King Solomon's Temple

Visiting King Solomon’s Temple

Sunil Beta Baskar David

31-Dec-2009

Chapter 1

Introduction

King Solomon’s Temple has been the subject of interest to many, especiallythe Freemasons as it forms an important ritual part of the “Blue Lodge.”1 Thiswork draws upon sources[New28] including Sir Isaac Newton among several oth-ers to present as much information as is known about this structure. This workis intented for anyone who may be interested in King Solomon’s Temple or an-cient Jewish or Semitic archaeological sites. Some information presented maybe exclusively interesting to Freemasons.

There is mystic belief that the numbers encoded in the architectural draftof the temple constitute an encoded message. This work intends to provide in-formation, diagrams, cite and highlight differences existing among the sources.The reader may use this information to interpret the Temple as an exemplaryedifice or an allegory or a hidden message or a combination of all.

The Temple was located in Jerusalem built upon what is termed the Templemount. Biblical accounts exclusively state that the Temple was constructed byKing Solomon, the third King of Israel, son of King David. There is no historicor archaeologic record confirming the life of any of the early monarchs of Israelas described in the Bible. Scholars attribute this to lexical drift resulting inchanges of names, titles and dates in historic accounts.

The Temple which was built by King Solomon as a house of the God and thesanctuary of the Ark of the Tabernacle is referred to as The First Temple. Uponreturn of the Israelites from Babylonian exile, the edifice that was restored aspart of the reconstruction of Jerusalem is referred to as The Second Temple.Later work in renovating and expanding the temple under Herod, the Great,under the Roman Empire is referred to as The Renovated Temple. All referencesto the structure excavated and explored by archaeologists from the time of theKnights Templar to the present day refer to the site of the construction as TheTemple Mount. This terminology is to avoid confusion. The structure referredto in all periods is King Solomon’s Temple, the subject of this book.

The years used for chronology are from the revised Gregorian Calendar in1The Craft Lodge

1

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 2

use in the present day. Years are designated BCE (Before Common Era) andCE (in the Common Era) synonymous to BC (Before Christ) and AD (AnnoDomini) or the Year of the Lord. I have referred to the Dome of Rock as TheTemple Mount in most part of this text. I have specified references to theAl-Aqsa mosque explicitly when necessary to distinguish it from the TempleMount. There are references to the existence of ruins of a Jebusite structure ator near the place of the Temple when it was first constructed. These ruins arereferred to as The Temple of Enoch. This may not be a reference to the BiblicalEnoch and has almost no supporting archaeologic evidence. I have excludeddiscussions on such structures which have too few references and no archaelogicrecord.

Chapter 2

Brief Chronology

Year Edifice Architect950 BCE The First Temple King Solomon (Monarch)587 BCE Sacked Nebuchadnezzar515 BCE The Second Temple Zerubabel (Exilarch)445 BCE The Second Temple Nehemiah (Exilarch)4 BCE The Renovated Temple Herod the Great (Client King)70 CE Sacked Nero Caesar691 CE The Temple Mount Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan1035 CE The Temple Mount Caliph Al-Zahir1112 CE (Excavations) The Knights Templar

Table 2.1: Brief Chronology of the Temple

2.1 The First TempleKing Solomon’s Temple itself is believed to have been constructed in 950 BCEat Jerusalem. Construction of the Temple is thought to have been aided bythe Phoenicians, namely King Hiram of Tyre. The successors of King Solomonwere weak and ruled a divided Israel (regents Reheboam and Jereboam.)

Nebuchadnezzar II is documented to have conquered Jerusalem in 597 BCEwhich was then ruled by Jehoiakim. The Jews were exiled into Babylonian cap-tivity following the invasion.

It is documented in Biblical annals that a Jewish revolt was quelled andthe Temple was destroyed in 587 BCE. A clay tablet documents a successfulinvasion of Egypt (referred to as Mitzaim) which was then ruled by Amasis.There is a reference to his subjugation of Tyre (Phoenicia) in a siege lasting atleast a decade. There is archaelogical account of an earlier attempt at invadingEgypt in 601 BCE which was not successful. None of these accounts specificallymention the existence of a Temple in Jerusalem. There is also no record of theTemple of Melqa’art (in Tyre) which supposedly existed at this time and waschiefly considered a Temple of Heracles adorned by two Bronze pillars[Str69].

3

CHAPTER 2. BRIEF CHRONOLOGY 4

2.2 The Second TempleThe Babylonians were invaded by the Aechemnid Empire under Cyrus theGreat who sent the Jews back in a gesture of good-will. Cyrus the Great whois also referred to as Cyrus II is recognized as the first Emperor (Shahanshah)of Persia. The ruins of the old temple were supposedly rediscovered in 530 BCE.The Temple was planned for reconstruction in the year 515 BCE. The plans forreconstruction are attributed to Zerubabel who was authorized by Cyrus, theGreat to carry them out. Actual construction of the Second Temple was doneby Nehemiah in 445 BCE. Following this reconstruction, the edifice requiredmaintenance and building work that had been postponed for years.

2.3 The Renovated TempleHerod the Great, expanded the Second Temple[Jos93] working from 19 BCEuntil 4 BCE into a much larger structure. Hostilities with Rome in 67 CE re-sulted in total destruction of the Temple in 70 CE during the first Jewish-Romanwar.

2.4 Excavations, The Temple MountPreservation by the Caliphates Almost a millennium later, another an-cient structure of archaeologic and religious interest in Jerusalem named theAl-Aqsa mosque is dated to have been consructed in 738 CE and renovated in1035 CE by Caliph Al-Zahir.

An older structure named the sacred Dome of Rock was constructed in 691CE. This structure covers what is presumed to be a portion of the front porchof the Temple itself. The ruins of the Temple are thought to extend under theDome of Rock where early excavation attempts were conducted.

Two legends are associated with the Dome of Rock. It is considered by someto be the place of Prophet Mohammed’s ascension to Heaven. It is thought tobe part of extensive remains of King Solomon’s Temple. The latter broughtinterest to the Knights Templar.

The Knights Templar Legend has it that the ruins of this structure werediscovered by the Knights Templar (lit. the Knights of the Temple) or theOrder of the Poor Knights of Christ during the First Crusade1. The KnightsTemplar are believed to have conducted the only known extensive excavationattempt at this time. This excavation was not thoroughly documented nor isthe result of the excavation published in any form. The Knights Templar werethought to have taken hidden secrets of ancient Knowledge and Treasures fromthe excavation site back to Europe. Some believe that the Knights Templarhad discovered the biblical Ark of the Covenant or a like priceless treasure orartefact. Most of this speculation is owing to the lack of public documentationof their excavations.

