Solomon's Shamir

Solomon's Shamir

The Shamir (Hebrew: שמיר) was a worm or a substance that had the power to cut through or disintegrate stone, iron and diamond. It was used by King Solomon in the building of the First Temple in Jerusalem in the place of cutting tools. For the building of the Temple, which promotes peace, it was inappropriate to use tools that could also cause war and bloodshed.

Referenced throughout the Talmud and the Midrashim, the Shamir was reputed to have existed in the time of Moses. King Solomon, aware of the existence of the Shamir, but lacking any sample himself, commissioned a search that turned up a "grain of Shamir the size of a barley-corn."

Solomon's artisans reputedly used the Shamir in the construction of Solomon's Temple. The material to be worked, whether stone, wood or metal, was affected by being "shown to the Shamir." Following this line of logic (anything that can be 'shown' something must have eyes to see), early Rabbinical scholars described the Shamir almost as a living being. Other early sources, however, describe it as a green stone.

For storage, the Shamir was always wrapped in wool and stored in a container made of lead; any other vessel would burst and disintegrate under the Shamir's gaze. The Shamir was either lost or "had lost its potency" by the time of the destruction of the First Temple at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C.

Modern speculation

Noting the conditions under which the Shamir was stored when not in use, controversial theorist Immanuel Velikovsky posited that the Shamir's true nature was radioactive. Velikovsky hypothesized that the Shamir was a small sample of a naturally occurring radioactive isotope, possibly radium.

The Kern Kehilla Parsha preview group speculates that the Shamir was a silk-producing worm or moth. King Solomon could have used silk in place of copper wire in a bow saw. Abrasive materials such as sand, quartz, diamonds etc. would have been used in conjunction with the wire saw to cut the large stone usedfact|date=September 2008.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Shamir — may refer to: *Solomon s Shamir, a worm described in the Talmud and Midrash as being capable of cutting through or distintegrating stone, used in the construction of the First Temple in Jerusalem *Yitzhak Shamir, former Israeli Prime Minister… …   Wikipedia

  • Solomon's knot — Not to be confused with Sigillum Solomonis, a name for the Polygonatum genus. Basic Solomon s knot …   Wikipedia

  • SOLOMON — (Heb. שְׁלֹמֹה; tenth century B.C.E.), son of david , king of Israel. Born of Bath Sheba, Solomon was so named by David (II Sam. 12:24; according to the keri, Targ. Jon., and according to the Pesh., by his mother), while Nathan called him… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Solomon — in Arabic, which is transliterated in English variously as Sulayman, Suleiman, Sulaimaan etc. The Qur an refers to Sulayman as the son of David (Arabic: Dawud), as a prophet and as a great ruler imparted by God with tremendous wisdom, favor, and… …   Wikipedia

  • Solomon's Stone — Infobox Book | name = Solomon s Stone title orig = translator = image caption = Dust jacket for Solomon s Stone author = L. Sprague deCamp illustrator = cover artist = Ric Binkley country = United States language = English series = genre =… …   Wikipedia

  • shamir — shəˈmi(ə)r, ˈshäˌm noun ( s) Etymology: Hebrew shāmīr 1. : a very hard precious stone believed to have been used in building Solomon s temple 2. : a tiny worm believed capable of splitting the hardest stone …   Useful english dictionary

  • Yitzhak Shamir — Infobox Prime Minister name=Yitzhak Shamir יִצְחָק שָׁמִיר order=7th office= Prime Minister of Israel term start =20 October 1986 term end =13 July 1992 predecessor =Shimon Peres successor =Yitzhak Rabin term start2 =10 October 1983 term end2 =14 …   Wikipedia

  • The Lesser Key of Solomon — For other uses, see Key of Solomon (disambiguation). The Lesser Key of Solomon or Clavicula Salomonis (the Clavis Salomonis, or Key of Solomon is an earlier book on the subject), is an anonymous 17th century grimoire, and one of the most popular… …   Wikipedia

  • Key of Solomon — For other uses, see Key of Solomon (disambiguation). One of the pentacles found in the Key of Solomon manuscripts. This one is identified as The Great Pentacle and appears in Bodleian Library Michael MS. 276, a 17th century Italian manuscript. An …   Wikipedia

  • Odes of Solomon — For a book included in some editions of the Septuagint, see The Book of Odes. The Odes of Solomon is a collection of 42 odes attributed to Solomon. Various scholars have dated the composition of these religious poems to anywhere in the range of… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”