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298 RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA TEMPLES, HEBREW. I. Solomon's Temple. Ornamentation (§ 4). The Table of Showbread Importance, Site, Arrangement Architecture (§.5). The Candlestick (§ 2). (§ 1). II. Zerubbabel's Temple. Other Articles (§ 3). Provisions for Construction (§ 27. III. The Temple of Herod. V. Other Hebrew Temples. Structure of the Temple Proper (¢ 3). IV. The Temple Furniture.
I. Solomon's Temple: Among the great services
which David rendered to the Hebrew nation was
that of securing a capital which served as a center
not only for political life but also for
s. Impor- religion. Here he placed the sacred
fence, Site, ark, rescued from the forgetfulness in
Arrange- which Saul's superstition had involved
went. it. The Bible further relates that it
was his purpose to provide for it a
stately habitation, but was deterred by prophetic
injunction from carrying out that purpose (II Sam.
vii.), while I Chron. xxii. aqq. asserts that he made
provision for its erection. The building of this
structure was held by Solomon to be one of his
urgent duties. The question is raised here whether
Solomon conceived it to be his duty to destroy
other sanctuaries; the answer must be that he did
not, and that such a purpose is not in evidence prior
to Deuteronomy (see HIGH PLACES, § 5). But
the paling of the other sanctuaries was the natural
effect of the splendor and beauty of the Temple,
with its costly sacrifices and imposing priesthood.,
and of the fact that it was the royal sanctuary and
so gained exceptional prestige, illustrated by the
number of pilgrims who soon came to worship there.
The measures of Jeroboam I. to establish rival
sanctuaries at Bethel and Dan show how powerful
had become the central attraction of the Temple.
The question as to the site of the Temple must be
decided from a study of the topography of the situa
tion (see JERUSALEM, V., §§ 1-5). The location of
the Temple according to unbroken tradition, sup
ported by the topographical character of the local
ity, was upon the hill extending eastward between
the Tyropoeon and the valley of the Kidron. This is
the " hill of Zion." Since this hill fell away abruptly
to the south as well as on both sides, it was neces
sary, in order to obtain a horizontal level for build
ing, to construct a kind of terrace. This part of the
hill still shows its artificial character, and is known
as Harem al-Sherif. The spot where the Temple
stood is marked by the Mosque of Omar at the
highest point of the hill. The Temple extended
from east to west; the altar being in front, to the
east of the entrance. The orientation does not im
ply that Solomon's Temple was built to a sun-god,
but it is pr able that a sun-temple was the model.
The state buildings of Solomon must have been con
nected with the Temple to the southward. The re
maining space of the level plain toward the Kidron
was occupied partly by the fore-court of the Temple
(I Kings vi. 36) which surrounded the Temple
proper, and partly by the great court that sur
rounded the entire Temple and palace district
(I Kings vii. 12). Adjoining the Temple, or " in
ner " court was the " other " court, to the south,
which surrounded the palace itself, while the state
buildings-hall of justice, throne-room, and house
of Lebanon, lying farther south-were surrounded only by the great court that embraced everything within its walls. The palace, therefore, in accordance with the topography, lay somewhat lower than the Temple.
In his building-operations David had availed himself of foreign workmen, sent by Hiram of Tyre (II Sam. v. 11), and Solomon continued this policy, a treaty providing for this and for bar-
z. Provi- ter of materials being compacted be- sions for tween the two kings. According to Construe- I Kings ix. 10-14, the cost of Solomon's tion. building-operations was so great that he was finally obliged to cede to Hiram twenty Galilean cities, having obtained also 120 talents of gold from the Tyrian king. Solomon im pressed 30,000 laborers for his undertaking, whom he divided into three shifts, each shift having to work one month on Lebanon and two months at home. There were besides 70,000 burden-bearers and 80,000 stone-masons in the Jewish mountains who worked under 3,300 overseers. These figures are possibly exaggerations. The text of the passage describing the construction of the Temple (I Kings vi.-vii.) is corrupt. The original account seems to have been written by a priest who was familiar with the details of the structure, but this was modified or added to by editors who no longer understood some of his technical terms and wished, moreover, to magnify the splendor of the holy building. In the course of time, too, doubtless, many changes were made in the structure itself. As an aid to the reconstruction of Solomon's Temple there exists, besides what textual criticism and archeology offer, the description by Ezekiel (chaps. xl. sqq.) of his ideal temple, in imagining which he must have been influenced by the Temple with which he was familiar.The Temple building may be described in its three chief parts: the Temple proper, its surrounding structure, and the fore-courts. The
3. Struc- Temple proper or house of God was an ture of the oblong sixty cubits long, twenty wide,
Temple and thirty high, interior measurement. Proper. The thickness of the walls is not given; in Ezekiel's ideal temple this was six cubits. The partition between the holy place and the holy of holier may have been of thin wood, not withstanding II Chron. iii. 14. On the eastern side in front of the Temple there was a stately porch twenty cubits by ten and probably of equal height with the temple. Its side walls were in line with the long walls of the Temple and were probably of the same thickness. The height of 120 cubits given in II Chron. iii. 4 is obviously an exaggeration. There was probably a flight of steps rising to the porch. The other three sides of the building, north, south, and west, were not open to the view of the
