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EtymologyThe Hebrew name given in Scripture for the building is Beit HaMikdash or "The Holy House", and only the Temple in Jerusalem is referred to by this name. The temple is also called by a variety of other names in the Hebrew Bible, such as Beit Adonai (House of God) or simple Beiti (My house) or Beitechah (Your House). The temple of Solomon was constructed based on specific plans given to King David, by God. David had hoped to build it, but was told by God that his son would be the one to assemble the first temple. During his reign, David began to collect most of the raw materials used in the construction, from the wood, to the huge foundation stones, to the gold, silver, bronze and other metals used. The temple was designed to house the Ark of the Covenant, and to serve all nations, particularly the Hebrew nation of Israel, as a place where any man could worship their God. It would be a mistake to assign this temple, or the second temple to Judaism, which was not formalized until a few hundred years later, in ancient Babylon, modern day Iraq. The first mention of the term Jew, which related to the citizenry of the Kingdom of Judah, was not mentioned in the Bible until the reign of King Zedekiah, who was ruler over the nearly dismantled Kingdom of Judah, just prior to the destruction of the first temple.This occurred approximately 590 BCE. The first temple, referred to as the Temple of Solomon, was likely constructed by members of all 12 tribes of Jacob, or Israel as he was renamed by God, since all the tribes were united under David and then Solomon. Following Solomon's reign, his son Rehoboam, due to his arrogance and God's plan, caused 10 of the tribes of Israel split off to form the Northern Kingdom of Israel, while the tribes of Judah, Benjamin and much of Levi, remained in what was known as the Kingdom of Judah. The second temple was subsequently built by the remnant of Judah only, or the original Jews, who were taken in exile by Nebudchanezzar in the 6th century B.C. The other 10 tribes had already been dispersed a few centuries earlier, when their kingdom was torn apart by God's will, through the Kingdom of Assyria. First and Second TemplesImage:TempleJerusalem.jpg A model of Herod's Temple adjacent to the Shrine of the Book exhibit at the Israel Museum, Jerusalem.
Solomon's Temple was built in the 10th century BCE (approximately 960 BCE) to replace the Tabernacle. It was destroyed by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BCE, and thus stood for about 375 years; Talmudic tradition gives the number as 410 years. The Second Temple was built after Cyrus allowed the Jews to return from the Babylonian captivity. The return took place around 535 BCE, and, after a number of delays, the Temple was completed in 515 BCE. The dimensions of the Temple Mount were then 150 metres x 50 metres [1]. The Second Temple was destroyed by Roman Empire troops under general Titus in 70 CE. This second Temple had been desecrated by Pompey, when he entered it after taking Jerusalem in 63 BCE. According to Josephus (living at the Court of the Roman Emperor), Pompey did not remove anything from the Temple or its treasury. He did, however, massacre the Priests who attempted to block his entry to the sanctuary. Pompey subsequently lost all his power and died as a hunted fugitive. This is seen by many Jewish people as Divine punishment. (See article on Pompey in the Encyclopaedia Judaica). Around 19 BCE, King Herod began a renovation of the Temple Complex. In order to build a completely new Temple in a larger and grander version, and before beginning the building of it, the Second Temple was completely destroyed (including its foundations) by Romans[2] During the last revolt of the Jews against the Romans in 132-135, Simon bar Kokhba and Rabbi Akiva wanted to rebuild the Temple, but bar Kokhba's revolt failed and the Jews were removed from Jerusalem. A further effort at rebuilding the Temple took place in 363 CE when Julian the Apostate ordered the restoration of the Jewish sanctuary in Jerusalem: but this project failed. Rebuilding the Third TempleImage:Francesco Hayez 017.jpg Destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem, by Francesco Hayez Ever since the Second Temple's destruction, a prayer for the construction of a new Third Temple has been a formal part of the thrice daily Jewish prayer services. However, the question of whether and when to construct the Third Temple is disputed both within the Jewish community and without; groups within Judaism argue both for and against construction of a new Temple, while the expansion of Abrahamic religion since the 1st century CE has made the issue contentious within Christian and Islamic thought, as well. Furthermore, the complicated political status of Jerusalem makes initiation of reconstruction presently difficult, while the physical location of the historic Temple is believed to be occupied by the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. There is some controversy, however, about the exact location of the Temple within the Compound, and it is possible it could be rebuilt without damaging the mosques. Physical layoutAccording to the Talmud, the Temple had an Ezrat Nashim (Women's Court) to the east and main area to the west. The main area contained the butchering area for the sacrifices and the Mizbaeach (Outer Altar) on which portions of most offerings were burned and blood was poured or dashed. An edifice contained the Ulam (antechamber), the Heichal, and the Kodesh Kodashim (Holy of Holies). The Heichal and the Kodesh Kodashim were separated by a wall in the First Temple and by two curtains in the Second Temple. The Heichal contained the Menorah, 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 north side, beginning with the northwest 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 Temple in the writings of the ProphetsThe Biblical prophets describe visions of a mysterious presence of God occupying the Temple. Isaiah wrote "I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, and his train filled the Temple." (Isaiah 6:1). Jeremiah implored "Do not dishonor the throne of your glory" (Jeremiah 14:21) and referred to "Thou throne of glory, on high from the beginning, Thou place of our sanctuary" (Jeremiah 17:12). Ezekiel spoke of "the glory of the God of Israel was there [in the Sanctuary], according to the vision that I saw in the plain." Isaiah spoke of the importance of prayer as well as sacrifice in Temple, and of a universal purpose:
