stone of foundation, with other important mysteries connected with it, were discovered by the three fortunate Sojourners, and presented by them to Zerubbabel and his companions Jeshua and Haggai, whose traditionary knowledge of Freemasonry, which they had received in a direct line from the builders of the first Temple, enabled them at once to appreciate the great importance on ese treasure
As soon as that wonderful discovery was made, on which depends not only the existence of the Royal Arch Degree, but the most important mystery of Freemasonry, the Jews proceeded on a certain day, before the rising of the sun, to lay the foundation-stone of the second Temple; and for that purpose, we are told, Zerubbabel selected that stone of foundation which had been discovered by the three Sojourners. On this occasion, we learn that the young rejoiced with shouts and acclamations, but that the ancient people disturbed them with their groans and lamentations, when they reflected on the superb magnificence of the first Temple, and compared it with the expected inferiority of the present structure.
As in the building of the first Temple, so in this, the Tyrians and Sidonians were engaged to furnish the timber from the Forests of Lebanon, and to conduct it in the same manner on floats by sea to Joppa.
Scarcely had the workmen well commenced their labors, when they were interrupted by the Samaritans, who made application to be permitted to unite with them in the construction of the Temple. But the Jews, who looked upon them as idolaters, refused to accept of their services.
The Samaritans in consequence became their bitter enemies, and so prevailed, by misrepresentations, with the ministers of Cyrus, as to cause them to put such obstructions in the way of the construction of the edifice as seriously to impede its progress for several years. With such difficulty and danger were the works conducted during this period, that the workmen were compelled to labor with the trowel in one hand and the sword in the other. To commemorate these worthy Craftsmen, who were thus ready, either to fight or to labor in the cause of God, as circumstances might require, the sword and trowel crosswise, or, as the Heralds would say, en Satire, have been placed upon the Royal Arch TracingBoard or Carpet of our English Brethren. In the American instructions this expressive symbol of valor and piety was unfortunately omitted.
In the seventh year after the restoration of the Jews, Cyrus, their friend and benefactor, died, and his son Cambyses, in Scripture called Ahasuerus, ascended the throne. The Samaritans and the other enemies of the Jews, now becoming bolder in their designs, succeeded in obtaining from Cambyses a peremptory order for the stoppage of all the works at Jerusalem, and the Temple consequently remained in an unfinished state until the second year of the reign of Darius, the successor of Cambyses.
Darius appears to have had, like Cyrus, a great friendship for the Israelites, and especially for Zerubbabel, with whom he was well acquainted in his youth. We are informed, as an evidence of this, that, when a private man, he made a vow, that if he should ever ascend the throne, he would restore all the vessels of the Temple that had been retained by Cyrus. Zerubbabel, being well aware of the friendly disposition of the King, determined, immediately after his accession to power, to make a personal application to him for his assistance and protection in rebuilding the Temple. Accordingly he departed from Jerusalem, and after a journey full of peril, in which he was continually attacked by parties of his enemies, he was arrested as a spy by the Persian guards in the vicinity of Babylon, anu carried in chains before Darius, w-hoX how-ever, immediately recognized him as the friend and companion of his youth, and ordering him instantly to be released from his bonds, invited him to be present at a magnificent feast which he was about to give to the Court.
It is said that on this occasion, Zerubbabel, having explained to Darius the occasion of his visit, implored the interposition of his authority for the protection of the Israelites engaged in the restoration of the Temple. The King promised to grant all his requests, provided he would reveal to him the secrets of Freemasonry. But this the faithful Prince at once refused to do. He declined the favor of the monarch at the price of his infamy, and expressed his willingness rather to meet death or exile, than to violate his sacred obligations as a Freemason.
This firmness and fidelity only raised his character still higher in the estimation of Darius, who seems, indeed, to have been endowed with many noble qualities both of heart and mind.
It was on this occasion, at the feast given by King Darius, that, agreeably to the custom of Eastern monarchs, he proposed to his courtiers the question whether the power of wine, women, or the King, was the strongest.
Answers were made by different persons, assigning to each of these the precedency in power; but when Zerubbabel was called on to assert his opinion, he declared that though the power of wine and of the King might be great, that of women was still greater, but that above all things truth bore the victory. Josephus says that the sentiments of Zerubbabel having been deemed to contain the most wisdom, the King commanded him to ask something over and above what he had promised as the prize of the victor in the philosophic discussion. Zerubbabel then called upon the monarch to fulfil the vow that he had made in his youth, to rebuild the Temple, and restore the vessels that had been taken away by Nebuchadnezzar.
The King forthwith granted his request, promised him the most ample protection in the future prosecution of the works, and sent him home to Jerusalem laden with honors, and under the conduct of an escort.
Henceforth, although from time to time annoyed by their adversaries, the builders met with no serious obstruction, and finally, twenty years after its commencement, in the sixth year of the reign of Darius, and on the third day of the month Adar, 515 5 ears B.C., the Temple was completed, the capstone celebrated, and the house solemnly dedicated to Jehovah with the greatest joy. After this we hear nothing further of Zerubbabel, nor is the time or manner of his death either recorded in Scripture or preserved byMasonie tradition. We have, however, reason for believing that he lived to a good old age, since we find no successor of him mentioned until Artaxerxes appointed Ezra as the Governor of Judea, fifty-seven years after the completion of the Temple.
|