1dated to the period 1095-1099 CE

CHAPTER 2. BRIEF CHRONOLOGY 5

The Al-Aqsa Mosque was used as a palace by the Knights Templar duringtheir excavation near the sacred Dome of Rock. The excavation itself is alsoundocumented. The Excavations were permitted by King Baldwin II and laterby Salahedine Ayubi2. The Templar Knights were consecrated in 1119 CE. It isknown that by 1129 CE The Templar Knights were offered special rights underOmne Datum Optimum, a Papal Bull3 which was issued by Pope Innocent II.This allowed them to become what could officially be designated the world’sfirst multinational corporation. They were permitted to establish offices in dif-ferent states without having to pay taxes for passage between them. They alsoimprovised and provided banking services. King Philip IV of France is said tohave relied heavily on the Knights Templar for Financial and Banking services.This elevation of the order itself raised many eyebrows and hinted that they hadpossessed something from Jerusalem that was highly valued by the Church. OnFriday, 13th October 1304 CE a Papal Bull condemning the Knights Tem-plar as enemies of the Church resulted in the execution of most members of theorder. The organization ceased to exist after this infamous event. After thedissolution of the order in 1312 CE, the Shroud of Turin was revealed in thepossession of the surviving descendants of the Knights Templar (Geoffroy deCharny).

Further excavation attempts have been forbidden to ensure structural preser-vation of many archaelogical structures in Jerusalem. Recent archaelogical workhas revealed a network of arches and tunnels directly under the Temple Mount.These structures have been attributed to Herod, the Great who used them toincrease the support structure beneath the Temple to expand the complex.Old Pottery work and artefacts dating back to late 8th Century BCE and 7thCentury BCE suggest the existence of a structure. This excavation work is in-complete and inconclusive. The Nation State of Israel and the reduced Kingdomof Judaea are not recorded in the historical annals from the 8th Century BCEuntil the invasion of the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar.

Although the Dome of Rock is off-limits to visitors in the modern day, aMilitary Lodge of Freemasons held a meeting here in 1918 CE which is docu-mented here[Sto00] online.

The Chronology of the Temple prior to the construction of The SecondTemple has no historical basis. Zerubbabel and Nehemiah’s contributions weredocumented by the Persians under Artaxerxes I. There are no known accountsof the existence of a Temple such as King Solomon’s Temple prior to Zerub-babel in public domain.

2better known as Saladin or Salah-ud-din, noted for his Chivalry3letter patent issued by the Pope with the papal seal (bulla)

http://freemasons-freemasonry.com/stockley.html

Chapter 3

Description of the Temple

3.1 The Biblical DescriptionThe Temple is described in the Biblical Old Testament in I Kings 6:1...8:11.

3.1.1 Stone, Wood and GoldThe Temple, built as the House of God by King Solomon was sixty(60) cubits inlength, twenty(20) cubits in breadth and thirty(30) cubits in height. The porchbefore the Temple was twenty(20) cubits in length, according to the breadth ofthe House. The breadth of the front was Ten(10) cubits. Windows of narrowframes were made for the House. Floors were built against the wall of the house.These walls were built all around the temple and the sanctuary with rooms allaround. The lowest storey1 was five(5) cubits broad the middle storey was six(6)cubits broad and the third was seven(7) cubits broad. There were narrow ledgesbuilt around so as not to lay hold of the walls of the House.

The House was built of stone made ready2 beforehand. No hammer or axe oriron tool was used for construction of the edifice. The door of the middle storeywas in the right side of the house. This door went up with winding stairs intothe middle storey and (the stairs led) out of the middle storey into the third.The House was covered with beams and rows of cedar. He built the side-storieson all the house, five(5) cubits high. They rested on the House with timbers ofcedar.

The inner walls of the House were built with boards of cedar from the floorunto the ceiling. The inside was covered with wood and the floor of the Housewas made of planks of fir. King Solomon built twenty(20) cubits on the sides ofthe House, both on the floor and the walls with boards of cedar. He even builtthem for it inside for the sanctuary for the Holy of Holies. The House, with theTemple before it was forty(40) cubits. The cedar of the house was carved withgourds and open flowers. The cedar covered all the stone on the inside. The

1inner section, also story, not “overlaid floor” or level as in modern use2cut for fitment

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CHAPTER 3. DESCRIPTION OF THE TEMPLE 7

Holy of Holies was inside the House to set the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord.

The Holy of Holies in the front part was twenty(20) cubits in length, breadthand height. It was overlaid with pure gold. The altar was covered with cedar.The inside of the House was overlaid with gold. Inside the Holy of Holies hemade two cherubs of olive wood, each ten(10) cubits high. He overlaid all theHouse with gold until he had completed his work on the House. Each wing ofa cherub was five(5) cubits giving a ten(10) cubit wingspan. The cherubs wereset inside in the inner House with their wingspans set from wall to wall, theirwings touching in the middle of the House. The cherubs too were overlaid withgold.

He carved all the walls of the House with figures of cherubs, palm trees andopen flowers on the inside and the outside. The floor of the house was overlaidwith gold inside and outside. The doors to the Holy place were made of olivewood. The lintel and side posts were a fifth? part. The two(2) doors were ofolive wood with similar carvings of cherubs, palm trees and open flowers. Theywere overlaid with gold. There were side posts for the entrance to the templefrom the doors of olive, a fourth? part. The two side-posts to the door were offir tree. The two leaves of each door were folding, both carved with cherubs,palm trees and open bowers further covered with gold fitted on carved work.

The inner court was built with three rows of cut stone and a row of cedarbeams. The foundation of the House of the Lord was laid in the month of Zifof the fourth(4th) year. The House was completed in the month of Bul of theeleventh(11th) year according to all its plans. It took Seven(7) years in buildingthe House.

A description of the palace and house of King Solomon that was constructedin thirteen years made of hewn stone cut by metal mentioned in the book ofKings has been omitted from this text. Like King Solomon’s Temple, there is noarchaeological evidence yet of such a palace or house.

3.1.2 Bronze workKing Hiram of Tyre sent a man, the son of a widow of the tribe of Napthaliwhose father was a skilled worker in bronze. He cast two pillars of bronze, eacheighteen(18) cubits high. A line of twelve(12) cubits circumvented the secondpillar. Two capitals of Melted bronze were set atop the pillars. The height ofeach capital was five(5) cubits. Twisted threads of chain-work formed gratingson the belly of the pillars. There were seven(7) threads for each pillar. Two(2)rows of pomegranates covered the capitals around the gratings. The pillars wereset in the porch of the temple. The right pillar (from the inside of the temple)was named “Jachin” and the left pillar, “Boaz.” The top of the pillars wasadorned with lily-work thus completing both pillars. The pomegranates weretwo-hundred(200) in number.

The man sent by King Hiram of Tyre is (also) referred to as Hiram. Thisreference is omitted in this text, but the role of the Bronze artificer is exclusively


undertaken by this man.

When the pillars had been completed, he made a molten sea with a diameterof ten(10) cubits from brim to brim. It was five(5) cubits high with a circum-ference (or line of) thirty(30) cubits. Under the brim were gourds around it,ten(10) to each cubit. The gourds were cast in two rows. The molten sea stoodon twelve(12) oxen, three facing each direction (North, East, West and South.)The sea atop was but a hand-breadth thick with the brim fashioned like that ofa cup with the bud of a lily. It contained a thousand baths.

