Jahbulon or Jabulon or Jahbuhlun (supposedly from he, יָהּ‎ בַּעַל אוֹן, translit=Yāh baʿal ʾōn, "

Jah Jah or Yah ( he, , ''Yāh'') is a short form of (YHWH), the four letters that form the tetragrammaton, the personal name of God: Yahweh, which the ancient Israelites used. The conventional Christian English pronunciation of ''Jah'' is , even th ...

Baal Baal (), or Baal,; phn, , baʿl; hbo, , baʿal, ). ( ''baʿal'') was a title and honorific meaning "owner", "lord" in the Northwest Semitic languages spoken in the Levant during Ancient Near East, antiquity. From its use among people, it cam ...

-strength") is a word which is allegedly used in some

rituals A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized, ...

of Royal Arch

Masonry Masonry is the building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar; the term ''masonry'' can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are bricks, building ...

and derivations thereof.

Background

Non-Masonic authors have alleged that "Jahbulon" is a Masonic name for God, and even the name of a unique "Masonic god", despite Freemasonry's official claim that "There is no separate Masonic God," nor a separate proper name for a deity in any branch of Freemasonry. In England, no ritual containing the name has been in official Masonic use since February 1989.

Usages

Masonic

According to Masonic historian Arturo de Hoyos, the word Jahbulon was first used in the 18th century in early French versions of the Royal Arch degree. It relates a Masonic allegory in which Jabulon was the name of an explorer living during the time of Solomon who discovered the ruins of an ancient temple. Within the ruins he found a gold plate upon which the name of God (YHWH) was engraved. In Duncan's Masonic Ritual and Monitor, published in the mid-19th century, Malcolm Duncan uses the word as a recognition password in his rendition of the Royal Arch degree,"They then balance three times three, bringing the right hand with some violence down upon the left. The right hands are then raised above their heads, and the words, Jah-buh-lun, Jehovah, G-o-d, are given at low breath, each companion pronouncing the syllables or letters alternately
Royal Arch, Or Seventh Degree
''Duncan's Masonic Ritual and Monitor'', by Malcolm C. Duncan, 1866 and in a footnote states that the word is a combination of sacred names."JEHOVAH. Of the varieties of this sacred name in use among the different nations of the earth, three particularly merit the attention of Royal Arch Masons:
1. JAH. This name of God is found in the 68th Psalm, v. 4.
2. BAAL OR BEL. This word signifies a lord, master, or possessor, and hence it was applied by many of the nations of the East to denote the Lord of all things, and the Master of the world.
3. ON. This was the name by which JEHOVAH was worshipped among the Egyptians.
I have made these remarks on the three names of God in Chaldaic,

Syriac Syriac may refer to: *Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic *Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region * Syriac alphabet ** Syriac (Unicode block) ** Syriac Supplement * Neo-Aramaic languages a ...

and Egyptian, Baal, Jah, and On, in the expectation that my Royal Arch Companions will readily recognize them in a corrupted form.--Lexicon.'' From footnote 226:1 i
Royal Arch, Or Seventh Degree
''Duncan's Masonic Ritual and Monitor'', by Malcolm C. Duncan, 1866 However, there has been controversy regarding Duncan's ritual. According to Turnbull, Everett and Denslow, Duncan has the candidate swear, "I furthermore promise and swear, that I will support the Constitution of the General Grand Royal Arch Chapter of the United States of America..." whereas the General Grand Chapter at the time styled itself ''General Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of the United States'', a subtle but significant difference. Some Masonic authors state that even if Duncan's ritual is authentic, it is either an outdated exposure or that it had been superseded by another explanation.

