Solomon's Temple

According to tradition, Solomon's Temple was the first Jewish temple in Jerusalem which functioned as a religious focal point for worship and the sacrifices known as the korbanot in ancient Judaism. Before his death, King David had provided materials in great abundance for the building of the temple on the summit of Mount Moriah (1 Chronicles 22:14; 29:4; 2 Chronicles 3:1).

Solomon's reign

According to tradition, in the beginning of his reign, King Solomon of the united Kingdom of Israel, set about giving effect to the ideas of his father, and prepared additional materials for the building. From subterranean quarries at Jerusalem he obtained huge blocks of stone for the foundations and walls of the temple. These stones were prepared for their places in the building under the eye of Tyrian master-builders.

According to tradition, Solomon also entered into a compact with Hiram I, king of Tyre, for the supply of whatever else was needed for the work, particularly timber from the forests of Lebanon, which was brought in great rafts by the sea to Joppa, whence it was dragged to Jerusalem (1 Kings 5). As the hill on which the temple was to be built did not afford sufficient level space, a huge wall of solid masonry of great height, in some places more than 200 ft (60 m) high, was raised across the south of the hill, and a similar wall on the eastern side, and in the spaces between were erected many arches and pillars, thus raising up the general surface to the required level.

According to tradition, Solomon also provided for a sufficient water supply for the temple by hewing in the rocky hill vast cisterns, into which water was conveyed by channels from the "pools" near Bethlehem. One of these cisterns, the "great sea," was capable of containing three millions of gallons. The overflow was led off by a conduit to the Kidron.

Construction

File:Solomon'sTemple.PNG

According to tradition, in all these preparatory undertakings a space of about three years was occupied; and now the process of the erection of the great building began, under the direction of skilled Phoenician builders and workmen, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign. The building followed the Phoenician model, and in fact the Bible's description of Solomon's Temple is to historians an important source regarding the lay-out of Phoenician temples as well. David provided Solomon with a large amount of gold and silver with which to build the temple. 100,000 talents (3,000 tons) of gold and 1,000,000 talents (30,000 tons) of silver were brought to the construction of the temple. _[1]

According to biblical tradition, many thousands of labourers and skilled artisans were employed in the work. Stones prepared in the quarries underneath the city (1 Kings 5:17, 18) of huge dimension were gradually placed on the massive walls, and closely fitted together without any mortar between, till the whole structure was completed. The building was 60 cubits (27 m) long, 20 cubits (9 m) wide, and 30 cubits (14 m) high.

Completion

At length, in the Autumn of the eleventh year of his reign, seven and a half years after it had been begun, the temple was completed. For thirteen years there it stood, on the summit of Moriah, silent and unused. The reasons for this strange delay in its consecration are unknown. At the close of these thirteen years preparations for the dedication of the temple were made.

Ark of the Covenant

According to biblical tradition, the ark was solemnly brought from the tent in which David had deposited it to the place prepared for it in the temple. Then Solomon ascended a platform which had been erected for him, in the sight of all the people, and lifting up his hands to heaven poured out his heart to God in prayer (1 Kings 8; 2 Chr. 6, 7). The feast of dedication, which lasted seven days, followed by the feast of tabernacles, marked a new era in the history of Israel. On the eighth day of the feast of tabernacles, Solomon dismissed the vast assemblage of the people.

Description

According to biblical tradition, the temple consisted of:

1. The oracle or most holy place (1 Kings 6:19; 8:6), called also the "inner house" (6:27), and the "Holy of Holies" (Heb. 9:3). It was 20 cubits in length, breadth, and height. It was floored and wainscotted with cedar (1 Kings 6:16), and its walls and floor were overlaid with gold (6:20, 21, 30). There was a two-leaved door between it and the holy place overlaid with gold (2 Chr. 4:22); also a veil of blue purple and crimson and fine linen (2 Chr. 3:14; compare Exodus 26:33). It had no windows (1 Kings 8:12). It was considered the dwelling-place of God.
2. The holy place, 1 Kings 8:8-10, called also the "greater house" (2 Chr. 3:5) and the "temple" (1 Kings 6:17).
3. The porch or entrance before the temple on the east (1 Kings 6:3; 2 Chr. 3:4; 9:7). In the porch stood the two pillars Jachin and Boaz (1 Kings 7:21; 2 Kings 11:14; 23:3).
4. The chambers, which were built about the temple on the southern, western, and northern sides (1 Kings 6:5-10). These formed a part of the building.

According to biblical tradition, round about the building were:

1. The court of the priests (2 Chr. 4:9), called the "inner court" (1 Kings 6:36). It contained the altar of burnt-offering (2 Chr. 15:8), the brazen sea (4:2-5, 10), and ten lavers (1 Kings 7:38, 39).
2. The great court, which surrounded the whole temple (2 Chr. 4:9). Here the people assembled to worship God (Jeremiah 19:14; 26:2).

Raids and destruction

According to the bible, the temple was pillaged many times during the course of its history:

1. by king Shishak of Egypt (1 Kings 14:25, 26);
2. by king Jehoash of Israel (2 Kings 14:14);
3. by king Ahaz of Judah (2 Kings 16:8, 17, 18);
4. by king Hezekiah of Judah to pay king Sennacherib of Assyria (2 Kings 18:15, 16).
5. by king Nebuchadnezzar who pillaged and destroyed it (2 Kings 24:13; 2 Chr. 36:7). He burned the temple, and carried all its treasures with him to Babylon (2 Kings 25:9-17; 2 Chr. 36:19; Isaiah 64:11).

These sacred vessels were, at the end of the Babylonian Captivity, restored to the Jews by Cyrus (Ezra 1:7-11).

Artifact controversy

On Monday, December 27, 2004 it was reported that the Israel Museum in Jerusalem has alleged that the ivory pomegranate that everyone believed had once adorned a sceptre used by the high priest in Solomon's Temple may not be related to the Temple. This artifact was the most important item of biblical antiquities in its collection; it had been part of a travelling exhibition at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in 2003. The report described the thumb-sized pomegranate, which is a mere 44 millimetres in height, as being inscribed "... with ancient Hebrew letters said to spell out the words "Sacred donation for the priests in the House of Jehovah." The Israel Museum now believes that the artifact actually dates back to the 14th or 13th century BCE, and that the inscription is modern. Experts fear that this discovery is part of an international fraud in antiquities; Israeli authorities have charged five people. [2]

See also

• Temple in Jerusalem
• Temple Mount
• Western Wall
• Most Holy Place

External links and references

• "Solomon's Temple". Phoenicia.org.
• Badillo, Tony, "Solomon's Temple".
• Telushkin, Joseph, "The Temple". Jewish Literacy (Jewish Virtual Library).
• Magickal Temple of Solomon
• Larkin, George, "Solomon's Temple Spiritualized". London, Two Swans without Bishopgate. 1688.
• Nat, Arnold vander, "The Temple of Jerusalem".
• Wells, Steve, "The Skeptic's Annotated Bible".

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Easton, Matthew George (1897). Easton's Bible Dictionary (New and revised ed.). T. Nelson and Sons. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)