DOCSLIB.ORG

A Reconstruction of Solomon's Temple

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
A Reconstruction of Solomon's Temple A reconstruction of The Ark of the Covenant was placed in the Holiest Place of the Temple. The Ark, the only major item surviving from Moses’ Inside the Holy Place were ten Solomon’s Temple Tabernacle, still contained the tablets of the golden lampstands – five on each Law, but the pot of manna and Aaron’s rod side – which had to be trimmed had disappeared. regularly by the priests to ensure David purchased the site for a temple for 50 silver shekels that they were never extinguished. from Araunah the Jebusite. This site is identified with Mount Moriah – today the Temple Mount, Jerusalem – where Abraham had years before been told to sacrifice his son Isaac. The building of the Temple began in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign, about 959 BC , and took seven years to complete. It was a national project of immense size. To preserve the holiness of the Temple site, and minimize noise, most of the masonry and carpentry was completed elsewhere, before the components were assembled on the actual site. Detailed accounts in the Bible of the Temple’s construction enable us to make a quite accurate reconstruction of Solomon’s Temple. One of the most impressive objects outside the Temple was the “molten sea”, a huge, round tank made of bronze which stood opposite the great altar. This tank was supported on the back of twelve bronze oxen, three at Bronze tanks on each point of the compass, wheeled stands. and held about 40,000 litres (10,000 US gallons) of water. It was used by the priests for ceremonial washing. The High Priest had a breastplate, inlaid with twelve precious stones, each symbolizing one of the tribes of Israel. His most solemn role was to enter the Most Holy Place on the Day of Atonement to present the blood of a sacrifice for the people’s sins. The huge altar of sacrifice where animals were offered daily. King Solomon, David’s son and successor, built the first Temple in Jerusalem. Famed for his wisdom, later in his reign he turned away from God, gathered an enormous harem and built pagan temples for the use of his foreign wives. 10 11 A great project Hiram, king of Tyre, to buy materials. The chief architect What did the The Temple was a huge project: Solomon wrote to King Hiram asking for help: King Hiram replied, “I am sending “Solomon . assigned 70,000 men to carry “Years ago, when my father David was building his Huram Abi to you. Not only is Temple look building supplies and 80,000 to cut stone palace, you supplied him with cedar logs. Now will Huram an expert at working with gold, from the hills. And he chose 3,600 men to you send me supplies? I am building a temple . silver, bronze, iron, stone and wood, like? “Send me a worker who can not only carve, but Solomon’s but he can also make . cloth and fine The Bible describes the supervise these workers.” Temple (2 Chronicles 2:2) who can work with gold, silver, bronze and iron . linen. building of the Temple “I know that you have workers who are experts at in detail (see for example Despite all David’s careful preparations, ?Mount This Huram became the chief architect cutting trees in Lebanon. So would you please send M oriah 1 Kings 5:1 – 9:10 and 2 Solomon needed still more timber to build and designer of Solomon’s Temple. me some cedar, pine and juniper logs?” Chronicles chapters 2–7). It his temple. He reached an agreement with King Hiram continued: gives us enough detail to Palace “I will tell my workers to start cutting y y make quite an accurate e down trees in Lebanon. They will cut l l e l model of the Temple. l e l as many as you need, then tie them a h a But of course the Bible V V p together into rafts, and float them down O doesn’t give us architect’s An artist’s impression of n Gihon Spring along the coast to Joppa. Your workers o Gate drawings. There is a Solomon’s Temple, with the e CITY can take them to Jerusalem from there.” n o lot we still don’t know. great laver, or bronze ritual OF (2 Chronicles chapter 2) o p r For instance, we don’t washing basin. The capitals o DAVID d r Solomon didn’t want a lot of noise on of the pillars on either side i know how thick the y K the site of the temple. So he ordered the of the Temple doorway were T Temple walls were. each decorated with 200 workers to shape the blocks of stone at N And we’re not sure pomegranates. the quarry before bringing them to the Bird’s-eye view of Jerusalem in Solomon’s day showing exactly how the altar location of Temple (far right). Kidron Brook temple building-site. was constructed. H i n n o m V a l l e y Archaeology doesn’t help much, since Extension of Jerusalem during Solomon’s reign Line of city wall most temples of this time have long since been razed to The Temple site. the ground. An artist’s impression of the High Priest’s costume. The Temple Mount, Jerusalem, site of Solomon’s Temple, viewed from the Mount of Olives. 12 13.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Christ in the Molten Sea Text: 2 Chronicles 4: 2-6, 10 Date: October 9, 2014 Place: SGBC, New Jersey
