According to the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

, Boaz () and Jachin () were two copper, brass or bronze pillars which stood on the porch of

Solomon's Temple Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple (), was a biblical Temple in Jerusalem believed to have existed between the 10th and 6th centuries Common Era, BCE. Its description is largely based on narratives in the Hebrew Bible, in which it ...

, the first

Temple in Jerusalem The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. Accord ...

. They are used as symbols in

Freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

and sometimes in religious architecture. They were probably not support structures but free-standing, based on similar pillars found in other nearby temples.

Description

In the Bible

The pillars were nearly six feet (1.8 metres) thick and 27 feet (8.2 metres) tall. The eight-foot (2.4 metres) high brass chapiters, or

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

s, on top of the pillars bore decorations, in brass, of lilies. The original measurement as taken from the Torah was in

cubit The cubit is an ancient unit of length based on the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. It was primarily associated with the Sumerians, Egyptians, and Israelites. The term ''cubit'' is found in the Bible regarding Noah ...

s, which records that the pillars were 18 cubits high and 12 cubits around, and hollow—four fingers thick. (). Nets of checkerwork covered the bowl of each chapiter, decorated with rows of 200

pomegranate The pomegranate (''Punica granatum'') is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae, subfamily Punica, Punicoideae, that grows between tall. Rich in symbolic and mythological associations in many cultures, it is thought to have o ...

s, wreathed with seven chains for each chapiter, and topped with lilies (, ). The pillars did not survive the destruction of the First Temple;

Jeremiah Jeremiah ( – ), also called Jeremias, was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish tradition, Jeremiah authored the Book of Jeremiah, book that bears his name, the Books of Kings, and the Book of Lamentations, with t ...

reports: "The Chaldeans broke up the bronze columns of the House of the Lord". II Kings has a similar account. The pillars were carried away in pieces for ease of transportation. When the

Second Temple The Second Temple () was the Temple in Jerusalem that replaced Solomon's Temple, which was destroyed during the Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC), Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in 587 BCE. It was constructed around 516 BCE and later enhanced by Herod ...

was built, the pillars were not returned, and there exists no record of new pillars being constructed to replace them.

Orientation

Jewish commentators

According to rabbi Raymond Apple, "Jewish commentators on I Kings 7:21 maintain that it was when one stood inside the building and looked out toward the entrance in the east" that Jachin was on the right (to the south) and Boaz was on the left (to the north).

Josephus

According to the first-century Romano-Jewish scholar

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing '' The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Roman province of Judea—to a father of pr ...

' book ''

Antiquities of the Jews ''Antiquities of the Jews'' (; , ''Ioudaikē archaiologia'') is a 20-volume historiographical work, written in Greek, by the Roman-Jewish historian Josephus in the 13th year of the reign of the Roman emperor Domitian, which was 94 CE. It cont ...

'', Jachin (Hebrew יָכִין ''yakin'' "He/it will establish") stood on the right on the portico of Solomon's Temple, while Boaz (Hebrew בֹּעַז ''boʿaz'' "In him/it sstrength") stood on the left, and the two were made by a Canaanite craftsman named Hiram. An explanatory note by William Whiston on paragraph 6 of the same chapter, explains this as agreeing with the opinion of the Jewish commentators.

Opposing view

Carl Watzinger (1877-1948), a German archaeologist, assuming that the point of view was in the east looking toward the temple, reversed this traditional placement of the pillars in a drawing of the temple which has been used by subsequent sources including ''

Encyclopaedia Judaica The ''Encyclopaedia Judaica'' is a multi-volume English-language encyclopedia of the Jewish people, Judaism, and Israel. It covers diverse areas of the Jewish world and civilization, including Jewish history of all eras, culture, Jewish holida ...

''. Due to this, some recent sources place Jachin to the north and Boaz to the south, contrary to the older tradition.

Cultural influence

The Romanesque Church of

Santa Maria Maggiore Santa Maria Maggiore (), also known as the Basilica of Saint Mary Major or the Basilica of Saint Mary the Great, is one of the four Basilicas in the Catholic Church#Major and papal basilicas, major papal basilicas and one of the Seven Pilgrim C ...

Tuscania Tuscania is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Viterbo, Lazio Region, Italy. Until the late 19th century the town was known as Toscanella. History Antiquity According to the legend, Tuscania was founded by Aeneas' son, Ascanius, wher ...

, Italy, has a recessed entrance flanked by a pair of free-standing stone columns intended to evoke Boaz and Jachin. Similar pillars intended to represent Boaz and Jachin also exist in

Würzburg Cathedral Würzburg Cathedral () is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Würzburg in Bavaria, Germany, dedicated to Saint Kilian. It is the seat of the Bishop of Würzburg and has served as the burial place for the Prince-Bishops of Würzburg for hundreds of ye ...

(Germany) and Dalby Church (Sweden). Columns representing Boaz and Jachin can be found in most Masonic lodges and are emblematic of their use in Masonic ritual. The pillars are part of a symbolic use of Solomon's Temple itself. Jakin, an incorporated town in the U.S. state of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, takes its name from the pillar. Some variants of the

tarot Tarot (, first known as ''trionfi (cards), trionfi'' and later as ''tarocchi'' or ''tarocks'') is a set of playing cards used in tarot games and in fortune-telling or divination. From at least the mid-15th century, the tarot was used to play t ...

card The High Priestess depict Boaz and Jachin.

In fiction

* Russell Hoban's novel ''The Lion of Boaz-Jachin and Jachin-Boaz'' (1973) has two characters named after the pillars. * In the 2002

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

series '' Gundam SEED'', the approaches to Coordinator space habitats in lunar orbit are guarded by a pair of asteroid fortresses named "Boaz" and "Jachin Due". * In '' The Lost Symbol'' (2009), a Robert Langdon novel by

Dan Brown Daniel Gerhard Brown (born June 22, 1964) is an American author best known for his Thriller (genre), thriller novels, including the Robert Langdon (book series), Robert Langdon novels ''Angels & Demons'' (2000), ''The Da Vinci Code'' (2003), '' ...

, the villain Mal'akh has images of Boaz and Jachin tattooed on his legs.

Gallery

File:Dalby kyrka 200920-7.jpg, Romanesque representation of one of the pillars in Dalby Church, Sweden, 11th century File:St John's Church, Chester - Hiram-Fenster 2.jpg, Hiram the Architect, in Freemasonry known as

Hiram Abiff Hiram Abiff (also Hiram Abif or the Widow's son) is the central character of an allegory presented to all candidates during the third Masonic degrees, degree in Freemasonry. Hiram is presented as the chief architect of Solomon's Temple, King So ...

, flanked by the pillars. Stained glass window, St John's Church, Chester, 20th century File:JachinBoaz.jpg, Illustration from ''The compass of the wise'', a 1782

Rosicrucian Rosicrucianism () is a spirituality, spiritual and cultural movement that arose in early modern Europe in the early 17th century after the publication of several texts announcing to the world a new Western esotericism, esoteric order. Rosicruc ...

book

References

External links

* Treasury of Scripture Knowledg
Definition
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boaz And Jachin Columns and entablature Masonic symbolism Solomon's Temple