Ten(10) bases of bronz, four(4) cubits long and four(4) cubits broad at onebase, three(3) cubits high. The work of the bases had borders between the stays.On the borders between the ledges3 were lions, oxen and cherubs. A pedestalwas above the stays. Beneath the lion and oxen were wreaths of hanging work.The base had four(4) bronze wheels and axles of bronze.

Underneath the basin4 were casted supports with wreaths at each side. Themouth within and above the capital was one(1) cubit. Its mouth was roundedlike the pedestal, a cubit and a half (1.5) in diameter. On the mouth werecarvings and the borders were square, not round. There were four(4) wheelsunder the border. The axles of the wheels were in the base. The height of eachwheel was a cubit and a half (1.5). The work of the wheels resembled a chariotwheel in its likeness of axle-rods5, rims, hubs and spokes. Four(4) supports wereprovided to the four(4) corners of each base.

At the top of the base sat a round compass, half a cubit(0.5) high. Heengraved cherubs, lions and palm trees on the plates of its sides and its borders.There were ten(10) bases made with one casting and one measure making themuniform. Five(5) bases were placed on the right of the house and five(5) on theleft. The sea was set at the right of the House, placed in the South-East cornerof the House. He made the basins, shovels and bowls of bronze thus finishingall the work in his due for king Solomon for the House of the Lord.

Casting the Bronze

Two pillars, two bowls6 of the capitals, top of the two pillars and two gratingsto cover the two bowls of capitals on the top of the pillars. The four hundredpomegranates for the two pillars, two rows for each to cover the bowls of thecapitals were on the face of the pillars. The ten(10) basins were placed on theten(10) bases. One melted sea with twelve(12) oxen seated under was placed.All the vessels made for the House of the Lord were of burnished7 bronze. Theking cast them in the plain of Jordan in the thick soil of the ground betweenSuccoth and Zarethan. King Solomon left all vessels unweighed8 because they

3below the stays4base5axle-trees6spheres7lustred, polished8unaccounted for value


were exceedingly many.

3.1.3 VesselsKing Solomon placed all the vessels in the House of the Lord, the altar of goldand the table of gold on which was the Bread of the Presence9. The lampstandswere of pure gold, five(5) on the right and five(5) on the left. These were placedin front of the Holy of Holies with the flowers, lamps and tongs of gold. Thebowls, snuffers, basins, spoons, fire-pans of pure gold and hinges of gold for thedoors of the inner House were made as such. All work that King Solomon madefor the House of the Lord was completed. King Solomon brought in the thingswhichhis father king David dedicated: the silver, gold and vessels were put intothe treasuries of the House of the Lord.

3.1.4 ConsecrationKing Solomon gathered the elders of Israel and the heads of all the tribes, thechief of the fathers of the sons of Israel to king Solomon in Jerusalem to bringthe Ark of the Covenant out of the city of David which is Zion. The men ofIsrael gathered to King Solomon at the feast during the holy month of Ethanimwhich is the seventh(7th) month. The elders of Israel came in and the prieststook up the Ark. They brought the Ark up unto the Lord and the Tabernacleof the congregation with the holy vessels which were in the tabernacle; and eventhose that the priests10 and the Levites brought.

The Ark of the convenant was placed in the holy place into the Holy ofHolies, under the wings of the Cherubs. The Cherubs covered the Ark at front.Staves covered the Ark above. They drew out the staves such that the ends ofthe staves were visible in the holy place. They were not seen outside the Holy ofHolies. There was nothing within the Ark excepting the two(2) Tablets of stoneplaced inside by Moses at Horeb. As the Ark was set and the priests came outof the Holy of Holies, a cloud filled the House of the Lord. The priests could notstand to minister because of the thick cloud. The glory of the Lord had filledthe House.

The biblical units described were slightly different from the con-ventional units of the same name. Because of their relativisticnature and variation based on role (normal, royal) they do notcorrespond exactly to a measure in the modern System Inter-nationale units.

• The cubit is 48 - 57.6 cm; the variation comes from the deployment asdistance or as solid measure.

• The bath is 24.88 - 43.2 L, the larger volume being the Royal “Bat”.

9Showbread10Kohanim


3.2 Sir Isaac Newton’s DescriptionThis description of the Temple is from “The Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms- Amended” by Sir Isaac Newton.

3.2.1 The Structural PlanThe Temple looked eastward and stood in a square area called the SeparatePlace. Before it stood the Altar in the center of another square area calledthe Inner Court or Court of Priests. These two square areas were parted onlyby a marble rail that ran two-hundred(200) cubits from west to east and one-hundred(100) cubits north to south. This area was enclosed in the west witha wall. On the other three sides it was surrounded by a pavement which wasfifty(50) cubits wide. Upon this pavement there were rooms11 for the Priestswith cloysters underneath. The pavement was separated from the inside bya marble rail before the cloysters. The whole made an area two-hundred andfifty(250) cubits long from west to east and two-hundred(200) cubits broadnorth to south. This structure itself was enclosed by an outward Court whichwas called the Great Court or Court of the People which was one-hundred(100)cubits on every side. These were the only two courts built by king Solomon. Theoutward Court was four(4) cubits lower than the Inner Court. This was furtherencompassed by a wall on the west and another pavement fifty(50) cubits wideon the three sides. Upon this pavement there were buildings for the People. Allof this completed the Sanctuary.

This construction attributed to King Solomon made a square five-hundred(500)cubits long and five-hundred(500) cubits broad. It was entirely surrounded by awalkway called the Mountain of the House. The walk itself was fifty(50) cubitsbroad and was skirted by a wall that stood six(6) cubits broad, six(6) cubitshigh and six-hundred(600) cubits.

The Biblical Cubit is a measure equivalent to 21 12 or almost 22

inches of the English Foot, Pound and Second (FPS) system.The sacred cubit is bigger than the common cubit. It was by ahand-breadth12 or one-sixth( 1

6th) longer than the common cubit.

This is also referred to as the Sacred Cubit of the Jews.

3.2.2 The AltarThe Altar stood in the center of the whole structure of the inner and outercourts. In the buildings of both Courts over against the middle of the altar,eastward, southward and northward were gates measuring twenty-five(25) cu-bits in breadth and forty(40) cubits long with porches of ten(10) cubits lookingtoward the Altar Court which made the whole length of the gates fifty(50) cubitsacross the pavements. Every gate had two doors one at either end. The doorswere ten(10) cubits wide, twenty(20) high with posts and thresholds six(6) cu-bits broad: within the gates was an area twenty-eight(28) cubits long between

11syn. buildings12heb. tefach


the thresholds and thirteen(13) cubits wide.

On either side of this area were three(3) posts, each six(6) cubits square andtwenty(20) cubits high with arches five(5) cubits wide between them. The postsand arches filled the twenty-eight(28) cubits in length between the thresholds.Their breadth being added to the thirteen(13) cubits made the whole breadthof the gates twenty-five(25) cubits. These posts were hollow and had rooms inthem with narrow windows for the porters and a step before them which wasone(1) cubit broad. The walls of the porches were six(6) cubits thick and washollow13 for several uses.

