Jahbulon


Jahbulon or Jabulon is a word which is allegedly used in some rituals of Royal Arch Masonry, and derivations thereof. It has been found to be speculation or even a European mispronunciation of the name Jehovah as many Europeans weren't educated or allowed to read the Bible by the Vatican during the Crusades which is when God's name began being used in Masonic rituals as taught to them in Israel during the Crusades.

Background

Non-Masonic authors have alleged that it is a Masonic name for God, and even the name of a unique "Masonic god", despite repeated statements by Freemasonry's officials that "There is no separate Masonic God", nor a separate proper name for a deity in any branch of Freemasonry. It is this interpretation of a "Masonic god" that has led to debates about and condemnation of Freemasonry by several religious groups. In England, no ritual containing the name has been in official Masonic use since February 1989.. This information has been proven to be pure speculation by men and women who neither know the Bible not history. Freemasonry is structured on The book of King's 1 & 2. As a Mason you must believe in God. You must also take pledges to be charitable, and aid widows and fatherless children. Please note, some of the conspiracy theories that surround Freemasonry come from the Catholic Church and reach as far back as the era of the Crusades. One such story, with no direct links to Freemasonry, surrounds the time that Templars began returning from the Holy Land with science, advanced medical techniques taught to them by Arabs and most importantly money, the pope and King Philip of France began to lust after what the Templars returned with. Also, the Templars were giving away gold, medicine and food to the downtrodden of Europe as each knight returned to his own country and people. As history goes The King and The Pope grew jealous of the power of the Templars and how the people clamoured after them. With that the Vatican and King Philip charged them with false claims of heresy and had Commander Jacques de Molay and all Templars arrested, their property seized and their families killed. On the 18th March 1314, Knights Templar Grand Master; Jacques de Molay was burned at the stake, on trumped up charges of heresy. King Philip IV of France was responsible for the destruction of this Holy Order. The date these men were arrested, killed and charged was Friday, 13th 1307...which forever made Friday the 13th ever synonymous with bad luck. The Vatican didn't apologize until 2007.

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 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, and in a footnote states that the word is a combination of sacred names. 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 in The Secret Rituals of the O.T.O., the word is used in two rituals of the Ordo Templi Orientis: the Lodge of Perfection, in which the candidate receives the Fourth Degree ; and the Perfect Initiate degree, which falls between the fourth and fifth degrees. King prints in his book the lyrics of a song that mentions the word "Jahbulon."

Rastafari

It has been suggested that the Rastafari word for God, Jah, comes from the term Jahbulon, although the name JAH appears in the King James Version of the Bible, in Psalm 68:4. The term "Jah" also appears throughout the Psalms in other Bible translations, for instance the Darby translation or Young's Literal translation. William David Spencer, in his 1999 Dread Jesus, proposes that Archibald Dunkley and Joseph Nathaniel Hibbert were among the preachers that inspired the Rastafari movement, and that both were members of the "Ancient Mystic Order of Ethiopia", a fraternal order derived from Prince Hall Freemasonry. Spencer believes that several features of the Rastafari movement derive from this lodge, including the name "Jah", from the word Jah-Bul-On.

Examples of interpretations of the word based on its syllables

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:
According to Walton Hannah, the word is a compound of the names of three gods worshipped in the ancient Middle East.
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, 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".

Citations