    Series: Types of Christ Title: Christ in the Molten Sea Text: 2 Chronicles 4: 2-6, 10 Date: October 9, 2014 Place: SGBC, New Jersey For you who do not have a heart to rejoice in Christ, you think the gospel does not relate to you. But everything about the gospel relates to you. You will either be a vessel of mercy to glorify Christ or a vessel of wrath to glorify Christ. Every smallest detail of your life is being worked together by God—in mercy or wrath—for the glorification of his Son and the good of his people. One of the ways we see that God uses every detail to bring glory to his Son is in the way God used even every piece of furniture in the temple to glorify Christ. In our text, we will see that thousands of years before Christ came, God used one piece of furniture in Solomon’s temple, to declare the glory of Christ and the work he accomplishes for his people on the cross and in his people through the preaching of the gospel. This ought to make us see how God is working in every small detail in history and in our own lives to glorify his Son. It ought to make you pay attention to my gospel and to seek Christ while he may be found. Our subject is Christ in the Molten Sea 2 Chronicles 4: 2: Also he made a molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass, and five cubits the height thereof; and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Kings Chapter 7 Continued
    1 Kings Chapter 7 Continued Verses 23-39: The “molten sea” was cast in one bronze piece by Hiram. It was set upon “twelve” bronze “oxen” (or bulls), which were later removed by Ahaz who replaced them with a stone base (2 Kings 16:17). “The sea” took the place of the laver of the tabernacle and was used for the ritual washing of the priests. Five moveable bronze basins stood on either side of the molten sea, which were used for the rinsing of the burnt offerings (Exodus 30:17-21 with 2 Chron. 4:6). The quantity of water held by the molten sea is given here as “two thousand baths,” probably the correct figure in the light of its measurements. The “three thousand baths” (of 2 Chron. 4:5), was probably miscopied. 1 Kings 7:23 "And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: [it was] round all about, and his height [was] five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about." “Molten sea”: A huge circular bronze basin corresponding to the laver of the tabernacle. According to (verse 26), this great basin’s capacity was about 12,000 gallons (see note on 2 Chron. 4:5). The sea stood in the courtyard on the temple’s southeast side and provided the priests water to wash themselves and their sacrifices (2 Chron. 4:5). It probably also supplied water for the 10 movable basins (verses 38-39; see note on 2 Chron. 4:2). This is a tremendous brass bowl for water for the oblations.
    [Show full text]
  • The “Molten Sea” Revisited
    Vetus Testamentum (2020) 1–12 Vetus Testamentum brill.com/vt The “Molten Sea” Revisited David Shapira Independent scholar [email protected] Abstract According to the biblical account (1 Kgs 7:23–26), in the middle of the courtyard of the temple stood a large water vessel of cast brass. Commentators and researchers have put forward various suggestions as to the form of the Molten Sea and its purpose in the temple. In this article, I argue that the description in 1 Kings offers definitive conclusions בת as to the biblical author’s intent regarding the form of the “Sea” and its volume (in units), and can resolve the outstanding question in the literature as to the equivalent -in modern units of volume measurement. I shall also point to evidence in sup בת of a port of the view of other researchers that the Molten Sea held a purely symbolic role, while the practical functions of water for sacrificial purposes were provided by the bases (1 Kgs 7:27). Keywords bath) units – first temple’s vessels – bronze basin – symbols of) בת – Solomon temple El According to the biblical account (1 Kgs 7:23–26), a large water vessel of cast bronze, measuring ten cubits in diameter and five cubits high, stood in the middle of the courtyard of the temple. Although water reservoirs of various kinds appeared in many ancient temples, this “Molten Sea” (1 Kgs 7:23–39; the Bronze Sea,” Jer 52:17)—was“) יָם הַ נְחֹשֶ ת Chron 4:1)—or in Hebrew, simply 2 unique both in form and in composition, insofar as no bronze water reservoir of this sort has been found elsewhere.
    [Show full text]
  • 25 the MOZA TEMPLE and SOLOMON's TEMPLE 26 the MOZA TEMPLE and SOLOMON's TEMPLE David SHAPIRA One of the Challenges Facing B
    25 THE MOZA TEMPLE AND SOLOMON’S TEMPLE 26 culture and Anatolia. These attempts have not been very fruitful, since none of these regions have provided true paral- lels for Solomon’s Temple in terms of its fundamental attrib- utes. The search then turned to regions closer to Canaan, such as Syria, and the land from which the Temple’s builders and engineers were drawn from—Phoenicia (I Kings 5:32). Elements of Solomon’s Temple have been found in certain temples within the Holy Land—such as those at Beit Shean, Lakhish, and Meggido. These feature a tripartite structure, but unlike Solomon’s Temple, their chambers are not sequen- tial, nor are they of equal width. The uncovering of the tem- ples at Tel Taayinat and at Ain Dara in Syria, sparked excite- ment among researchers, who almost unanimously hailed them as parallels of Solomon’s Temple2)—given that they, too, were built in the Iron Age, were long-room temples with a tripartite structure, and featured two columns at the entrance. Yevin3) argued that evidence of the reconstruction of the First Temple should be sought at sites in northern Mesopotamia, Syria, and Phoenicia. He focused on archeo- logical findings of temples built in the “royal acropolis” style, at Alalakh, Byblos, Ghozan, Dor Sruchkin (Khors- abad), Hamat, Carcamish, and Shmal (Zangrili). He also mentioned the temple at Tel Taayinat, whose description had not yet been fully published when he was writing up his research. Some researchers have adhered to the biblical description, because the Temple was built with the help of THE MOZA TEMPLE the Phoenicians, hence the Temple’s architecture bears Egyp- AND SOLOMON’S TEMPLE tian influences, which the Phoenicians drew from Egypt.4) However, most researchers, as previously noted, see the tem- David SHAPIRA ples of Tel Taayinat and Ain Dara as analogs of Solomon’s Temple as described in the Book of Kings.