The east gate of the Peoples Court was called the King’s gate. At this(east) gate were six(6) porters. At the north gate were four(4) porters and alike four(4) in the south gate. The people went in and out through the northand south gates. The east gate was opened only for the King and in this gatehe ate the Sacrifices.

There were also four(4) gates or doors in the western wall of the Mountainof the House. Of these the one which was closer north was called Shallecheth orthe gate of the causey which led to the King’s palace. The valley between wasfilled up with a causey. The next gate called Parbar led to the suburbs Millo.The third and fourth gates were both called Asuppim, one led to Millo and theother to the city of Jerusalem. The steps went down the valley and extended upinto the city. At the gate Shallecheth were four(4) porters. At the other threegates were six(6) porters, two(2) at each gate. The house of the porters whohad charge of the north gate of the People’s Court also had charge of the gatesShallechet and Parbar. The house of the porters who had charge of the southgate of the People’s Court had also the charge of the two gates called Asuppim.

The Altar referred here is a sacrificial altar whose purpose is to receive thesacrifices of the People.

13indicative of a repository


Figure 3.1: King Solomon’s Temple, Structural Plan, Drawing I, Sir IsaacNewton

The legend to this plan is taken verbatim from the account of Sir IsaacNewton.

ABCD. The Separate Place in which stood the Temple.ABEF. The Court of The Priests.G. The Altar.DHLKICEFD. A Pavement compassing three sides of the foremention’dCourts, and upon which stood the Buildings for the Priests, with Cloystersunder them.MNOP. The Court of the People.MQTSRN. A Pavement compassing three sides of the Peoples Court, uponwhich stood the Buildings for the People, with Cloysters under them.UXYZ. The Mountain of the House.


aabb. A Wall enclosing the whole.c. The Gate Shallecheth. (North-East corner)d. The Gate Parbar.ef. The two Gates Assupim.g. The East Gate of the Peoples Court, called the Kings Gate.hh. The North and South Gates of the same Court.iiii. The chambers over the Cloysters of the Peoples Court where the Peopleate the Sacrifices, 30 Chambers in each Story.kkkk. Four little Courts serving for Stair Cases and Kitchins for the People.l. The Eastern Gate of the Priests Court, over which sate the Sanhedrin.m. The Southern Gate of the Priests Court.n. The Northern Gate of the same Court, where the Sacrifices were flayed.

opqrst. The Buildings over the Cloysters for the Priests, viz six largeChambers (subdivided) in each Story, whereof o and p were for the HighPriest and Sagan, q for the Overseers of the Sanctuary and Treasury, r for theOverseers of the Altar and Sacrifice and s and t for the Princes of thetwenty-four Courses of Priests.

uu. Two Courts in which were Stair Cases and Kitchins for the Priests.x. The House or Temple which (together with the Treasure Chambers y, andBuildings zz on each side of the Separate Place) is more particularly describ’don the second Plate.

3.2.3 Access through the GatesPeople came through the four(4) western gates into the Mountain of the Houseand went up from there to the People’s Court by seven(7) steps. From the Peo-ple’s Court to the gates of the Priest’s Court were eight(8) steps. The archesin the sides of the gates of both courts led into cloysters under a double build-ing, supported by three(3) rows of marble pillars which butted directly uponthe centres of the square posts. The axis of the pillars of the middle-row wereeleven(11) cubits apart from the axis of the pillars of the two rows on eitherhand. These pillars were each three(3) cubits in diameter below and their baseswere four-and-a-half (4 1

2 ) cubits square.

The gates and buildings of both Courts were alike and faced their Courts.The Cloysters of all the builidngs and the porches of all the gates faced the Al-tar. The row of pillars behind the cloysters adhered to the marble walls14 whichbounded the cloysters and supported the buildings. These buildings were threestoreys15 high above the cloysters. A row of cedar beams or pillars of cedarstanding above the middle row of the marble pillars were the primary supportfor these buildings.

A cloyster (lat. claustrum) is a covered walk-way with an open collonnadeon each side. It is also spelt cloister in modern usage.

14railings15floors as in the modern sense


Figure 3.2: Cloyster of St.Trophimus, Arles, France

3.2.4 Sacrifices: Kitchens and Support StructuresThe buildings on either side of every gate of the People’s Court being 187 1

2cubits long and were distinguished in having five chambers on a floor running inlengh from the gates to the corners or the Courts. There were a total of thirtychambers to each storey where People ate the Sacrifices. These were synony-mously thirty exhedras each of which contained three chambers, a lower, middleand upper chamber. Every exhedra was 37 1

2 cubits long, being supported byfour pillars in each row. The base of these pillars was four-and-a-half(4 1

2 ) cubitssquare. The distance between their bases was six-and-a-half(6 1

2 ) cubits. Thedistances between the axes of the pillars was thus eleven(11) cubits and at thepart where the two exhedras (across the pillars) joined, the bases of the pillarsjoined, the axis of those two pillars were only four-and-a-half(4 1

2 ) cubits distantfrom each other.

For strengthening16 the building the space between the axes of these twopillars was filled up with a marble column which was four-and-a-half(4 1

2 ) cubitssquare. The two pillars stood half out on either side of the square column.At the ends of these buildings in the four corners of the Peoples Court werelittle courts fifty(50) cubits square on the outside of their walls and forty(40)cubits square on the inside thereof for the stair-cases of the buildings and thekitchens17 to bake and boil the Sacrifices for the People.

Each kitchen was thirty(30) cubits broad and the stair-case ten(10) cubitsbroad. The buildings on either side o fthe gates of the Priests Court were also37 1

2 cubits long and contained within each of them a great chamber in a storeysubdivided into smaller rooms for the Great Officers of the Temple and Princesof the Priests. In the South-East and North-East corners of this court, at theends of the buildings were kitchens and stair-cases for the Great Officers; andperhaps rooms for laying up wood for the Altar.

16Newton’s supposition for this structure’s purpose17Newton uses kitchins, old english


Figure 3.3: King Solomon’s Temple, Plan, Drawing II, Sir Isaac Newton

The Legend to this drawing is also taken verbatim as prior.

ABCD. The Separate Place.ABEF. The Inner Court, or Court of the Priests, parted from the SeparatePlace, and and Pavement on the other three sides, by a marble rail.G. The Altar.HHH. The East, South, & North Gates of the Priests Court.III. & c. The Cloysters supporting the Buildings for the Priests.KK. Two Courts in which were Stair Cases and Kitchins for the Priests.L. Ten Steps to the Porch of the Temple.M. The Porch of the Temple.N. The Holy Place.O. The most Holy Place.PPPP. Thirty Treasure-Chambers, in two rows, opening into a gallery, dooragainst door, and compassing three sides of the Holy & most Holy Places.


Q. The Stairs leading to the Middle Chamber.RRRR. & c. The buildings for the twenty-four(24) Courses of Priests, uponthe Pavement on either side of the Separate Place, three Stories high withoutCloysters, but the upper Stories narrower than the lower, to make room forGalleries before them. There were 24 Chambers in each Story and they opendinto a walk or alley, SS. between the Buildings.TT. Two Courts in which were Kitchins for the Priests of the twenty-four(24)Courses.

