The whole of Palestine is very mountainous, and these mountains abound with caves, caverns, and deep clefts, which were anciently used as places of refuge and as dens for robbers. Hence the concealment of certain persons in the cleft of the rocks in the Third Degree of Masonry. ( Isaiah 2:19,21 - Jeremiah 49:16 )
Biblical References
Isaiah 2:19,21
19 And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
20 In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;
21 To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
Jeremiah 49:16
Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill: though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the LORD.
~~ooOoo~~
This page is adapted from the Glossary at Phoenixmasonry — Used with permission.
