Hiram Abiff is a character who figures prominently in an allegorical

Allegory

Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...

 play that is presented during the third degree of Craft Freemasonry

Freemasonry

Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...

. In this play, Hiram is presented as being the chief architect

Architect

An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...

 of King Solomon's Temple

Solomon's Temple

Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple, was the main temple in ancient Jerusalem, on the Temple Mount , before its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar II after the Siege of Jerusalem of 587 BCE....

, who is murdered by three ruffians during an unsuccessful attempt to force him to divulge the Master Masons' secret password. It is explained in the lecture that follows this play that the story is a lesson in fidelity to one's word, and in the brevity of life.

Numerous scholars, both Masonic and non-Masonic, have speculated that the character may have been based upon one or more Hirams that appear in the Bible

Bible

The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

.
The name "Hiram Abiff" does not appear as such in the Bible

Bible

The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

, but there are three references to people named Hiram that are present:

• Hiram
  Hiram I
  Hiram I , according to the Hebrew Bible, was the Phoenician king of Tyre. He reigned from 980 to 947 BC, succeeding his father, Abibaal. Hiram was succeeded as king of Tyre by his son Baal-Eser I...
  
  , King of Tyre, is credited in 2 Samuel
  Books of Samuel
  The Books of Samuel in the Jewish bible are part of the Former Prophets, , a theological history of the Israelites affirming and explaining the Torah under the guidance of the prophets.Samuel begins by telling how the prophet Samuel is chosen by...
  
   5:11 and 1 Kings 5:1-10 for having sent building materials and men for the original construction of the Temple in Jerusalem; the Masonic drama separate character named "Hiram, King of Tyre" is not likely an alias of "Hiram Abiff" as the former is clearly a king and the latter clearly a master craftsman, but they are often confused.

• In 1 Kings 7:13–14, Hiram is described as the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali
  Naphtali
  According to the Book of Genesis, Naphtali was the second son of Jacob with Bilhah. He was the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Naphtali. However, some Biblical scholars view this as postdiction, an eponymous metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the...
  
   who was the son of a Tyrian bronze worker, contracted by Solomon to cast the bronze furnishings and ornate decorations for the new temple.