PHANTASM FRIDAY

I haven’t blogged much lately because I’ve lost the inspiration to write anything entertaining! And let’s face it my blogs have pretty much sucked over the last few months! So, for today’s post I decided to go back to my first love…paranormal creatures and the mythology behind them.

Who carved the Ten Commandments? No, this isn’t turning into a lesson on Christianity. My Christian upbringing would say God carved them and gave them to Moses. However, in Judaic tradition a tiny insect called a Shamir carved the Ten Commandments. Neat, huh?

Sharmir’s could carve stone, wood and could break glass. Hmm…I didn’t realize there was glass back during the Ten Commandments timeframe. How about you?

Judaic legend tells how King Solomon used a Shamir to carve a great temple to God. But King Solomon didn’t have a Shamir handy, so like all good kings, he used nefarious means to obtain one! Using his knowledge of magic, he bound an Afreet to him. I was unaware King Solomon had any knowledge of magic *shrugs*, just a wee tidbit left out of the bible, I reckon. Are you wondering what an Afreet is? Well, I’m about to tell you. An Afreet is a tribe of demons or djinns in Arabic and Muslim folklore. For those not up on their “djinn” translation, a djinn is technically a Genie, like the genies you’d find in a bottle that grants you three wishes.

So, the Djinn/Afreet helps King Solomon discover the location of a Shamir. One problem, the Shamir is protected by a woodcock living atop a mountain. King Solomon sends his servant, Benaiah to apprehend the Shamir. But when Benaiah arrived at the woodcock’s nest, he found unprotected nestlings. Using his smarticles (as my children would say) he placed a sheet of glass over the nest. Upon the woodcock’s return, it realized it couldn’t get to its nestlings by pecking at the glass. It took the Shamir out from under it’s wing and placed it on the glass. The glass immediately broke. Benaiah was ready, he leapt out of hiding to seize the Shamir and placed it in a lead-lined box to keep it safe on the return home.

Thanks to the Shamir, King Solomon was able to cut the stones to build the great temple to God’s glory! That myth was certainly not in the Holy Bible! I love this story and how it gives King Solomon an interesting personality, even if it shows how manipulative he was.

I am so using the Shamir in my Road to Hell series. I know exactly what its new duties will be!

Hope you enjoyed today’s mythical creature. Have a fantastic weekend everyone!

Huggles,
Gracen