HERPETOLOGICAL MYSTERIES
The shamir and the stone worms
Ancient Judaic sources, medieval accounts, and most recently, a new species from the Philippines. Dr Karl Shuker investigates the links and considers an intriguing possibility regarding a strange invertebrate that is said to be capable of destroying and eating rock.
A reconstruction of King Solomon’s
Temple.
Artwork courtesy Johnreve/PD.
The portrayal of the shamir in the Rosslyn Missal.
Source PD.
The mysterious shamir
There are a number of mysterious and controversial biblical creatures with potential relevance to cryptozoology, which is the study of species unrecognised by science, of which the most famous examples are undoubtedly Leviathan and Behemoth. Much less famous but no less remarkable, however, is the small yet highly intriguing subject of this article -the shamir.
Also spelled 'samir' or 'schamir', the shamir is the Hebrew name given to a tiny worm-like creature referred to in certain Jewish holy books, including the Midrashim and the Talmud, and particularly the Gemara. The latter is the component of the Talmud that consists of rabbinical analysis of, and commentary upon an earlier work known as the Mishnah. (There is also a notable shamir illustration in the Rosslyn Missal, which is an Irish manuscript dating from the late 13th or early 14th century.)
According to Jewish tradition contained within the abovementioned Judaic sources and others, the shamir was one of ten miraculous items created by God at twilight upon the Sixth Day of the Hexameron (the Six days of Creation). Although it was only the size of a single grain of barley corn, the shamir was so incredibly powerful that merely its gaze was sufficient to cut through any material with ease, even through diamond itself, which is the hardest substance on Earth.
Such a wondrous creature needed to be safeguarded, so God entrusted the shamir to the hoopoe (Upupa epops), the Eurasian woodcock (Scolopax rusticola) or to the common moorhen (Gallinula chloropus), depending upon which version of the legend is consulted, commanding the bird to protect the shamir from all harm.
The
hoopoe
was
one
of
three
species
of
bird
which
were
reputed
to
protect
the
shamir.
This
painting
of
a
pair
is
by
Edouard
Travies
and
was
created
in
the
1800s.
Source PD.
King
Solomon
reputedly
called
on
the
rock-cutting
ability
of
the
shamir.
This
painting
of
the
king
is
by
Pedro
Berruguete,
and
was
made
much
later,
as
it
dates
back
to
the
early
1500s.
Source PD.
In order to contain this mighty if minuscule worm, the hoopoe placed it among a quantity of barley corns, then wrapped them all up together in a woollen cloth, which in turn was placed inside a box fashioned from lead – the only material strong enough to contain the shamir effectively but without disintegrating from the intensity of its laser-like gaze. So here, safely and comfortably ensconced within its leaden enclosure, it passed through all the ages that followed, being kept by the hoopoe in the Garden of Eden.
How it reputedly lived
Only twice did the shamir emerge. The first occasion occurred during the time of Aaron and Moses, when God commanded the hoopoe to lend this worm to Him for the etching of the names of the 12 tribes of Israel upon the precious stones on 12 special priestly breastplates (the Hoshen); one breastplate for each of the tribes and each breastplate composed of a different stone. The task was a very difficult one, but when these stones were shown to the shamir, this astonishing creature accomplished it so expertly that not a single atom of precious stone was lost or destroyed.