3.2.5 The High Officers of the TempleIn the eastern gate of the Peoples Court sat a Judicial court composed of 23Elders18. The eastern gate of the Priests Court with buildings on either sidewas for the High-Priest19 and his deputy, the Sagan and for the Sanhedrimor Supreme Court of Judges composed of seventy(70) Elders. The building orexhedra on the eastern side of the southern gate, was for the Priests who hadthe oversight of the charge of the Sanctuary with its treasuries. They weretwo Catholikim, High-Treasurers and Secretaries to the High-Priest. They ex-amined, stated and prepared all acts and accounts to be signed and sealed byhim. There were seven Amarcholim who kept the keys of the seven locks ofevery gate of the Sanctuary. They also held the treasuries and had oversight,direction and appointment of all things in the Sanctuary. There were three ormore Gisbarim or Under-Treasurers or Receivers who kept the Holy vessels andthe Public Money20. They received or disposed of such sums brought in for theservice of the Temple and accounted for the same. All of them with the High-Priest composed the Supreme Council for managing the affairs of the Temple.

The High Priest is not counted among the seventy Elders of the Sanhedrimwhich makes the council seventy-one.

3.2.6 Officers of the Daily AffairsThe Sacrifices were killed on the northern side of the Altar. They were flayed,cut in pieces and salted in the Northern gate of the Temple. Therefore thebuilding or exhedra on the eastern side of this gate was for the Priests whowere overseers of the charge of the Altar. Officers received money from thePeople for purchasing things for Sacrifices and handed out tickets21 for the same.Another group of Officers delivered wine, flour and oil to those possessing thetickets. Pigeons and Doves were exchanged for the tickets because this wasconsidered purchase. There was a Physician in attendance to the Priests. Anofficer administered the use of water. There was an Officer who was chargedwith time-keeping and also cried out to the Priests or Levites to attend in theirministeries. There was an Officer who was charged with overseeing the openingof the gates in the morning to begin service and shut them in the evening whenservice was done. He therefore held the keys of the Amarcholim and returned

18The Lesser Sanhedrin19Kohen Gadol20lit. treasure stewards21bonds or deeds


them to the High-officers after service hours. There was an Officer of the night-watch. There was an Officer by a Cymbal who called the Levites to their stationfor singing. There was an Officer who appointed the Hymns and set the Tune.Another Officer took care of the Showbread. There were Officers who took careof the Perfume, the Veil and the Wardrobe of the Priests.

3.2.7 The Priests CourtThe exhedra on the western side of the south gate and that on the western sideof the north gate were for the princes of the twenty four22 (24) courses of thePriests, one exhedra for twelve(12) of the Princes and the other exhedra for theother twelve(12). Upon the pavement on either side of the Separate Place wereother buildings without cloysters for the twenty four courses of the Priests topartake of the Sacrifices and lay up their garments and the most holy things.Each pavement was a hundred(100) cubits long and fifty(50) broad with rooms23

on either side which were twenty(20) cubits broad. There was an alley ten(10)cubits broad between them. The building which bordered the Separate Placewas a hundred cubits(100) long, that next to the Peoples Court fifty(50) theother fifty(50) cubits westward for a stair-case and kitchen within them. Thesebuildings (or rooms) were three stories high with the middle storey narrower inthe front than the lower storey and the upper storey narrower than the middlestorey. This allowed room for galleries before them. Under these galleries wereclosets for laying up the holy things and the garments of the priests. Thesegalleries were towards the walk or alley which ran between the buildings.

3.2.8 The TempleFrom the Priests Court to the Temple was a staircase of ten(10) steps whichreached the Porch of The Temple. The House of the Temple was twenty(20)cubits broad and sixty(60) long within or thirty(30) broad and seventy70 longincluding the walls. The treasure-chambers were between the wall of the Templeand the wall outside built of cedar. They were twenty(20) cubits broad on threesides of the house. The breadth of the gallery, the chambers and both walls wastwenty-five(25) cubits. The Treasure chambers were either two or three storieshigh. A walk-way ran between and through them which was five(5) cubits broadin the lower storey, six(6) cubits broad in the middle storey and seven(7) cubitsbroad in the upper storey. Including them, the Temple was seventy(70) cubitsbroad and ninety(90) long. The Porch itself was ten(10) cubits long and ahundred-and-twenty(120) cubits high. Its length from South to North equalledthe breadth of the House. The House itself was Three storeys High which madethe height of the Holy Place ninety(90) cubits24, and that of the Most Holysixty(60) cubits25. The upper rooms were treasure-chambers. The breadth ofthe chambers from wall-to-wall was ten(10) cubits. They went up to the middlechamber by winding staircase in the southern shoulder of the House and fromthe middle into the upper.

22Newton: lit. four and twenty23Newton: lit. buildings24three times thirty cubits25three times twenty cubits


3.2.9 The New CourtSome time after this Temple was built, the Jews added a New Court on theeastern side of the Priests Court before the King’s gate and therein built a covertfor the Sabbath. This Court was not measured by Ezekiel, but the dimensionsmay be gathered from those of the Womens Court of the second Temple, builtafter example of this New Court.

3.2.10 Comparison with the Second TempleWhen Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the first Temple, Zerubbabel by the commis-sions of Cyrus and Darius? built another upon the same area except the OutwardCourt which was left open to the Gentiles. This Temple was sixty(60) cubitslong, sixty(60) broad and only two(2) stories high. The Second Temple hadonly one row of treasure-chambers about it. On either side of the Priests Courtwere double-buildings for the Priests built upon three rows of Marble pillars inthe lower storey with a row of cedar beams or pillars in the stories above. Thecloyster in the lower storey looked towards the Priests Court. The SeparatePlace, Priests Court with their buildings at the north and south sides and theWomens Court at the east end took up an area three-hundred(300) cubits longand two-hundred(200) broad. The Altar stood in the center of the entire struc-ture. The Womens Court was named so because women were also allowed aswere men. There were galleries for women and the men worshipped upon theground below. This was the state of the Temple under the reign of the Persians.It suffered further alteration in the days of Herod, the Great.


Figure 3.4: Gates of the Peoples Court with part of the adjoining Cloyster,Drawing III, Sir Isaac Newton

The Legend to this drawing is also taken verbatim as prior.

uw. The inner margin of the Pavement compassing three sides of the PeoplesCourt.


xxx. &c. The Pillars of the Cloyster supporting the Buildings for the People.yyyy. Double Pillars where two Exhedræ joyned, and whose interstices in thefront zz were filled up with a square Column of Marble.

3.2.11 Acknowledgement by Sir Isaac NewtonThe description of the Temple is principally taken from Ezekiel’s Vision andthe ancient Hebrew copy followed by the Seventy differing in some readingsfrom the copy followed by the editors of the present Hebrew version. These aresub-joined with the part of the Vision and like the description Outward Courtdeduced from the present Hebrew and the version of the Seventy.

