- Solomon's Ring and Control of Demons
- The Shamir Worm for Temple Construction
- Benaiah's Capture of Asmodeus
In Testament of Solomon (apocryphal) and rabbinic lore, Solomon's signet ring, engraved with God's name, subdues demons like Asmodeus to build the Temple without iron; one demon tricks him into removing it, leading to temporary exile, teaching humility amid power.
Midrash in Gittin 68a and Pirke de-Rabbi Eliezer (19) explains Solomon using a mythical shamir worm—instead of forbidden iron tools—to cut Temple stones silently; retrieved from a hoopoe bird's nest after demon aid, it symbolizes non-violent creation mirroring God's word.
Legends of the Jews details Solomon's guard Benaiah chaining demon king Asmodeus with a magic chain inscribed with divine names, forcing him to reveal the shamir's location; Asmodeus prophesies Solomon's downfall, blending triumph with warnings of hubris in kingdom-building.
Shamir (Shermah): The Serpent That Helped Build Solomon's Temple
Shamir (Hebrew: שָׁמִיר, romanized as šāmir), a mythical entity from Jewish folklore and Talmudic tradition. "Shermah" is likely a variant spelling or anglicized corruption of "Shamir," as noted in some 19th-century Masonic and esoteric texts (e.g., in old York Rite lectures, where it's described as the "insect Shermah" used to polish stones).
This legend is not biblical but originates in post-biblical Jewish mysticism, particularly the Talmud (compiled c. 200-500 CE), and has influenced esoteric traditions like Freemasonry and Kabbalah. It's a fascinating example of how ancient myths blend practical puzzles (how to build without iron tools?) with supernatural elements, symbolizing divine ingenuity and the harmony between creation and the sacred.
Core Legend: The Shamir's Role in Temple Construction
According to the Talmud (Tractate Gittin 68a-b and Sotah 48b), King Solomon faced a divine prohibition: the First Temple in Jerusalem (built c. 950 BCE, per biblical accounts in 1 Kings 5-8) could not be constructed using iron tools, as iron symbolized war and bloodshed—unfit for a house of peace and worship. Ordinary methods like chisels or axes were forbidden, so how to cut the massive foundation stones? Note: iron is well known to be harmful to the body of etheric and astral entities…
Shamir: Described variably as a tiny worm (the size of a barleycorn), a serpent-like creature, or a miraculous stone/substance with supernatural properties. Its power? The mere gaze or touch of the Shamir could split stone, diamond, or iron effortlessly, without noise or friction—leaving perfect cuts for interlocking blocks. Solomon's artisans would place the Shamir in a lead-lined container (to contain its power) and use it to score lines on stones, which then cleaved cleanly. This allowed the Temple's stones to be prepared in the quarry and assembled silently on-site, fulfilling the biblical verse (1 Kings 6:7): "There was neither hammer, nor axe, nor any tool of iron heard in the house while it was in building."
How Solomon Obtained It: The story involves high-stakes adventure and demonic intrigue. Solomon, advised by his scholars, learned the Shamir was a gift from God to the Angel of the Sea (or Prince of the Sea), guarded by the moor-hen (or hoopoe bird, duchifat in Hebrew). To retrieve it, Solomon captured the demon Asmodeus (Ashmedai), king of demons, using his magical ring (the Seal of Solomon, engraved with the divine name YHWH). Asmodeus revealed the Shamir's location but tricked Solomon later, leading to a temporary downfall. A servant (often Benaiah ben Jehoiada) then outwitted the hoopoe, stealing the Shamir after the bird hid it in a nest. Once used, the Shamir vanished or lost its power after the Temple's completion (or destruction in 587 BCE), symbolizing the end of an era of miracles.
Nature of the Shamir: Debates in rabbinic literature (e.g., Rashi's commentary) vary: Is it a living creature (worm/serpent) or inanimate (a gemstone like emery or jasper)? Some midrashim (e.g., Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg) portray it as a fiery, serpentine being whose "venom" or radiation dissolved matter—like a mythical laser or acid. This ambiguity ties into broader serpent symbolism in Jewish lore (e.g., the fiery seraphim-serpents in Isaiah 6, or the Nehushtan bronze serpent in Numbers 21).
Possibly a form of technology, like a laser, that could cut stone….
The Shamir: The Silent Stone-Cutter of Solomon's Temple
"And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building" (1 Kings 6:7).
The Temple could not be touched by iron—the metal of war, the symbol of bloodshed. God's dwelling required stones shaped in absolute purity, untainted by instruments that had split skulls and pierced flesh since Cain slew Abel.
But the stones weighed tons, hewn from quarries and fitted with precision requiring no mortar. How could they be cut without tools?
The Talmud and Midrash preserved the answer. They spoke of the Shamir—a being or substance at the threshold between natural and supernatural realms.
