A Song of Degrees, for Solomon
1 Unless God builds the house, Its builders toil in vain (shav - שָׁוְא).
Unless God watches over the city, The watchman stays awake in vain (shav - שָׁוְא).
2 It is vain (shav - שָׁוְא) for you to awaken early, To sit up late, To eat the bread of toil - For to His beloved He gives tranquility (shena - שֵׁנָֽא).
3 Behold, children are the heritage of God, And fruit of the womb – reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a mighty one, So are the children (banim - בָּנִ֖ים) of one’s youth.
5 Happy is the man Who has filled his quiver with them; They shall not be put to shame, When they speak with their enemies at the gate.
Introduction
Music has always been a strong force of conveying imagery and meaning to humans from time immemorial. The psalms of the Torah, a collection of 150 songs and hymns, is no exception to this tradition. Many faiths: Jewish, Christian, Islamic and others appreciate and use these songs in worship and rites of many different types. Written in Hebraic script, these praises can be analyzed, examined, and interpreted using a variety of methods: historically, culturally, and musically. But sometimes, as with many a holy text, using methods that the ancient people and learned priests had used can provide us with greater illumination. Psalm 127 is one such song that when examined through a certain lens can provide greater insight to the reader and especially to one practiced in Masonic symbolism.
The psalm itself belongs to a group called The Songs of Ascent, Song of Steps, or the Songs of Degrees. Numbered from 120-134, these psalms have been attributed to the early Hebraic worshippers who would have made pilgrimages to the temple of Solomon, or even in dedication to the building of the temple itself. In fact, the authorship of most of the psalms has been attributed to David or others, but Psalm 127 is special in that it is the only one attributed to Solomon - an attribution reinforced by the Dead Sea Scrolls in which the Psalm is titled 'Of Solomon.' Without even examining the text, these exoteric facts and attributions of the psalm has given us pause to reflect, but more light will come forth with a surface level examination of the text.
Exoteric Masonic Connections
The first line is the most exoterically operative masonic passage in the psalm: "Unless God builds the house, It's its builders toil in vain." This is a motto that has actually found its way into many a building's stonework. Even today one can find "Nisi Dominus Frustra" adorning many a structure or home. Another word of note is in the later half of the psalm. The Hebrew word for sons (banim - בָּנִ֖ים) is very close to the word workers (bownim - בּוֹנִ֣ים) which adds an additional masonic meaning to the psalm. The main structure of the psalm itself is three actions that when performed without God are done in vain, then a short but highly studied and unique stanza, and then three benefits that one will enjoy if he includes God. Following this surface examination, let us proceed to investigate the workman’s plans with a special system of interpretation: Gematria.
Gematria
Though we have merely built a foundation and outer facade of a building of meaning, the true sanctum sanctorum is yet to be adorned with geometric precision. Gematria is a cipher system used by ancient and modern-day Hebrews and Greeks to apply numerical values to alphabetic words. Gematria is a Hebrew word derived from the Greek word for Geometry and is used today as a way of revealing further information about Hebrew texts. Hebrew letters themselves are a numerical system and one can calculate the value of any Hebraic letter, word or name into a number. One of the common methods to employ gematria is substituting another word from the Torah that is equal to the numerical value of the original word.
It is within reason to examine the numbers of chapters and verses. The Psalm in examination is number 127. This number was not given when the psalm was composed, but later when the psalms were arranged. This is of limited historical value, but we find great coincidence when the values of 127 only contain two references in the Torah. The guide which quickly allows us to find such words is the Sepher Sephiroth, a Qabalistic index compiled by Aleister Crowley and Allan Bennet that lists the numerical value of words contained in the Torah. From this we get our list.
First of the words that relate to 127 is the word 'material' (מוטבע). Interesting enough this could be a reference to all masonry perhaps as buildings both real and illusionary require some sort of raw material. The only other word listed at this value is Poyel (פויאל) or one of the 72 angels of God attributed to the date of April 21st or in astrological terms, the first decan of Taurus. We could baulk at the use of this type of dating, but it should be remarked that astrology was a science in antiquity and one held in high regard. One cannot help to reflect that this is the date that corresponds to the inception date of the building of Solomon's Temple.