(refer: Ezekiel 40:5...)The Septuagint is referred to as the Version of the Seventy. It is also referred toas LXX or G which may also be written as G in modern times. The Septuagintwas written in Coptic Greek and is associated with Hellenistic Judaism.

3.3 The Vision of EzekielThe Biblical description from the Septuagint through the Modern King JamesVersion (MKJV) is included here verbatim. Not all text is included as is. Onlytext that describes the structure of the Temple as part of the vision have beenincluded. Text that describes the role and function of the priests has not beenincluded completely except in reference to the Kitchens for sacrifices. The reasonfor including this text is to aid the reader in understanding Sir Isaac Newton’sdeduction of the dimensions and plan of the Temple. The Second Temple wasin several ways different from the First Temple which is also pointed out bySir Isaac Newton. One can deduce from the Vision that the Temple did notexist in the time of Ezekiel in the manner and form of its construction by KingSolomon. The name of the City within which the Temple exists is given in thisvision to Ezekiel which literally means “City where God is” or literally “WhereJHVH is” and does not propose that the New Temple will be constructed onthe ruins of the First Temple.

3.3.1 Ezekiel Ch. 40(Ezekiel 40:1. . . 49) 5 And behold, a wall on the outside of the house all

around, and in the man’s hand was a measuring reed, six cubitslong, with a cubit and a span. And he measured the building’sbreadth, one reed; and the height, one reed. 6 And he cameto the gate which faced eastward, and went up its steps, andmeasured the threshold of the gate, one reed wide, even the onethreshold, one reed wide. 7 And a room was one reed long andone reed wide. And between the rooms were five cubits. And thethreshold of the gate by the porch of the gate from the house,one reed. 8 He also measured the porch of the gate inside, onereed. 9 And he measured the porch of the gate, eight cubits;and its pillars, two cubits; also the porch of the gate from the


house. 10 And the gate rooms eastward were three from here,and three from there; one measure to the three of them; and onemeasure was to the pillars from here and from there. 11 Andhe measured the breadth of the gate-opening, ten cubits. Thelength of the gate was thirteen cubits. 12 And the border infront of the rooms was one cubit from here, and the space wasone cubit from there. And the room was six cubits from here andsix cubits from there. 13 And he measured the gate of the roomfrom the roof to roof, twenty-five cubits wide, door to door. 14

He also made the pillars, sixty cubits, even to the court-pillar,from the gate all around. 15 And on the face of the entrancegate to the face of the porch of the inner gate was fifty cubits;16 and latticed windows were to the rooms and to their pillarsinside the gate all around. And so for the porches; and windowswere all around inside; and to each pillar were palm trees. 17

And he brought me into the outer court, and lo, chambers, anda pavement made for the court all around. Thirty rooms wereon the pavement. 18 And the pavement by the side of the gatesto equal the length of the gates was the lower pavement. 19 Andhe measured the breadth from the front of the lower gate to thefront of the inner court on the outside, a hundred cubits eastwardand northward. 20 And the gate which faces the way of the northof the outer court, he measured its length and its breadth. 21

And its rooms were three from here and three from there. Andits pillars and its porches were according to the first measure.Its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth, twenty-five cubits. 22

And their windows, and their porches, and their palm trees, wereaccording to the measure of the gate facing the east. And theywent up to it by seven steps; and its porches were before them. 23

And the gate of the inner court was across from the gate towardthe north and toward the east. And he measured from gate togate, a hundred cubits. 24 And he led me southward, and beholda gate southward. And he measured its pillars and its porchesaccording to these measures. 25 And there were windows in itand in its porches all around, like those windows. The length wasfifty cubits, and the breadth, twenty-five cubits. 26 And sevensteps were going up to it, and its porches were before them. Andit had palm trees, one from here and another from there, on itspillars.

27 And there was a gate in the inner court southward. And hemeasured from gate to gate southward, a hundred cubits. 28

And he brought me to the inner court by the south gate. And hemeasured the south gate according to these measures, 29 and itsrooms and its pillars and its porches according to these measures.And there were windows in it and in its porches all around. Itwas fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. 30 And theporches all around were twenty-five cubits long and five cubitswide. 31And its porches were toward the outer court; and palmtrees on its pillars. And its stairway had eight steps. 32 And


he brought me into the inner court eastward. And he measuredthe gate according to these measures. 33 And its rooms, andits pillars, and its porches, were measured according to thesemeasures. And there were windows in it and in its porches allaround. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. 34

And its porches were toward the outer court. And palm treeswere on its pillars, from here, and from there. And its stairwayhad eight steps. 35 And he brought me to the north gate, andmeasured it according to these measures; 36 its rooms, its pillars,and its porches, and its windows all around. The length was fiftycubits, and the breadth twenty-five cubits. 37 And its pillars weretoward the outer court. And palm trees were on its pillars, fromhere and from there. And its stairway had eight steps. 38 Andthe chamber and its door was by the pillars of the gates; theywashed the burnt offering there.

39 And in the porch of the gate were two tables from here and twotables from there, for the slaughtering of the burnt offering andthe sin offering and the trespass offering. 40 And to the sideoutside, as one goes up to the door of the gate northward weretwo tables; and on the other side at the porch of the gate, twotables. 41 Four tables were from here, and four tables were fromthere, by the side of the gate: eight tables; they slaughter onthem. 42 And the four tables for burnt offering were of cut stone,a cubit and a half long, and a cubit and a half wide, and one cubithigh. They also rested on them the instruments with which theyslaughtered the burnt offering and the sacrifice.43 And the doublehooks of one span were fastened in the house all around, and onthe tables the flesh of the offering. 44 And from the outside tothe inner court were the chambers of the singers in the innercourt, which was at the side of the north gate. And their facewas southward: one at the side of the east gate looked the way ofthe north. 45 And he said to me, This chamber facing southwardis for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the house. 46 Andthe chamber facing northward is for the priests, the keepers ofthe charge of the altar. They are the sons of Zadok among thesons of Levi, who come near the LORD to minister to Him. 47

And he measured the court, a square, a hundred cubits long anda hundred cubits wide; and the altar was before the house. 48

And he brought me to the porch of the house and measured eachpillar of the porch, five cubits from here and five cubits fromthere. And the gate was three cubits wide from here and threecubits from there. 49 The porch was twenty cubits long, andeleven cubits wide. And he brought me by the steps by whichthey went up to it. And columns were by the pillars, one fromhere and another from there.

