A
AB. The Hebrew word בא, AB, signifies "father," and was among the Hebrews a title of honor. From it, by the addition of the possessive pronoun, is compounded the word Abif, signifying "his father," and applied to the Temple Builder.
ABIF. See Hiram Abif.
ABNET. The band or apron, made of fine linen, variously wrought, and worn by the Jewish priesthood. It seems to have been borrowed directly from the Egyptians, upon the representations of all of whose gods is to be found a similar girdle. Like the zennaar, or sacred cord of the Brahmins, and the white shield of the Scandinavians, it is the analogue of the masonic apron.
ACACIA, SPRIG OF. No symbol is more interesting to the masonic student than the sprig of acacia.
It is the mimosa nilotica of Linnæus, the shittah of the Hebrew writers, and grows abundantly in Palestine.
It is preeminently the symbol of the immortality of the soul.
It was for this reason planted by the Jews at the head of a grave.
This symbolism is derived from its never-fading character as an evergreen.
It is also a symbol of innocence, and this symbolism is derived from the double meaning of the word αϗαϗια, which in Greek signifies the plant, and innocence; in this point of view Hutchinson has Christianized the symbol.