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2 - The Herodian Temple

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 March 2008

By
Dan Bahat
Edited by
William Horbury ,
W. D. Davies  and
John Sturdy
Dan Bahat
Affiliation:
Bar-Ilan University
William Horbury
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
W. D. Davies
Affiliation:
Duke University, North Carolina
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Summary

THE SOURCES

Any attempt at a theoretical reconstruction of Herod's Temple must be based on the available literary sources as well as the evidence produced by archaeology. The two main literary sources which we have are Flavius Josephus' descriptions of the Temple as given in Ant.xv.380–425 and Bell.v.184–227 as well as several additional references to its history given by Josephus and, secondly, the various descriptions recorded in the Mishnah, especially that given in m. Mid. which contains a general description of the Temple and m. Tamid,i:1–3. In addition, several New Testament passages mention the beauty of Herod's building (Mark 13:1; Luke 21:5), while ‘Solomon's Portico’ is mentioned in John 10:23.

Research in the vicinity of the Temple itself, especially the work of the last hundred years, has been limited to the outer walls of the Temple Mount. Owing to the existence of Muslim shrines on the Mount, no excavations were ever carried out there. Sir Charles Warren pioneered scientific investigation of the Temple area, and his publication, describing work carried out during the years 1867–70, is still considered a prime source, a ‘text-book’ on the subject. More recent studies, however, have added to Warren's architectural discoveries and have yielded many new finds which help us to gain a clearer conception of daily life in the Temple.

THE HISTORY OF THE TEMPLE

The building of the Temple began either in Herod's eighteenth regnal year (Ant. xv. 380ff) or in the fifteenth (Bell. i.401), with the former date seemingly the more probable, that is, 20/19 bce. The work continued for nine and a half years (Ant. xv.420 –1), with the construction of the outer walls and porticoes taking eight years and the building of the Temple itself a year and a half.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge History of Judaism , pp. 38 - 58
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 1999

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References

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