The Universal Language of Freemasonry - ArchiMeD - Johannes ...

Chapter 4 - Signs & Symbols 217
hypothesis is unrealistic). 612 This symbolism surely does not stem from the
operative stonemasons and must have been introduced at a much later period by
Christian members of the Craft. Besides, "plenty" as a symbol is already
represented in the Second Degree by the two columns Jachin and Boaz, whose
chapter ornaments (lily work, net-work, and chains of pomegranate) represent
"peace," "unity," and "plenty." The symbol of plenty, according to a New York
Masonic ritual from 1980, is represented by "a sheaf of corn, suspended near a
waterford [sic]," because it "teaches us that while we have bread to eat and pure
water to drink, we have all that nature requires." 613 Duncan in his ritual furnishes
a translation of the Hebrew word "shibboleth," which might explain its double
symbolism: "The word in Hebrew has two significations: 1. An ear of grain, and,
2. A stream of water." 614 Duncan's Masonic Ritual and Monitor further offers a
plausible explanation for the Biblical employment of the term "shibboleth":
Shibboleth signifies waters. Thus, when the Ephraimites prayed the men
of Gilead to allow them to pass over, and were asked, in return - To pass
over what? they could not answer Shibboleth, or the waters, without
betraying themselves to the enemy. ... The word chosen by the
Gileadites, meaning a stream of waters, being the object immediately
before them, was well calculated to put the Ephraimites off their guard.
... We can easily understand the peculiarity of conformation in the
organs of speech which produced this effect. A native of the continent
of Europe experiences great difficulty in articulating the English th. In
countries adjacent to Palestine the same defect prevails. 615
An interesting metaphor can be found in a German book on Freemasonry,
where "Epraimite" is explained as a symbol for somebody profane who spied
into Masonry, that is, a "cowan or eavesdropper": "Ephraemit = einer, der sich in
die Meistermaurerei widerrechtlich eingeschlichen hat." 616 Thus, somebody not
knowing the correct password stands for an enemy and spy.
612 The term "water-ford" is obscure. Many Masonic rituals employ the "water-ford" in the meaning
of "ford," like the German "Furt; Wasserfurt." Other rituals use the word "waterfall" instead;
assuming that "water-ford" is a spelling error. For example, in The Text Book of Freemasonry, the
catechism reads: "How is it depicted in a F.C's Lodge?" - "By an ear of corn near a fall of water."
Cf. Anonymous, The Text Book of Freemasonry, p. 136. In the EOF, p. 840, the "waterfall" is said
to be "[u]sed in the Fellow-Craft's Degree as a symbol of plenty, for which the word waterford is
sometimes improperly substituted." TRMC, p. 765, comments likewise on the "waterfall."
613 Cf. Nizzardini, p. 116.
614 Duncan, p. 75. (Duncan uses "waterford," and not "waterfall.")
615 Cited from Historical Landmarks by Duncan, p. 76.
616 Cf. Martens, p. 124.