As a curious fellowcraft I have a question that I am having trouble getting to the bottom of:

When considering King Solomon's Temple and discussing left and right, is one to do so from the perspective of the outside looking in or from the inside looking out?

Which left is left? Which right is right?

I have found two diagrams that are conflicting.
I have found many opinions that are conflicting.

So far I have not found any reasoning of a suficiently luminous nature to burn away the shadows of doubt in my mind.
It has become very important to me.

As a young Mason I first thought to consider the temple as a pilgrim would approaching from the outside. Perhaps those that have occupied King Solomon's chair consider it from the perspective of from inside looking out more easily...

I am hesitant to form my opinion until more information comes to light.

In 'Ars Quatuor Coronatorum' Volume LXVIII
I found this article on page 85
________________________
The Pillars. -A question which is often asked is with regard to the position of the Pillars. According to I Kings, vi, 8, the door for the middle chamber was in the right side of the house, and Tracing Boards show the winding stairs leading up to it from inside the porch.
This Porch was at the East entrance to the Temple, and I Kings, vii, 21, states that Hiram "set the pillars in the porch, to right and left" ; but this doesn't solve the problem, for arguments may still revolve around the position of the viewer, according as he looks into the temple from the court outside or views the pillars from inside the porch, but it does seem to imply that he is inside. Yet one might argue otherwise and quote II Chron., iii, which states "he reared up the pillars before the temple . . . "
The solution is not to be found in the two verses mentioning the names given to them but in I Kings, vii, 39, which says: " . . . and he set the sea on the right side of the house eastward over against the south." Here we have the definite statement that South was on the right-therefore, North was on the left.
Looking at the pillars from the outside court would not agree with the positions mentioned in I Kings, for the South, from this viewpoint, is on the left, whereas verse 39 stares that it was on the right, i.e. where J. was situated, whose position is also confirmed by II Chron., iv, 10, as well as Josephus in his Antiquities.
There is no other position possible than to view the pillars from inside the porch.

N. Rogers.
________________________



This conflicts with the article on this site:

THOSE MYSTERIOUS PILLARS : BOAZ and JACHIN
by W.Bro William M Larson - 33 Degree
Portland Lodge # 55 A.F. & A.M., Portland Oregon
Grand Lodge of Oregon, USA

That states:

"A worshiper leaving the Temple, and his view as to their placement of Boaz and Jachin would be unrealistic, for before he could leave, he must have first entered. Many writers, of Masonic papers, have contested this question, but Josephus clarifies the situation sufficiently well when he writes, "The one of these pillars he set up at the entrance of the porch on the left hand and called it Boaz." The word entrance, should leave no question in speculating which way these pillars were to be viewed. A person can only enter the Temple from the outside, when leaving he would be departing or exiting to the outside."

Incidentally it was this article that led me to find the freemasons-freemasonry.com website and so W.Bro William M Larson has my humble thanks.


So Brethren,
Please exhibit your opinions and if inclined how these were formed.

Is there a conclusive proof?
I seek it!

This is an intriguing question which has exercised many brethren. For myself, I take Flavius Josephus (whose original name was Joseph ben Matthias) the 1st century Jewish priest, scholar, and historian as the authority, for the reasons I give below. In his Antiquities of the Jews, in a footnote there is the following key to his own language, of right and left hand in the tabernacle and temple; that by the right hand he means what is against our left, when we suppose ourselves going up from the east gates of the courts towards the tabernacle or temple themselves, and so vice versa; whence it follows that the pillar Jachin, on the right hand of the temple, was on the south, against our left hand; and Booz on the north, against our right hand.

This sounds convoluted but is not really when you realise that the entrance was in the east and the Holy of Holies at the west end of the structure. Imagine yourself facing west (as if entering), you would have J in the south and beside your left hand. All the rest now falls into place doesn't it?

The AQC article does agree with this but there is so much other detail that one tends to get confused; I do anyway! I think that's why there have been conflicting interpretations. In such cases I like to go back to the simplest of roots. The trouble with both Kings and Chronicles is that they, along with the rest of the books, have been subjected to many serial translations and redactors (some political) over time, whilst Josephus has not been subjected to those processes.

Ripper!

Thank you Plumb,


That is exactly the type of assistance that I was hoping for.
The footnotes of Josephus himself! That is the kind of info I hoped for.

I will have to get a copy and check it out. Very exciting.

Regarding the translation and political filtering of the VSL that the AQC article draws from, I had exactly the same concerns.


Regards & Respect,

Br Anton fc

Glad to be of help, Bro Anton.

I found this on:

http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext01/taofj10.txt


Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus

FOOTNOTE 11 ( BOOK 8 )

___________________________
(11) Here Josephus gives us a key to his own language, of right
and left hand in the tabernacle and temple; that by the right
hand he means what is against our left, when we suppose ourselves
going up from the east gate of the courts towards the tabernacle
or temple themselves, and so vice versa; whence it follows, that
the pillar Jachin, on the right hand of the temple was on the
south, against our left hand; and Booz on the north, against our
right hand. Of the golden plate on the high priest's forehead
that was in being in the days of Josephus, and a century or two
at least later, see the note on Antiq. B. III. ch. 7. sect. 6.
___________________________

Does any Brother know why Josephus uses the term Right Hand to describe that which is against our Left Hand (when outside looking in)?

Does it relate to translation, Jewish culture?
Were all things described this way or just the Temple/Tabernacle?


Anton

As I understand it, that is because he is there speaking of the right hand side of the temple, from the view point of the Holy of Holies, i.e. looking out eastwards.

A knowledgable Brother from South Australia provided me with this astute observation.

In the Grand Communication meetings of the Grand Lodge of Antient, Free and Accepted Masons of South Australia and the Northern Territory, the following ritual occurs:

Junior Grand Warden is asked whom he represents - he replies "B_, the Prince of the People, on Mount Tabor" (to the north of Jerusalem). The Senior Grand Warden, when asked, replies "J_, the Assistant High Priest, on Mount Sinai" (far to the south of Jerusalem).

I have been to two such meetings but this absolutely escaped my notice.

Do the relative positions of these mountains bear relevance to the question I posed?
I suspect that it does, but desire something firmer than supposition.


Any ideas?

That is a very interesting question indeed! I really don't know whether any such link was intended but it's a fascinating thought. Somehow, I have my doubts. None of my main reference books make any such connection. I will look further into this.