The Porch Pillars
These two monumental pillars stood at the entrance of King Solomon’s Temple.
What are Boaz and Jachin?
The winding staircase consists of this total sequence of steps.
What are the 3, 5, and 7 steps?
Corn, wine, and oil were used as payment for ancient Master Masons and serve as these for a Fellowcraft.
What are wages?
The plumb, the square, and the level make up these for a Fellowcraft.
What are the working tools?
This biblical Judge of Israel led his people to a military victory against the Ammonites.
Who is Jephthah?
The pillars are topped with these two types of globes, representing universal knowledge.
What are celestial and terrestrial globes?
Hearing, seeing, and feeling are deemed prerequisite to being made a Mason and make up the first three of these.
What are the 5 human senses?
The Attentive Ear, the Instructive Tongue, and the Faithful Breast make up this set of three.
What are the Three Precious Jewels?
A Fellowcraft serves his Master with these three attributes.
What are Skill, Fidelity, and Understanding?
Jephthah's forces used this linguistic password to identify fleeing Ephraimites.
What is "Shibboleth"?
This specific fruit adorned the capitals of the pillars, symbolizing plenty or abundance.
What are pomegranates?
Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, Tuscan, and Composite make up these.
What are the 5 orders of architecture?
The representation of plenty features a sheaf of corn suspended near this, symbolizing a threshold or passage.
What is a waterford?
The plumb admonishes us to walk upright, while the square teaches us to square our actions by the square of this.
What is virtue?
The story of Jephthah, the Ammonites, and the Ephraimites is found in chapters 10 through 12 of this Old Testament book.
What is the Book of Judges?
The pillars were made of this material, built to withstand inundation and conflagration.
What is bronze (or brass/copper)?
The 7 steps represent a Mason's intellectual and spiritual ascent, leading to this symbolic location in King Solomon's Temple.
What is the Middle Chamber?
While corn represents nourishment and wine represents refreshment, oil is used as a symbol for this thing.
What is joy?
We are reminded that we are traveling upon this specific tool of time to that "undiscovered country, from whose bourne no traveler returns".
What is the Level?
Lying east of Jerusalem, this valley is mentioned by the prophet Joel and was an old name indicating Judgement Day.
What is the Valley of Jehoshaphat?
The names of the two monumental pillars carry specific meanings, translating to these two respective phrases.
What are "In Him is strength" (Boaz) and "He will establish" (Jachin)?
The Ionic order of architecture is associated with this specific lodge officer.
Who is the Worshipful Master?
Of the three precious jewels, this one specifically represents loyalty, discretion, and the sacred duty to protect the confidences of the Craft.
What is the Faithful Breast?
Formalized in the 17th century, this type of Masonry uses the tools of cathedral builders as metaphors for moral and spiritual development.
What is Speculative Masonry?
The plumbline represents the Holy Scriptures, referring to this Old Testament prophet whose biblical book is referenced in the Fellowcraft degree.
Who is Amos?