Ordo Templi Orientis

According to

Francis X. King George Francis King (10 January 1934 – 8 November 1994),''England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916–2007'' known as Francis X. King, was a British occult writer and editor from London who wrote about tarot, divination, w ...

in ''The Secret Rituals of the O.T.O.'', the word is used in two rituals of

Ordo Templi Orientis Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.; ) is an occult Initiation, initiatory organization founded at the beginning of the 20th century. The origins of the O.T.O. can be traced back to the German-speaking occultists Carl Kellner (mystic), Carl Kellner, He ...

: ''the Lodge of Perfection'', in which the candidate receives the Fourth Degree (which is called ''Perfect Magician and Companion of the Holy Royal Arch of Enoch''); and the ''Perfect Initiate'' (or ''Prince of Jerusalem'') degree, which falls between the fourth and fifth degrees. King prints in his book the lyrics of a song that mentions the word "Jahbulon."

Interpretations

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 (''b'el,'' owner, husband, lord) and * און (''on,'' strength); pronouncing three aspects or qualities of Deity, namely Eternal Existence, Ownership, and Omnipotence and equating to "The Eternal God - Master - Almighty". According to

Walton Hannah William Walton Thomson Hannah (9 October 1912 – 26 February 1966) was an English priest from Forest Row, Sussex. Originally an Anglican priest, he later became a Roman Catholic priest. He was the author the controversial book '' Darkness Visi ...

, the word is a compound of the names of three gods worshipped in the ancient Middle East: *Jah (=

Yahweh Yahweh *''Yahwe'', was the national god of ancient Israel and Judah. The origins of his worship reach at least to the early Iron Age, and likely to the Late Bronze Age if not somewhat earlier, and in the oldest biblical literature he posse ...

) *

* On According to Stephen Knight, each syllable of the 'ineffable name' represents one person of this trinity: *JAH = Jahweh, the God of the Hebrews *BUL = Baal, the ancient Canaanite fertility god associated with 'licentious rites of imitative magic' *ON =

Osiris Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wsjr'', cop, ⲟⲩⲥⲓⲣⲉ , ; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎𐤓, romanized: ʾsr) is the god of fertility, agriculture, the afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He was ...

, the Ancient Egyptian god of the underworld.

Criticism

Much of the available material that discusses the word ''Jahbulon'' does not address the administrative and jurisdictional distinctions amongst the appendant bodies of Freemasonry. Royal Arch Masonry is an appendant body to Freemasonry. In some areas it forms part of the

York Rite The York Rite, sometimes referred to as the American Rite, is one of several Rites of Freemasonry. It is named for, but not practiced in York, Yorkshire, England. A Rite is a series of progressive degrees that are conferred by various Masonic ...

, and in others it is an independent body. To be eligible to join one must first be a Master Mason. The administration of the Royal Arch is entirely separate from the administration of Craft Freemasonry. Every Masonic organization 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. Walton Hannah stated in his book ''Darkness Visible'' that the interpretation that Jabulon was a name for God reportedly disturbed

Albert Pike Albert Pike (December 29, 1809April 2, 1891) was an American author, poet, orator, editor, lawyer, jurist and Confederate general who served as an associate justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court in exile from 1864 to 1865. He had previously se ...

, the Sovereign Grand Commander of the Southern Jurisdiction of the

Scottish Rite The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry (the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction in the United States often omits the ''and'', while the English Constitution in the United Kingdom omits the ''Scottish''), commonly known as simply the Sco ...

, who, when he first heard the name, called it a "mongrel word" partly composed of an "appellation of the Devil". Certain Christian ministries take the position that Jahbulon is the name of a Masonic Pagan god, and therefore violates the Biblical commandment "You shall have no other gods before me". A

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

report into compatibility of Freemasonry and the Church reached conclusions of objection based on six points. One of these points was Knight's interpretation of Jahbulon; "JAHBULON, the name of description of God which appears in all the rituals is blasphemous because it is an amalgam of pagan deities. In effect, use of the term is taking God's name in vain."

Background

Usages

Masonic

Ordo Templi Orientis

Interpretations

Criticism

See also

References

Notes

Citations

Further reading