Temple servicesThe 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 Shabbat 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 100). 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 Barchu, the Shema, and the Priestly Blessing. The Mishna describes it as follows:
The Temple as the Garden of EdenThe Temple courtyards were full of trees, flowers, and fountains, because the Temple was meant to be a model and re-creation of the Garden of Eden. (See "Jerusalem as Eden," by Lawrence Stager, Biblical Archaeology Review, May/June 2000). Role in Jewish servicesAs noted above, the heart of the traditional Jewish morning service, the part surrounding the Shema prayer, is essentially unchanged from the daily worship service performed in the Temple. In addition, recitation of the Amidah prayer, which traditionally replaces the Temple's daily tamid and special-occasion Mussaf (additional) offerings, must be recited today during the times that the offerings they substitute for were performed in the days of the Temple, in both Orthodox and Conservative Judaism. The Temple is mentioned extensively in Orthodox services, and, to a lesser degree, in Conservative ones as well. Orthodox JudaismMentions in Orthodox Jewish services include:
The destruction of the Temple is mourned on the Jewish fast day of Tisha B'Av. Three other minor fasts (Tenth of Tevet, 17th of Tammuz, and Third of Tishrei), also mourn events leading to or following the destruction of the Temple. Conservative JudaismConservative Judaism retains mentions of the Temple but removes references to the restoration of sacrifices. The study session of Temple sacrifices is removed or replaced, the passages in the daily Amidah, the weekday Torah service, and elsewhere referring to restoration of the Temple are retained but references to sacrifices are removed. References to sacrifices on holidays are retained, but made in the past tense, and petitions for their restoration are removed. Special holiday services, such as special prayers at Yom kippur and Sukkot, are retained in Conservative prayer books, but are often abbreviated or omitted by Conservative congregations. Some Conservative Congregations omit all references to sacrifices, and the Conservative Sim Shalom prayer book has alternate versions of the Amidah prayer, a version mentioning sacrifices in the past tense and one without reference to sacrifices at all. Conservative Judaism has retained the four fasts relating to the destruction of the Temple, although only Tisha B'Av is widely observed. Reform and Reconstructionist JudaismReform and Reconstructionist Judaism have removed all direct references to the Temple, although some indirect or ambiguous references (e.g. "Happy are those who dwell in your House", Psalm 84:5) are retained. The Reform movement in the United States has taken to calling its places of worship not synagogues or shuls but temples. This is due to the belief that when prayer replaced sacrifice as the main mode of Jewish worship and that in a world where that is the case, there is no need for The Temple, only temples. Archaeological evidenceImage:To the trumpeting place.jpg A stone (2.43×1 m) with Hebrew inscription "To the Trumpeting Place" excavated by Benjamin Mazar at the southern foot of the Temple Mount is believed to be a part of the Second Temple. Scholars generally reject more outlandish theories that claim the Temple was located somewhere else than Jerusalem or even outside the Land of Israel. 2004 artifact controversyOn December 27, 2004, it was reported in the Toronto-based The Globe and Mail that the Israel Museum in Jerusalem concluded that the ivory pomegranate that everyone believed had once adorned a scepter used by the high priest in Solomon's Temple was a fake. This artifact was the most important item of biblical antiquities in its collection. It had been part of a traveling exhibition at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in 2003. Experts fear that this discovery is part of an international fraud in antiquities. The thumb-sized pomegranate, which is a mere 44 mm in height, bears an inscription incised around the shoulder of the pomegranate in small paleo-Hebrew script. Only 9 characters remained complete, and were incomplete – if any sense were to be made of the inscription, it seemed likely that several more were missing. The surviving part of the inscription was transcribed לבי...ה קדש כהנם (Only the lower horizontal stroke of the yod and the upper horizontal stroke of the ה he remain.) The following restoration of missing letters was proposed: לבית יהוה קדש כהנם This reconstruction resulted in the following transliteration, now accepted by the vast majority of scholars: lby[t yhw]h qdš khnm, which led to the translation: "Belonging to the Temp[le of Yahw]eh, holy to the priests." The notion that the artifact is fake derives from the conclusion that it belongs to the Bronze Age rather than the Iron Age. However, there are theories that the Temple of Solomon was built in the Bronze Age. If this is correct, there is no reason to doubt the authenticity of the ivory pomegranate. See also
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