3.3.2 Ezekiel Ch.41(Ezekiel 41:1. . . 26)


1 And he brought me to the temple and measured the pillars, sixcubits wide from here and six cubits wide from there, which wasthe breadth of the tabernacle. 2 And the breadth of the doorwas ten cubits; and the sides of the door, five cubits from here,and five cubits from there. And he measured its length, fortycubits, and the breadth, twenty cubits. 3 And he went insideand measured the pillar of the door, two cubits; and the doorwas six cubits; and the breadth of the door, seven cubits. 4 Andhe measured its length, twenty cubits; and the breadth, twentycubits, before the temple. And he said to me, This is the Holy ofHolies. 5 And he measured the wall of the house, six cubits; andthe width of each side room was four cubits, all around the houseon every side. 6 And the side chambers were a side chamber overa side chamber, three stories, and thirty times. And they enteredthe wall of the house for the side chambers all around, that theymight be fastened, for they were not fastened to the wall of thehouse. 7 And there was a widening, and a winding upwardsand upwards to the side chambers. For the winding around ofthe house went upward and upward, all around the house. Onaccount of this the width of the house went upward, and so fromthe lowest it went up to the highest by the middle story. 8 I alsosaw the height of the house all around. The foundations of theside rooms were a full reed, six large cubits by joining. 9 Thewidth of the wall, which was for the side chamber to the outside,was five cubits, and what was left between the side chambersthat were of the house. 10 And between the chambers was thewidth of twenty cubits, circling the house all around. 11 And thedoor of the side chamber was toward the open space, one doornorthward and one door southward. And the width of the placeof the open space was five cubits all around.

12 And the building that was before the separate place at the endof the way of the west was seventy cubits wide. And the wallof the building was five cubits wide all around, and its length,ninety cubits. 13 And he measured the house, a hundred cubitslong. And the separate place, and the building, and its wall,were a hundred cubits long. 14 And the width of the front of thehouse and of the separate place eastward was a hundred cubits.15 And he measured the length of the building to the front ofthe separate place which was behind it; and its gallery from hereand from there, a hundred cubits, with the inner temple and theporches of the court, 16 the thresholds, and the latticed narrowwindows, and the galleries all around, their three stories acrossfrom the threshold, with wood panelings all around, and fromthe ground up to the windows; and the windows were covered;17 to that above the door, even to the inner house, and outside,and by all the wall around inside and outside, by measure. 18

And it was made with cherubs and palm trees, and a palm treewas between cherub and cherub. And each cherub had two faces,19 the face of a man was toward the palm tree from here, and


the face of a young lion toward the palm tree from there. It wasmade through all the house all around. 20 From the ground toabove the door were cherubs and palm trees made, and on thewall of the temple. 21 The temple doorposts were squared, andthe face of the sanctuary. The looks of the one was like the looksof the other. 22 The altar of wood was three cubits high, and itslength two cubits. And its corners, and its length, and its walls,were of wood. And he said to me, This is the table that is beforethe LORD. 23 And the temple and the sanctuary had two doors.24 And two doors leaves were to each of the doors, two turningdoors, two for the one door, and two for the other door. 25 Andon them, on the temple doors, were made cherubs and palm treeslike those made on the walls, and thick wood on the face of theporch outside. 26 And latticed windows, and palm trees, werefrom here and from there, on the sides of the porch, and on theside chambers of the house, and wooden canopies.


1 And he brought me out into the outer court, the way northward.And he brought me into the chamber that was across from theseparate place and which was in front of the building to the north.2 Before the length of a hundred cubits was the north door, andthe width was fifty cubits. 3 Across from the twenty cubits whichwere for the inner court, and across from the pavement whichwas for the outer court, gallery was on gallery in three stories. 4

And before the chambers was a walk of ten cubits width inward,a way of one cubit. And their doors were northward. 5 Andthe upper chambers were shorter; for the galleries used up morespace than the lower and middle ones in the building. 6 For theywere in three stories, but there were no columns to them like thecolumns of the courts. So the third story was made narrowerthan the lower and the middle stories from the ground. 7 Andthe wall that was outside near the chambers, toward the outercourt on the front of the chambers, its length was fifty cubits. 8

For the length of the chambers that were in the outer court wasfifty cubits. And lo, in front of the temple was a hundred cubits.9 And under these chambers was the entrance on the east side,as one goes into them from the outer court, 10 in the width ofthe wall of the court eastward, to the front of the separate area,and to the front of the building were chambers. 11 And the wayin front of them looked like the chambers which were northward,as their length, so their width. And all their exits were as theirpatterns, and as their doors. 12 And as the doors of the chambersthat were southward was a door in the head of the way, even theway directly in front of the wall eastward, as one enters them. 13

And he said to me, The north chambers and the south chamberswhich are in front of the separate place, they are holy chambers,


where the priests shall eat, those who approach to the LORDshall eat the most holy things. There they shall lay the mostholy things, and the food offering, and the sin offering, and theguilt offering. For the place is holy. 14 When the priests enter,then they shall not go out of the holy place into the outer court,but they shall lay their clothes there by which they minister inthem, for they are holy. And they shall put on other clothes, andshall approach that which is for the people.

15 And he finished measuring the inner house; he brought me outthe way of the gate whose view is eastward, and measured allaround. 16 He measured the east side with the measuring reed,five hundred reeds with the measuring reed, all around. 17 Hemeasured the north side, five hundred reeds with the measuringreed all around. 18 He measured the south side, five hundredreeds with the measuring reed. 19 He turned to the west side,measuring five hundred reeds with the measuring reed. 20 Hemeasured it by the four sides. It had a wall all around, five hun-dred long, and five hundred wide, to make a separation betweenthe holy place and the common place.


13 And these are the measures of the altar by the cubit. The cubitis a cubit and a span; even the base shall be a cubit, and thewidth a cubit, and its border by its edge all around shall be aspan. And this is the upper part of the altar. 14 And from thebase on the ground even to the lower ledge shall be two cubits,and the width one cubit. And from the smaller ledge even tothe greater ledge shall be four cubits, and the width one cubit.15 And the altar hearth shall be four cubits, and from the altarhearth and upward shall be four horns. 16 And the altar hearthshall be twelve cubits long, twelve wide, square in its four sides.17 And the ledge shall be fourteen long and fourteen wide in itsfour sides. And the border around it shall be half a cubit, andits base a cubit around. And its steps shall face eastward.

3.3.5 Ezekiel Ch.45(Ezekiel 45:1. . . 7, 45:19. . . 24)

1 And, when you make fall the land by lot for inheritance, you shalloffer an offering to the LORD, a holy portion of the land. Thelength shall be twenty-five thousand cubits long, and the widthten thousand. It shall be holy in all its borders all around. 2

Of this there shall be five hundred by five hundred cubits for thesanctuary, square all around; and fifty cubits around shall be forits open space. 3 And from this measure you shall measure thelength of twenty-five thousand, and the width of ten thousand.


And in it shall be the sanctuary and the most holy place. 4 It isthe holy portion of the land for the priests, it shall be for the min-isters of the sanctuary who come near to minister to the LORD.And it shall be a place for their houses and a holy place for thesanctuary. 5 And the twenty-five thousand cubits in length, andthe ten thousand in width, shall also be for the Levites, the min-isters of the house, for themselves for a possession, twenty rooms.6 And you shall give the possession of the city, five thousand cu-bits wide, and twenty-five thousand long, beside the offering ofthe holy portion. It shall be for the whole house of Israel. 7 Anda portion shall be for the ruler from here and from there, for theheave offering of the holy place, and of the possession of the city,in front of the heave offering of the holy place, and to the frontof the city’s possession, from the west side westward and fromthe east side eastward. And the length shall be alongside one ofthe portions, from the west border to the east border.

