Note 197 — Chapter VI · SOME FAMOUS PROSECUTIONS
Arthur Edward Waite translation
The reference is really to the fourth chapter of the apocryphal Book of Nehemiah, which is the Second Book of Esdras, and to the Masons of Nehemiah, not of Zerubbabel. The latter was concerned with the building of the Second Temple and the former with that of the walls about Jerusalem. Half of the young men did the work of restoring the fortifications and half stood in readiness to fight. The builders also were girded with a sword about the reins. The sword in one hand and trowel in another is a symbolical expression.