Temple at the Time of Christ

Viewed from without, the Sanctuary had everything that could amaze either mind or eyes. Overlaid all round with stout plates of gold, the first rays of the sun reflected so fierce a blaze of fire that those who endeavoured to look at it were forced to turn away as if they had looked straight at the sun. To strangers as they approached it seemed in the distance like a mountain covered with snow; for any part not covered with gold was dazzling white The Jewish War, p.

Josephus records that in 63 BC, the Roman general Pompey entered the temple's Most Holy place and was disappointed to find it empty. It was likely here that he was dedicated as a child Luke 2: It was also here that Jesus and his disciples witnessed the poor widow placing her two lepta into the temple treasury Luke The semicircular staircase leading up to the Nicanor gate was where the Levite singers and musicians are believed to have sung the Psalms of ascent Psalms This is a replica of a fragment of one of the signs marking the boundary between the Jewish and Gentile areas of the temple courts.

The original is found at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. This sign was written in Greek and read as follows: No outsider shall enter the protective enclosure around the sanctuary. And whoever is caught will only have himself to blame for the ensuing death. Actual stones of the pinnacle of the Temple. Painting of the south-west corner of the temple mount as it would have appeared during the time of Christ. I nscribed stone the fell from top corner of the temple mount during the Roman destruction of Jerusalem 70 AD.

The Hebrew reads, "To the place lit. It appears that this was the place designated for a priest to blow the horn announcing the beginning and end of the Sabbath. An Archaeological Biography , p. Stairs leading up to the gates through which temple participants passed to ascend the stairs to the temple mount court of the gentiles. Archaeological excavations of the southern wall of the temple mount. The stairs from the southern wall exit through the two gates into the court of the gentiles. The court of the gentiles is surrounded by a pillared courts. The red-roofed structure is called the Royal Stoa.

The Jerusalem Temple in the Time of Christ - Bible History Online

The Sanhedrin Jewish ruling court met in this location. The Royal Stoa was a basilica with an apse at its eastern end. It was in the eastern end that the Sanhedrin met.

The pillars stood over 30 feet in height. A meeting of the Sanhedrin in the Royal Stoa. Temple and surrounding walls enclosing the court of the women treasury. Around the stairs leading up into the court of the women is a balustrade.

The Court of the Gentiles

Non-Jews were not allowed to pass beyond the balustrade. The walls enclose both the Temple no. The Temple and the inner courts. The forecourt is the court of the women treasury. It was here that the woman taken in adultery was brought before the Savior John 8. The court directly surrounding the Temple is the court of the priests.

The Antonia Fortress often called "castle" in the New Testament was located on the northwest corner of the Temple Mount. There were stairs leading from the fortress into the court of the gentiles.

Paul was taken captive by the Roman guard and led into the fortress up the stairs. Receiving permision from the Roman guard, he spoke to the Jews who were in the court of the gentiles from the stairs. Pools of Bethesda in the foreground.

Design of Jerusalem's Temple

It was here that the Savior healed an invalid on the Sabbath, leading to a negative encounter with the Jewish leaders John 5. The Antonia Fortress castle is the background. It is also called the Holy Temple Hebrew: Although efforts were made at partial reconstruction, it was only in BCE when Jehoash, King of Judah, in the second year of his reign invested considerable sums in reconstruction, only to have it stripped again for Sennacherib , King of Assyria c.

It was completed 23 years later, on the third day of Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the Great 12 March BCE , [6] dedicated by the Jewish governor Zerubbabel. However, with a full reading of the Book of Ezra and the Book of Nehemiah , there were four edicts to build the Second Temple, which were issued by three kings. Cyrus in BCE, which is recorded in the first chapter of Ezra.

The outer court

Moreover, the temple narrowly avoided being destroyed again in BCE when the Jews refused to acknowledge the deification of Alexander the Great of Macedonia. Alexander was allegedly "turned from his anger" at the last minute by astute diplomacy and flattery. Under the Ptolemies, the Jews were given many civil liberties and lived content under their rule. Antiochus wanted to Hellenize the Jews, attempting to introduce the Greek pantheon into the temple.

Moreover, a rebellion ensued and was brutally crushed, but no further action by Antiochus was taken, and when Antiochus died in BCE at Luristan , his son Seleucus IV Philopator succeeded him. However, his policies never took effect in Judea, since he was assassinated the year after his ascension. Antiochus IV Epiphanes succeeded his older brother to the Seleucid throne and immediately adopted his father's previous policy of universal Hellenisation.

The Jews rebelled again and Antiochus, in a rage, retaliated in force. Considering the previous episodes of discontent, the Jews became incensed when the religious observances of Sabbath and circumcision were officially outlawed. When Antiochus erected a statue of Zeus in their temple and Hellenic priests began sacrificing pigs the usual sacrifice offered to the Greek gods in the Hellenic religion , their anger began to spiral. When a Greek official ordered a Jewish priest to perform a Hellenic sacrifice, the priest Mattathias killed him.

In BCE, the Jews rose up en masse behind Mattathias and his five sons to fight and win their freedom from Seleucid authority. Mattathias' son Judah Maccabee , now called "The Hammer", re-dedicated the temple in BCE and the Jews celebrate this event to this day as a major part of the festival of Hanukkah. According to folklore he was executed by having molten gold poured down his throat. When news of this reached the Jews, they revolted again, only to be put down in 43 BCE. The emperor Julian allowed to have the Temple rebuilt but the Galilee earthquake of ended all attempts ever since.

The shrine has stood on the mount since CE; the al-Aqsa Mosque , from roughly the same period, also stands in the Temple courtyard. Israel officially unified East Jerusalem , including the Temple Mount, with the rest of Jerusalem in under the Jerusalem Law , though United Nations Security Council Resolution declared the Jerusalem Law to be in violation of international law.

There are three theories as to where the Temple stood: The Temple of Solomon or First Temple consisted of three main elements:.

• The Temple at the Time of Jesus - Window into the Bible?
• The inner court?
• Les 100 mots du symbolisme: « Que sais-je ? » n° 3927 (French Edition).
• Titan from Cassini-Huygens.

In the case of the last and most elaborate structure, the Herodian Temple , the structure consisted of the wider Temple precinct, the restricted Temple courts, and the Temple building itself:. According to the Talmud , the Women's Court was to the east and the main area of the Temple to the west. An edifice contained the ulam antechamber , the hekhal the "sanctuary" , and the Holy of Holies. The sanctuary and the Holy of Holies were separated by a wall in the First Temple and by two curtains in the Second Temple. The sanctuary contained the seven branched candlestick , the table of showbread and the Incense Altar.

The main courtyard had thirteen gates.

On the south side, beginning with the southwest corner, there were four gates:. On the east side was Shaar Nikanor , between the Women's Courtyard and the main Temple Courtyard, which had two minor doorways, one on its right and one on its left. On the western wall, which was relatively unimportant, there were two gates that did not have any name.

The Mishnah lists concentric circles of holiness surrounding the Temple: The Temple was the place where offerings described in the course of the Hebrew Bible were carried out, including daily morning and afternoon offerings and special offerings on Sabbath and Jewish holidays. Levites recited Psalms at appropriate moments during the offerings, including the Psalm of the Day, special psalms for the new month , and other occasions, the Hallel during major Jewish holidays, and psalms for special sacrifices such as the "Psalm for the Thanksgiving Offering" Psalm As part of the daily offering, a prayer service was performed in the Temple which was used as the basis of the traditional Jewish morning service recited to this day, including well-known prayers such as the Shema , and the Priestly Blessing.