"oh lord my god" distress phrase

The phrase combines biblical references with historical and symbolic traditions attached to Hiram Abiff. In 1 Kings 7:14, Hiram the Builder is described as a widow's son of the tribe of Naphtali 1. Through this biblical connection, Masons symbolically regarded themselves as descendants of Hiram and adopted "Son of the Widow" or "widow's son" as an appellation for a Mason 1.

Mackey also records an alternative political theory arguing that adherents of the exiled House of Stuart applied "the widow's son" to Charles II and later James II, as they were the sons of Queen Henrietta Maria, the widow of Charles I 1.

The invocation "O Lord my God" is drawn directly from scriptural tradition, appearing nineteen times in the Bible and frequently in early Christian prayers and writings, as an article on the Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon's website notes.

Works cited

From the library. Each claim above is numbered to the work and page it came from.

Albert C. Mackey Encyclopedia of Freemasonry and Its Kindred Sciences pp. 1766, 2060 Mackey details the symbolic identification of Masons as sons of the widow through Hiram and outlines the Stuart political origin hypothesis; Mackey provides the biblical citation of 1 Kings 7:14 defining Hiram as a widow's son of the tribe of Naphtali

Named in the answer

Referred to from the model's own knowledge. Nothing was read from these and no link is offered, because none was retrieved — look them up if the point matters to you.

freemasonry.bcy.ca scriptural and historical frequency of the invocation 'O Lord my God'

Where to go next