3.3.6 Ezekiel Ch.4619 And he brought me through the entry which was at the side of the

gate, into the holy chambers of the priests, facing north. Andbehold, there was a place on the two sides westward. 20 Andhe said to me, This is the place where the priests shall boil theguilt offering and the sin offering, and where they shall bake thefood offering, so that they may not bear them out into the outercourt to sanctify the people. 21 And he led me out into the outercourt and he made me pass by the four corners of the court. Andbehold, in every corner of the court there was a court. 22 In thefour corners of the court were enclosed courts, forty cubits longand thirty wide, one measure to the four of them, being madein corners. 23 And a row was all around in them, all around thefour of them. And boiling water was made under the rows allaround. 24 And he said to me, These are the places of those whoboil, where the ministers of the house shall boil the sacrifice ofthe people.

During the revelation of this vision, Ezekiel is referred to by the HeavenlyHost as “Ben Adam” or “Son of man” which is later used in Gospel works asa reference to the Jesus Christ Himself. There is no specific connection drawnbetween the two except for the use of the same naming convention. It seemsthat the term “Ben Adam” (heb.) is used to denote Kings and Theocrats ofJewish origin and was therefore used in the Gospels much later.

Chapter 4

The Second Temple underHerod the Great

4.0.7 The Hasmonean DynastyBefore Herod the Great, the Kingdom of Judaea was ruled by the Hasmoneandynasty. This dynasty did little to renovate the temple and left it relativelyunknown to the rest of the world. This is a list of the kings who ruled underthe Hasmonean dynasty.

Regent Reign RegionAristobulus I 104 BCE - 103 BCE JudaeaAlexander Jannaeus 103 BCE - 76 BCE JudaeaSalome Alexandra 76 BCE - 67 BCE JudaeaHyrcanus II 67 BCE - 66 BCE JudaeaAristobulus II 66 BCE - 63 BCE JudaeaAntigonus 40 BCE - 37 CE JudaeaAristobulus III 37 BCE JudaeaHerod the Great 37 BCE - 4 BCE Judaea, Idumaea, Samaria, Gualanitis

Table 4.1: The Hasmonean Dynasty

Herod the Great is listed to contrast him from the Hasmonean Monarchs forhis acknowledged megalopsychia or great-spritedness. He was a client-king to

Rome officially but managed his affairs independently with little Romaninterference. It was during the reign of his sons that Roman interference in

Judaea and the eastern territories increased under Augustus, Germanicus andlater Tiberius Caesar.

4.1 Herod the GreatHerod’s contributions in renovating the Second Temple during Roman Rule ofJudaea proved crucial in two principal areas. It brought attention to the magni-ficient construction that had been left unmaintained by the previous Hasmonean

27

CHAPTER 4. THE SECOND TEMPLE UNDER HEROD THE GREAT 28

kings. It shed light on the some of the methods and techniques used in build-ing the Temple. The latter had been previously unknown and undocumentedfor a long while until Tom Mueller published “Herod, The Holy Land’s Vision-ary Builder” in the December 2008 issue of National Geographic[Mue08]. Thisarticle was made possibile by the work of Archaeologist Ehud Netzer and Histeam who unearthed structures previously undiscovered that shed light on themassive architectural feat accomplished by Herod the Great.

Herod the Great is innocent of the “massacre of the innocents” for which heis cited (oft as a villain) in the Christian gospel works. If such an event everoccurred it was never documented by early Jewish Historians including FlaviusJosephus. Such an event is historically unlikely because of the thin populationin Bethlehem at that time. There are no parallel accounts of such a grievousmassacre. Herod the Great was the father of the Herodian dynasty which begatthree more kings Herod Philip, Herod Archelaus and Herod Antipas. HerodAntipas is the son of Herod referred to in the trial of Jesus in the Gospel whobegan his reign in 4 BCE. In this chapter, Herod the Great, the patron of theshort-lived Herodian dynasty is referred to in short as Herod or King Herod.

His reign is officially recorded from 20 BCE till 4 BCE ending with his death.However there are records which indicate that he assumed leadership in theyear 37 BCE during an early conflict with the Parthians who conspired with theHasmonean theocracy and allegedly murdered Herod’s Father. Herod foughtagainst them and later built Herodium to commemorate this victory. He alsoavenged the death of his father which he blamed on Aristobulus III of the Has-monean dynasty.

The short-lived Herodian dynasty is llisted here only for reference. None ofthe Kings following Herod are attributed with architectural feats that matchtheir patriarch Herod the Great. They were a tetrarchy and did not survivebeyond one generation terminating the Herodian dynasty in a relatively shortperiod in comparison to other dynasties, regents and governors who presidedover Judaea and Palestine.

Regent Reign RegionHerod (the Great) 37 BCE - 4 BCE Judaea, Galilee, SamariaHerod Antipas 4 BCE - 39 CE Judaea, later GalileeHerod Archelaus 23 BCE - 18 CE GalileeHerod Philip II 4 BCE - 34 CE Gaulanitis, Batanea

Table 4.2: The Herodian Dynasty

4.2 The works of HerodThe most significant work of Herod which stands even to this day is the West-ern wall of the Temple in Jerusalem which is constructed with huge stones. Itremains a structure of great interest to pilgrims and residents of Jewish andChristian faith. The Dome of Rock which is one of Islam’s holiest sites rests

CHAPTER 4. THE SECOND TEMPLE UNDER HEROD THE GREAT 29

upon this structure. The foundation stones of the western wall are consideredto weigh no less than 600 tonnes and the stones resting above at least 40 tonnesin weight. It is believed that the entire Temple was constructed with the helpof such enormous stones with an employment of a work-force of no less than1000 priests. Herod is credited with a number of works including the artifi-cial harbour at Caesarea, a Temple to Augustus Caesar and many more forts,Masada being better-known. It is only right that he is referred to in the annalsof history as Herod the Architect for the numerous constructions and buildingwork attributed to him. He is also partially credited with restoring the waterpumping system which pushes water upward into the hilly city of Jerusalem.

4.3 Works on the TempleThe first startling discovery is a network of arches underneath the Temple mountto provide support to the expanded complex of the second Temple. It is believedthat the huge network of arches were entirely constructed during the period ofHerod the Great. There are some who believe that the structures existed earlierbut were renovated and reinforced during the reign of Herod the Great. Manyarchaeologists recognize King Herod’s role in reinforcing the stone foundationof the temple mount which allowed for the increased area of the temple and thecity complex of Jerusalem surrounding the temple itself.

Bibliography

[Jos93] Flavius Josephus.Antiquities of the Jews.Project Gutenberg, 93.

[Mue08] Tom Mueller.Herod, the holy land’s visionary builder.2008.

[New28] Sir Isaac Newton.The Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms Amended.Project Gutenberg, 1728.

[Sto00] W.Bro. Keith Stockley.The making of masonic history, 2000.

[Str69] Strabo.Geographica.1469.

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King Solomon's Temple

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