Some described it as a worm no larger than a barleycorn, glowing with residual fire from Creation. Others called it a stone humming with a vibration that resonated through matter itself. Still others said it was neither animal nor mineral but a living principle—an emanation of divine creative force, a fragment of the Logos.
The Shamir was created on the sixth day of Creation, in the twilight hour before the Sabbath rest. It belonged to the same class of wonders as Moses' staff, the tablets of the Law, and the manna—things made not in the ordinary course of nature but as anomalies inserted into reality for future miracles.
The Shamir could split the hardest stone without contact. Wherever it passed—or wherever its gaze fell—rock opened as cleanly as water parting. Mountains could be sundered. Foundation stones could be cut with geometric perfection beyond human craft.
The Talmud (Gittin 68a-b) records that the Shamir could not be kept in vessels of iron or metal, for it would shatter them instantly. It was wrapped in wool and placed inside a leaden tube, packed in barley bran.
Only priests and the elect could approach it. Some sources say it was shown the lines to be cut and followed them of its own accord, guided by inherent intelligence. Others say the high priest whispered the Name of God over it, and it obeyed as all Creation must obey the Tetragrammaton.
But the deeper tradition, preserved in the Testament of Solomon, tells a stranger tale.
When Solomon's stonemasons learned no iron could be used, they stood silent. The problem was impossible. No human craft could answer it.
Solomon turned to the unseen world. Using the Seal of Solomon, his signet ring engraved with the Tetragrammaton, he summoned a spirit from beyond the veil. Some texts name Ornias, a fallen angel; others say Asmodeus, king of demons.
Bound by the Divine Name, the spirit could not resist. Under compulsion, it revealed that the Shamir existed and told Solomon where it was hidden—some say in the nest of the wild rooster, the tarnegol bara, a bird dwelling in desolate places that used the Shamir to crack stones and release worms for its young. Others say it was kept by Rahab, the primordial chaos-dragon, who held it as a remnant of pre-Adamic Creation.
The spirit told Solomon how the Shamir must be retrieved, carried, housed, and employed. This was not knowledge given freely. It was extracted from the spirit realm through divine authority wielded by mortal will.
And so the stones were shaped.
In the quarries beneath Jerusalem, massive blocks were cut without sound. In the workshops, granite and limestone yielded to the Shamir's gaze as if they were clay. Engravings appeared—letters of the sacred alphabet, symbols of the tribes, ornamentations of cherubim—without chisel, without dust.
The Temple rose and was shaped by a power predating the Fall, directed by a king who had compelled spirits to serve the God of Israel.
The Shamir was the bridge—between Eden and exile, Heaven and Earth, visible and invisible.
When the Temple was completed, the Shamir vanished.
Some say the priests hid it beneath the Holy of Holies. Others believe it returned to the wild rooster or was cast back to the angelic powers. The Kabbalists whisper that it ascended—returned to the supernal realms, awaiting the moment when the world is purified enough to receive it again.
It will reappear, they say, when the Third Temple rises. The stones will split once more in holy silence.
What was the Shamir? A worm? A stone? A living force? An emanation of the divine Word? A relic of Eden preserved through the Flood? A natural creature with supernatural properties or a supernatural being in physical form?
The sages did not agree. Perhaps they were not meant to. The Shamir exists at the edge of what can be known, a testimony that God's work requires instruments beyond fallen human reach.
It is a symbol of lost knowledge, a fragment of the primordial toolkit given to Adam, scattered after the Fall, and recovered by a king wise enough to ask the spirits and the knowledge to command them.
And it waits still—wrapped in wool, sealed in lead, hidden beyond ordinary sight—until the next temple rises, until the next king calls, until the silence of God once more shapes the stones of the world.
Esoteric and Mystical Interpretations
Symbolism: As a "cutter" of the uncuttable, it represents divine shevirat ha-kelim (breaking of vessels) in Kabbalah—the shattering of primordial worlds to create reality—or the soul's ability to pierce illusions (stone as material density). In Freemasonry (especially York Rite and Scottish Rite), echoes appear in Hiram Abiff myths, where lost secrets enable perfect architecture; some old lectures explicitly reference the "Shermah" as a polishing tool for the "rough ashlar" (unrefined soul).
Serpent Motif: The serpentine aspect links to global myths—Egyptian uraeus (protective cobra), Sumerian Ningishzida (serpent-god of vegetation), or Gnostic ouroboros (eternal cycle). In Jewish mysticism, serpents symbolize both temptation (Garden of Eden) and healing/enlightenment (Moses' staff). The Shamir's "magical creature" status may draw from these, portraying it as a chthonic (earthly) ally for sacred work.
Historical and Cultural Context
Origins: The tale likely postdates the Temple (post-6th century BCE exile), emerging in Babylonian/Persian Jewish communities influenced by Mesopotamian folklore (e.g., worm-like demons in Akkadian texts). It's absent from the Bible but canonical in the Talmud, reflecting rabbinic creativity to explain scriptural gaps.