How does Freemasonry interpret biblical stories?

Biblical stories in Masonic ritual and legend are interpreted allegorically and morally rather than as literal historical records 1. The historical truth of a narrative is considered distinct from its symbolic lesson 1, with Masonic legends functioning as allegories designed to convey moral and spiritual instruction 1.

In the Craft, the narrative of King Solomon's Temple is read symbolically as a representation of humanity itself and of man as a spiritual temple of God, with the Holy of Holies situated in the human heart 12. Wilmshurst contrasts this Masonic interpretation with the biblical text, noting that while the Bible records the completion and eventual physical destruction of the temple, the Masonic legend uses the unfinished structure to allegorize the Fall of Man and the ongoing work of moral and spiritual perfection 2.

In the Royal Arch, biblical figures such as Nehemiah and Ezra are interpreted as symbols of spiritual progress and inner self-reconstruction 2. Wilmshurst reads their biblical role in rebuilding Jerusalem as an emblem of the soul's passage from spiritual exile in Babylon to inner integration 2.

The selection and presentation of biblical narrative also reflect historical revisions in ritual drafting. Following the Union of 1813, specific Christian allusions were removed from Craft rituals in 1816 to allow men of various monotheistic faiths to join, shifting the ritual's explicit scriptural focus primarily to Old Testament figures like Moses and Solomon 3.