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Article MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES. ← Page 4 of 5 →
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Masonic Notes And Queries.
man walks about on the earth , as it is written m the Law , ' and Moses went into the midst of the cloud ;' but when the door-keeper , Kemuel ( the angel that is set over the twelve thousand angels of destruction ) met him , he angrily asked—Whence , son of Amram , this desire of thine to pass into the place of fiery angels ? Moses answeredI am not come of myselfbut of the
, , holy and blessed God , to receive the law and carry it down to the Israelites . Notwithstanding this , the angel opposed his passing ; Moses fell upon him and gave him such blows that he wounded aud overcame him , and would have destroyed him from the creation . Then w eut Moses straight iuto the firmament , where
he met the angel Ha-darniel . Now this angel is sixty thousand leagues higher than Ins companion , and with every word he utters there issues from his mouth twelve thousand darts of light . He , on beholding Moses , thus roughly accosted him : Son of Amram , what hast thou to do in the place of the exalted saints ?
Then Moses was struck with fear , but God pitied him and rebuked Hadarniel . Now when Hadaruiel heard this , he was grieved , and walked before Moses as a servant walks before his master , till he came to the fire of the augcl Sandelson . Then spake he to Bloses and said , Go back , for I dare not tarry lest the fire of
Sandelson consume me . Then when Moses saw Sandelson , he quaked with exceeding fear , so that he was ready to fall from the cloud to the ground , and he prayed for mercy , aud was heard for the love God bore to Israel ; so the Lord descended from the throneof His glory , and came down and stood before Moses till he had passed the fire of Sandelson ; and this is that which is spoken of in the book of Exodus , * and the Lord
passed before him . ' Wheu Moses was thus safely passed by Sandelson , he came towards Bigjon , the fiery river , which is set and kept in a flame by ministering angels , and in which they all bathe themselves ; its source is under the throne of glory . " Presently after God led Moses from this river they
passed the angel Galieyer , who is surnamed Easiel , at the sight of whom Moses trembled , but God protected him ; aud afterwards he met a great company of angels of dreadful aspect , who surrounded the throne of glory , and who were the most mighty of created beings ; these angels opposed him by the
fiery breath which issued in flames from their mouths , and were ready to consume him because he was come to carry away the law , which they wished to keep in heaven to themselves ; but the Lord , at that moment , clothed Moses with the brightness of his glory , aud said to him , * Since they insist on keeping the law to
themselves , give them an answer . ' " Then Moses showed them that the law was not necessary for them as it was for men , inasmuch as it did- not apply to their condition . Then the ministering spirits gave up their mistaken pretensions , and yielded to the words of Moses , praising the Lord . So
the Lord taught Moses the law in ten days . " Then Moses descended again to the earth , full of terror and astonishment at the dreadful appearance which the angels made ; to wit , the angels of fear and of fire , and of quaking ; but he forgot all in an hour ' s time . And the Lord spake unto Jefifiahthe angel of
, the countenance , who thereupon delivered the law unto Moses in order and well secured , and all the angels were instantly his friends , and every one presented him with some medicine . They also
communicated to him the division of names arising from every parascha of the law , showing him likewise the usefulness of the law , and in what manner it was to he understood ; for it is said , ' Thou hast led captivit y captive , thou hast received gifts for men ; ' also the angel of death delivered something unto him ; for it
is written , ' and he put on inceuse and made atonement for the sins of the people . ' " This glorious use of the names arising from the use of each parascha of the law was communicated by Jefifiah , the angel of the countenance , and Metatronthe prince of the law : Moses communicated it
, to Aaron , he to Eleazar , and he to Phineas , who was a good and excellent priest . Likewise all the law and ' all the prophets did Moses learn , in the seventy ways of the seventy languages , iu forty days , but forgot it all in one hour : wherefore the Lord sent Jefifiah to
instruct him agaic . And here , before we proceed any further , we will just notice that this fable seems to have been conjoined with that of Jehoscha ben Levi , to form * the first ascent of Mohammed , and next the adventures of Gangler in the Northern mythology . Of this hero it will be sufficient to say that he went to the gods
, and was by them instructed in all those fables which form the Edda , and which are supposed , in the work itself , to be spoken by him . The history of Surtur , as related by him , will be found to bear no slight analogy with that of Sandelson ,, and if it he divided into two partsSurtur will he
, found in the one part to coincide with Sandelson , and in the other with Gog and Magog . There are many more tales about Moses ; two will , however , be enough by way of specimen . When an infant , and brought up as the son of Pharoah ' s daughter , he was frequently caressed by
that monarch himself , who , on one occasion , having , the infant Moses in his arms , was suddenly seized by the beard by him , aud that so roughly as to put him to much pain . Enraged at this , he commanded his daughter to put Moses to death , but she replied , " He is but an infant , he knows not the difference between a hot coal and a ruby . " " Try him" said the king ,
, and the two were placed before him accordingly . Moses immediately took the hot coal and put it into his mouth , by which he ever after had an impediment iu his speech . It is this , they say , to which healluded when he said , " I am slow of speech , and of a stammering tongue . " Another talmudic fiction
says , that when he slew the Egyptian who was striving with a Hebrew , he was seen and seized by some of the king ' s officers , tried , and brought on the scaffold to be decapitated , but his head aud neck became hard as ivory , so that the sword of tbe executioner rebounded from the stroke . ]
THE PELICAN-. Can you give any symbolic account of the Pelican as a Masonic emblem ?—H . P . —[ If you are entitled to it , send your full name , and it can be traced in the new Bed-book when , if it is found there , you can have what you require , privately , but if it is not therein you must apply elsewhere for the information . ]
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Notes And Queries.