We would be remiss if we didn't further clarify on the derivation of these 72 angels of God and how they correspond to dates, as we still have not reached the greater mystery contained in this psalm. In the earliest Kabbalistic document written in the 1st century CE a method is given of determining the 72 names. The Sepher Bahir paragraph 110 gives us the formula for 72 names by rearranging the verses of Exodus 14:19-21. This passage and presiding also gives us a start date from these names to be arranged - March 21st or the vernal Exodus. From Exodus 12:2 "Let this month be to you the first of months, the first month of the year" and Exodus 12:18 "In the first month, from the evening of the fourteenth day, let your food be unleavened bread till the evening of the twenty-first day of the month." One can easily see how ancient priests of the Hebrews encoded an esoteric guide to angels and decans of the astrological calendar in what would be a heavily studied religious text. Further scholarship in this area will be of great benefit to the seeker, but further digression into this system would distract from the greater mystery further contained within the psalm.
Hapax Legomena
One of the most interesting features of the psalm is the hapax legomena (words that only appears once in the Torah) that is contained exactly in the middle of the psalm. In verse two, normally translated as "It is vain for you to awaken early, To sit up late, To eat the bread of toil - For to His beloved He gives tranquility" we find the word shena or in Hebrew spelled שֵׁנָֽא. Many scholars have debated the translation of this word. It does closely resemble the word for sleep and when the psalm is sung the word rhymes with the oft repeated word in the psalm that means "in vain.” Though the translation is of lesser note, it should be remarked that some scholars attribute this word to the sleep visions that Solomon received in I Kings 3:5-12. What most concerns us at this present time is the gematria value of the word. When each character is added it equals 351, a number that shares values with other words that when examined will bring most luminous light.
Shena’s Substitutes in Gematria
The first word noted in the Sepher Sephiroth is 'man' or 'אֱנָש' and we can see it is a palindrome of the above word shena. This holds special significance when considering the first two verses containing the vanity of man's undertakings. That shena is the reverse of man could be an indication that our efforts are not ours but rather the inverse or God’s efforts only. As we proceed, we find the word for the Angels of Malkuth (Those qabalically inclined may remark that this is the sephiroth of our material being) or otherwise burnt offerings (שאים). As we journey further the next image is that of elevation (נשא) which could refer to the moving out of the vanity actions of ourselves and into the true motivation of God. We also see one of the names of the celebrated figure of Moses the Initiator (מושה), again referencing the movement from bondage and servitude and toil to God derived freedom and bounty.
But it is the remaining two words that hold high meaning for masons both figurative and operative. We are given an angel of God, Losanahar (לוסנהר), this one attributed to Saturn in Leo. This is of particular note because of its connection to masonry and construction by virtue of its correspondence to the Greek deity of Hephaestus. In the Roman Pantheon this god is known as Vulcan. The god of craftsmen and masons cannot be better fitted into this psalm. This enough would be a shining example of the psalm’s occult connection to masons, the fact that the central and highly debated word could be a stand in for the deity of craftsmen and masonry.
We have not reached the true heart of this most mystical psalm until we read the last reference in 351: the name Hiram-Abif (חירם אביף). This cannot be overlooked, that the central figure in the allegory of man’s folly and ascendency is placed in the middle of a psalm dedicated to the building of the temple and written by Solomon. Shena is the keystone of the psalm where the vanity of man is decried (verses 1,2) and the bounty of God is given in the form of sons or builders (3,4,5), and elevation of man’s work can be transmuted thru the allegory of Hiram-Abif. No words of note can now be added that show the importance of this psalm in masonry.
In fact, one can now place the origin of the allegory of Hiram-Abif and importance of the celebrated figure above squarely in antiquity; if we allow ourselves the academic indulgence that gematria affords. Even if the above is an intellectual curiosity rather than clear historical documentation of masonry and its central allegory, it still has elevated the psalm in a masonic mind to one of particular value. May it be central to all those whose wish to exalt the G.A.O. T.U. in verse and hymn.
Works Cited
Crowley, A. (1986). 777 And Other Qabalistic Writings of Aleister Crowley. San Francisco: Red Wheel/Weiser.
HaKanah, N. b. (n.d.). Sefer ha-Bahir - "The Book of Illumination". Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20150309081936/http://www.servantsofthelight.org/QBL/Books/Bahir_1.html.
William S. Burkle Ph.D., M. K. (2015, September 16). Utah College SRICF. Retrieved from https://utahsricf.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/72-Names.pdf.