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

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Chapter 4 - Signs & Symbols
when or the significance are all unknown. It is commonly said that it
represents immortality or a resurrection, but that may be doubted. 672
More explanatory than CME, Mackey's EOF tries to prove that in the
Masonic ritual, the phrase "lion of the tribe of Judah" refers to Christ, who
brought life and immortality, by mentioning the original Medieval legend:
But in the symbolism of ancient Craft Masonry, where the lion is
introduced, as in the Third Degree, in connection with the "lion of the
tribe of Judah," he becomes simply a symbol of the resurrection; thus
restoring the symbology of the Medieval ages, which was founded on a
legend that the lion's whelp was born dead, and only brought to life by
the roaring of its sire. 673
Philip de Thaun has given account of this legend in his Bestiary, written in
old Norman French in the twelfth century: "Know that the lioness, if she bring
forth a dead cub, she holds her cub and the lion arrives; he goes about and cries,
till it revives on the third day [...]." 674 The lioness symbolizes St. Mary, the lion
cub denotes Christ, who after his crucifixion lay in the earth for three days until
he was restored to life. The cry of the lion symbolizes the power of God.
According to the EOF, Medieval poets were fond of referring to this legendary
symbol, as can be seen in a poem by Adam de St. Victor, De Resurrectione
Domini: "Sic de Juda Leo fortis, Fractis portis diræ mortis / Die surgit tertia,
Rugiente voce Patris." 675
The patch below, taken from a Dutch Masonic comic, shows the two lions
which Hiram Abiff ordered to be placed at the entrance of the King Solomon's
temple. Ritualistically, in the third degree of Masonry the candidate who plays
the role of the murdered Hiram Abiff is raised by the Master by "the strong grip,
or lion's paw, of the tribe of Judah." 676
two lions guarding King Solomon's temple
672 CME, p. 380.
673 EOF, p. 802.
674 Ibid.
675 "Thus the strong lion of Judah, The gates of cruel death being broken, Arose on the third day / At
the loud-sounding voice of the Father." (EOF, p. 802).
676 Cf. Duncan, p. 119. Left illustration: Duncan, p. 120, right illustration: The Master Mason, p. 911.