Page 29 - MFM Mar Apl 2021.indd

Th e Toseft a (Menachot 9:6, found at the end of Solomon's Temple. (See 1 Kings. 5:1-11; 9:10, 11; and
Mesechta Chullin) states, "Th e blue dye for the Tzitzith 2 Chronicles. 2:3-16)
must be produced from a creature called Chilazon."
Th e "blood" of the Chilazon was added to other Th e 3 great symbolic pillars of Freemasonry allude to:
ingredients and boiled (Menachot 42b, Rambam Wisdom: King Solomon
Tzitzith 2:2).
Strength: King Hiram of Tyre (see 1 Kings. 5:1; 2
Th e Talmud says that Techelet was very expensive. Chronicles. 2:3).
When it was found that unscrupulous dye dealers had
been selling a counterfeit blue dye; a chemical test Beauty: Hiram Abif, Th e Master Craft sman
was developed by the religious scholars to determine
whether or not the blue dye was genuine Techelet (see Th e exact origins of the city of Tyre are unknown,
Menachot 43a, Rashi and Rambam). however the ancient historian, Herodotus, purports
it to have been founded about 2700 B.C.....or
From the wording of the Toseft a quoted above, approximately 5,000 years ago.
it seems that the blue dye had to be made from the
Chilazon. Some believe that this was part of the oral Noted for its rocky land and magnifi cent cedar trees,
tradition given to Moses on Mount Sinai when the Tyre consisted of two separate parts, ...a rocky fortress
Lord appeared to Moses in a cloud of azure (blue) and on the mainland, called "Old Tyre," and the city, itself,
gold. which is built on a small, rocky island about half-a-
mile from the shoreline. (See Matthew 11:21 and Acts
Chilazon / (Hillazon) 12:20).
Since the Christian Bible does not address information While most people of the time wore only unbleached
about the chilazon, it is only from the writings in the wool garments, it is only natural that the purple dye of
Talmud, the ancient Jewish rabbinical discussions, Tyre quickly became valuable and the city of Tyre soon
from which this lost knowledge was rediscovered.
held a worldwide celebrity due to the prized colors and
Th e Chilazon (also called hillazon, in Hebrew) is the durability of its beautiful tints. Th e dye industry
the fi sh-like animal from which the ancient Israelites was a source of abundant wealth to the inhabitants of
obtained the tekhelet dye. Th e four primary criteria the Tyre.
for the Chilazon come from the Talmud (tractate On a Tyrian coin from the city of Tyre, dated 200
Menachot 44a) which says:
C.E., (Common Era) depicting the legend of Hercules'
Th e color of its body is like the sea. dog discovering the Murex snail.
Its form is like a fi sh.
It raises to the surface once in 70 years, its "blood" is Biblical Lineage
used for techelet, (sic: therefore:) Sidon, Lebanon: Approximately 20 miles north of
It is expensive. Tyre, and named aft er Noah's great grandson, is the
once opulent and prosperous city of Sidon, now best
Murex Trunculus Snail known for its fi shing industry.
Tyre, Lebanon: Th e Mediterranean coast was the
center of the dyeing industry in the ancient world. Sidon was originally included within land in the
"Tyrian Purple" came from the port of Tyre in territory of Asher, one of the 12 tribes.
Phoenicia in what is now known as southern Lebanon.
It's fl ourishing maritime trade, and its dye and glass Abraham was the father of Isaac and Ishmael. (Isaac
industries made Tyre very powerful and wealthy. (See is "father" to the Judeo-Christian nations. Ishmael is
Isaiah. 23:8; and Zechariah 9:3). father to the Arab nations.)

Freemasons will be familiar with Tyre, as it was Isaac was the father of Jacob. Jacob fathered 12 sons.
from the King of Tyre which King David received Th ese 12 sons are the ancestors to the 12 tribes of
the building materials to build the Temple. (See 2 Israel. Each tribe occupied a separate territory, (except
Chronicles 2:3.) Levi, who was chosen to serve in the holy Temple)

King Solomon's Temple: As King Solomon was Th e 12 tribes of Israel (Jacob's sons) were:
charged with the actual job of building the Temple, Asher, Benjamin, Dan, Gad, Issachar, Joseph, Judah,
he, too, procured many of the materials such as Levi, Naphtali, Reuben, Simeon and Zebulun.
cedar lumber from Tyre, which he used in erecting
Montana Freemason Page 29 March/April 2021 Volume 97 No. 2