The Hiram Key,
a few observations
by Trevor W. McKeown
________________________________
The Hiram Key is yet another example of "Von Daaniken's syndrome" where
wishful thinking and pre-determined conclusions replace facts in the
presentation of opinion masquarading as theory. It is an entertaining read,
and certainly presents some interesting ideas. But its presentation of
opinion as fact does both Freemasonry and the academic study of masonic
history a disservice.
In short, the authors claim to have proven that Freemasonry traces its roots
to the death of the Egyptian king Seqenenre in 1570 BCE at the hands of the
Hyksos. Moses incorporated this event as well as Sumarian and Egyptian
mythology, symbols and philosophy to create a rational for his royal line;
Solomon incorporated these symbols into his temple; Jesus and the Qumran
community utilized a ritual based on this story; and the Roman Church
effectively suppressed the original beliefs of this Jerusalem Church. The
Templars <http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/texts/reviews/templars.html#myth> ,
discovering the Qumran communities' records in the vaults under the Temple
in Jerusalem, transported them to Rosslyn Chapel; and when Scotland became
unsafe for the Templars, they incorporated their beliefs and history into
the rituals of Freemasonry. A pretty story, but it doesn't qualify as
history.
As an example, the authors provide a loose definition of a little documented
or understood Egyptian philosophy, possibly called Ma'at. They then show
that an equally superficial description of Freemasonry sounds very similar.
They take every opportunity in subsequent passages to translate Ma'at as
Freemasonry. No proof for this theory is provided. They later refer to this
unproven theory as accepted fact.
The authors claim that the Master Mason's words phonetically translate in
Egyptian: "Ma'at-neb-men-ae, Ma'at-ba-aa". "Great is the established Master
of Freemasonry, Great is the spirit of Freemasonry." This may be the Master
Mason's word in the lodge that the authors were initiated into, but
Freemasonry has had such a long oral transmission of certain parts of the
ritual that to draw any phonetic link between a much mangled 17th century
word and an ancient Egyptian phrase that we have only a best-guess
pronunciation of, is either false etymology or willful self-delusion. No
proof for this theory is provided. They refer to this unproven theory as
accepted fact in subsequent passages.
The authors hypothesize Seqenenre died, taking the secret of initiation of
the next king (as divine right to rule) with him so that subsequent rulers
were not kings but pharaohs (per-aa: great house). No proof for this theory
is provided. They also refer to this unproven theory as accepted fact in
subsequent passages.
As further "proof", Knight and Lomas <http://www.robertlomas.com/> claim
that Seqenenre was buried with his assassin. Discounting this, Emile Brugsch
of the Egyptian Antiquities Service, who discovered the mummies in 1875, is
noted in Leca's The Cult of the Immortal [pp. 280-81] as uncovering an
indescribable chaos of coffins and mummies, it being impossible to determine
the original order of burial.
The authors hypothesize that Moses knew of the events surrounding Seqenenre
and knew of the two pillars used to mark the territories of Upper and Lower
Egypt; incorporating these to make a new king-making ritual. No proof for
this theory is provided. They refer to this unproven theory as accepted fact
in subsequent passages.
It is speculated that the survival of the Seqenenre resurrection ritual
conferred a divine right to rule on the line of David. As an example of the
writing style of this book, note that Genesis 49:6 is suggested, without
proof, to refer to the death of Seqenenre and then in a later chapter they
claim that it "is the only reference in the Bible to the killing of the
Theban king, Seqenenre". Such speculation presented as fact is rife
throughout the text.
The authors speculate that there were two Jesus Christs: Yahoshua ben Joseph
"king of the Jews" and his brother James or Yacob ben Joseph "Jesus
Barabbas" also "son of God". No proof for this theory is provided. They
refer to this unproven theory as accepted fact in subsequent passages.
They theorize that the Christian Trinity is based on the pillar paradigm:
two earthly pillars - the son of God is the "tsedeq" pillar, the king of the
Jews is the "mishpat" pillar with God the Father as the "shalom" keystone
signifying perfect harmony between God and His subjects. No proof for this
theory is provided. They refer to this unproven theory as accepted fact in
subsequent passages.
It is known that the Templar fleet
<http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/anti-masonry/templars.html#fleet> left harbour
at the Atlantic sea port of La Rochelle, early on the morning of Friday 13,
1307, never to be seen again. It is hypothesized that they went west, to
America. No proof for this theory is provided; one tower and a carving found
in North America is good evidence of an early European presence but not of
an entire Templar fleet. They refer to this unproven theory as accepted fact
in subsequent passages.
It is hypothesized that the image found on the shroud of Turin is actually
de Moley's, resulting from his torture. No proof for this theory is
provided. They refer to this unproven theory as accepted fact in subsequent
passages.
It is known that Rosslyn Chapel was never used by the family as a chapel -
there was a family chapel in the castle - so the authors hypothesize that
the chapel was built to house the Nasorean/Qumranian scrolls found by Hugh
de Payen under the last Temple at Jerusalem. No proof for this theory is
provided. They refer to this unproven theory as accepted fact in subsequent
passages.
In conclusion, their work is based on selective use of facts, assumptions
built on hypothesis and research conducted to prove a previously formulated
theory. This makes for good reading, but not good history. The authors have
done no original source research. They are not familiar with the ancient
Greek, Aramaic, Latin, Egyptian, or Hebrew texts.
A book review in the Scottish Rite Southern Jurisdiction magazine, shortly
after the book's release, expressed disgust with the authors' treatment of
Christianity and Judaism and found the book seriously wanting in many
respects.
________________________________
The Hiram Key. Pharaohs, Freemasons and the discovery of the secret scrolls
of Jesus. Christopher Knight & Robert Lomas. Arrow Books Limited, London:
1997 [first published Century Books Random House: 1996] ISBN 0 09 917562 2
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