man walks about on the earth , as it is written m the Law , ' and Moses went into the midst of the cloud ;' but when the door-keeper , Kemuel ( the angel that is set over the twelve thousand angels of destruction ) met him , he angrily asked—Whence , son of Amram , this desire of thine to pass into the place of fiery angels ? Moses answeredI am not come of myselfbut of the
, , holy and blessed God , to receive the law and carry it down to the Israelites . Notwithstanding this , the angel opposed his passing ; Moses fell upon him and gave him such blows that he wounded aud overcame him , and would have destroyed him from the creation . Then w eut Moses straight iuto the firmament , where
he met the angel Ha-darniel . Now this angel is sixty thousand leagues higher than Ins companion , and with every word he utters there issues from his mouth twelve thousand darts of light . He , on beholding Moses , thus roughly accosted him : Son of Amram , what hast thou to do in the place of the exalted saints ?
Then Moses was struck with fear , but God pitied him and rebuked Hadarniel . Now when Hadaruiel heard this , he was grieved , and walked before Moses as a servant walks before his master , till he came to the fire of the augcl Sandelson . Then spake he to Bloses and said , Go back , for I dare not tarry lest the fire of
Sandelson consume me . Then when Moses saw Sandelson , he quaked with exceeding fear , so that he was ready to fall from the cloud to the ground , and he prayed for mercy , aud was heard for the love God bore to Israel ; so the Lord descended from the throneof His glory , and came down and stood before Moses till he had passed the fire of Sandelson ; and this is that which is spoken of in the book of Exodus , * and the Lord
passed before him . ' Wheu Moses was thus safely passed by Sandelson , he came towards Bigjon , the fiery river , which is set and kept in a flame by ministering angels , and in which they all bathe themselves ; its source is under the throne of glory . " Presently after God led Moses from this river they
passed the angel Galieyer , who is surnamed Easiel , at the sight of whom Moses trembled , but God protected him ; aud afterwards he met a great company of angels of dreadful aspect , who surrounded the throne of glory , and who were the most mighty of created beings ; these angels opposed him by the
fiery breath which issued in flames from their mouths , and were ready to consume him because he was come to carry away the law , which they wished to keep in heaven to themselves ; but the Lord , at that moment , clothed Moses with the brightness of his glory , aud said to him , * Since they insist on keeping the law to
themselves , give them an answer . ' " Then Moses showed them that the law was not necessary for them as it was for men , inasmuch as it did- not apply to their condition . Then the ministering spirits gave up their mistaken pretensions , and yielded to the words of Moses , praising the Lord . So
the Lord taught Moses the law in ten days . " Then Moses descended again to the earth , full of terror and astonishment at the dreadful appearance which the angels made ; to wit , the angels of fear and of fire , and of quaking ; but he forgot all in an hour ' s time . And the Lord spake unto Jefifiahthe angel of
, the countenance , who thereupon delivered the law unto Moses in order and well secured , and all the angels were instantly his friends , and every one presented him with some medicine . They also
communicated to him the division of names arising from every parascha of the law , showing him likewise the usefulness of the law , and in what manner it was to he understood ; for it is said , ' Thou hast led captivit y captive , thou hast received gifts for men ; ' also the angel of death delivered something unto him ; for it
is written , ' and he put on inceuse and made atonement for the sins of the people . ' " This glorious use of the names arising from the use of each parascha of the law was communicated by Jefifiah , the angel of the countenance , and Metatronthe prince of the law : Moses communicated it
, to Aaron , he to Eleazar , and he to Phineas , who was a good and excellent priest . Likewise all the law and ' all the prophets did Moses learn , in the seventy ways of the seventy languages , iu forty days , but forgot it all in one hour : wherefore the Lord sent Jefifiah to
instruct him agaic . And here , before we proceed any further , we will just notice that this fable seems to have been conjoined with that of Jehoscha ben Levi , to form * the first ascent of Mohammed , and next the adventures of Gangler in the Northern mythology . Of this hero it will be sufficient to say that he went to the gods
, and was by them instructed in all those fables which form the Edda , and which are supposed , in the work itself , to be spoken by him . The history of Surtur , as related by him , will be found to bear no slight analogy with that of Sandelson ,, and if it he divided into two partsSurtur will he
, found in the one part to coincide with Sandelson , and in the other with Gog and Magog . There are many more tales about Moses ; two will , however , be enough by way of specimen . When an infant , and brought up as the son of Pharoah ' s daughter , he was frequently caressed by
that monarch himself , who , on one occasion , having , the infant Moses in his arms , was suddenly seized by the beard by him , aud that so roughly as to put him to much pain . Enraged at this , he commanded his daughter to put Moses to death , but she replied , " He is but an infant , he knows not the difference between a hot coal and a ruby . " " Try him" said the king ,
, and the two were placed before him accordingly . Moses immediately took the hot coal and put it into his mouth , by which he ever after had an impediment iu his speech . It is this , they say , to which healluded when he said , " I am slow of speech , and of a stammering tongue . " Another talmudic fiction
says , that when he slew the Egyptian who was striving with a Hebrew , he was seen and seized by some of the king ' s officers , tried , and brought on the scaffold to be decapitated , but his head aud neck became hard as ivory , so that the sword of tbe executioner rebounded from the stroke . ]
THE PELICAN-. Can you give any symbolic account of the Pelican as a Masonic emblem ?—H . P . —[ If you are entitled to it , send your full name , and it can be traced in the new Bed-book when , if it is found there , you can have what you require , privately , but if it is not therein you must apply elsewhere for the information . ]