Temples

The permanent place of Jewish worship through much of the Old Testament and New Testament periods. Between 950 BC and AD 70, three different temples were built on the same hill in Jerusalem—Mount Moriah, the place where Abraham was going to sacrifice Isaac.

Solomon’s Temple. King Solomon ordered the building of the first temple in 950 BC to replace the tabernacle. Its basic floor plan resembled that of the tabernacle. It took seven years to build the temple itself and thirteen more to finish the other buildings that were part of the complex. Many of the furnishings were made of gold or bronze. The temple was considered one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. The nation of Israel was very proud of it. Between 950 and 586 BC, however, some of the kings allowed the worship of idols inside this temple that had been dedicated to God. Other kings took treasures from the temple to pay off foreign attackers. King Josiah removed the pagan altars, cleaned up and repaired the temple, and restored it to its proper use. The Babylonians destroyed this temple in 586 BC when they burned Jerusalem.

Zerubbabel’s Temple. The building of this temple was supervised by Zerubbabel, the governor of the Jews returning from Babylon, and Jeshua, the high priest. It was completed in 515 BC. No description of this temple exists, but it probably followed the same pattern as Solomon’s temple. Although it was beautiful, it was much simpler and less expensive than Solomon’s. Some Jews wept because it was so modest compared to Solomon’s temple. The returning Jews had little money for the building.

Herod’s Temple. Herod’s temple was begun about 20 BC. It took more than forty-six years to build. This was the temple in which Jesus was presented as a baby and later traveled to regularly for the required feasts. Herod’s temple was burned and destroyed along with the rest of Jerusalem in AD 70 by the Romans. But the foundation of one wall remains today—the Western Wall, or Wailing Wall. Many people go there to worship and pray.