    [Show full text]
  • Daf Ditty Eruvin 14 Pi, Revised X2
    Daf Ditty Eruvin 14: Pi, the Ratio of God “Human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust, we all dance to a mysterious tune intoned in the distance by an invisible player.” – Albert Einstein “The world isn't just the way it is. It is how we understand it, no? And in understanding something, we bring something to it, no? Doesn't that make life a story?” "Love is hard to believe, ask any lover. Life is hard to believe, ask any scientist. God is hard to believe, ask any believer... be excessively reasonable and you risk throwing out the universe with the bathwater." Yann Martel, Life of Pi 1 The mishna continues: If the cross beam is round, one considers it as though it were square. The Gemara asks: Why do I need this clause as well? Similar cases were already taught in the mishna. The Gemara answers: It was necessary to teach the last clause of this section, i.e., the principle that any circle with a circumference of three handbreadths is a handbreadth in diameter. 2 The Gemara asks: From where are these matters, this ratio between circumference and diameter, derived? Rabbi Yoḥanan said that the verse said with regard to King Solomon: And he made the molten sea of ten cubits from 23 גכ את ַַַויּﬠֶשׂ - ָוּ,מצםיַּה ָ:ק ֶֶﬠשׂ ר אָ בּ מַּ הָ הָ מַּ אָ בּ ר brim to brim, round in compass, and the height thereof תוֹפדשּׂﬠ ְִָמַ - ﬠוֹתְשׂפ סלָגָ ִ,יבָבֹ בּשְׁמחו ַהמֵָּאָ ָ ַהמֵָּאָ בּשְׁמחו ִ,יבָבֹ סלָגָ ﬠוֹתְשׂפ was five cubits; and a line of thirty cubits did compass וֹקמ ,וֹתָ וקוה ו( קְ ָ )ו םיִשׁhְ שׁ אָ בּ מַּ ,הָ סָ י בֹ וֹתֹ א וֹתֹ א בֹ סָ י ,הָ מַּ אָ בּ םיִשׁhְ שׁ )ו ָ קְ ו( וקוה ,וֹתָ וֹקמ .it round about ִי.בָסב I Kings 7:23 “And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: It was round all about, and its height was five cubits; and a line of thirty cubits did circle it roundabout” The Gemara asks: But isn’t there its brim that must be taken into account? The diameter of the sea was measured from the inside, and if its circumference was measured from the outside, this ratio is no longer accurate.
    [Show full text]
  • Lesson 11 - Ist Kings 6 and 7
    Lesson 11 - Ist Kings 6 and 7 1st KINGS Week 11, chapters 6 and 7 We are in the middle of examining 1st Kings Chapter 6 concerning the building of the 1st Temple. This chapter and the next one are full of details especially about the interior of the Temple and we’ll certainly look at that. Perhaps I should have titled this lesson: “Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about Solomon’s Temple but were afraid to ask”. However we’re not going to spend an inordinate amount time with it, first because it can become a bit tedious, and second because some of the wonderful artist’s conceptions of what the items looked like can cut to the chase and help us to visualize the object but also because at times the words describing a building or object are so cryptic that there are numerous possibilities of what those words are meant to convey. So we’re going to approach this by concentrating more upon what some of those Hebrew terms that define the various objects actually mean (as opposed to the typical English translations of them), and upon the location of the Temple in relation to the structures that exist on the Temple Mount today. We’ll talk about Solomon’s Palace and then next week we’ll look at the realities of what happened to Solomon’s Temple over the decades and centuries, and how it more or less chronicles the activities of the various kings of Israel and Judah up to the time of its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar.
    [Show full text]
  • The Blackwell Companion to Judaism Blackwell Companions to Religion
    The Blackwell Companion to Judaism Blackwell Companions to Religion The Blackwell Companions to Religion series presents a collection of the most recent scholarship and knowledge about world religions. Each volume draws together newly-commissioned essays by distinguished authors in the field, and is presented in a style which is accessible to undergraduate students, as well as scholars and the interested general reader. These volumes approach the subject in a creative and forward-thinking style, providing a forum in which leading scholars in the field can make their views and research available to a wider audience. Published The Blackwell Companion to Judaism Edited by Jacob Neusner and Alan J. Avery-Peck The Blackwell Companion to Sociology of Religion Edited by Richard K. Fenn The Blackwell Companion to the Hebrew Bible Edited by Leo G. Perdue The Blackwell Companion to Postmodern Theology Edited by Graham Ward The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism Edited by Gavin Flood The Blackwell Companion to Political Theology Edited by Peter Scott and William T. Cavanaugh The Blackwell Companion to Protestantism Edited by Alister E. McGrath and Darren C. Marks The Blackwell Companion to Modern Theology Edited by Gareth Jones The Blackwell Companion to Religious Ethics Edited by William Schweiker The Blackwell Companion to Christian Ethics Edited by Stanley Hauerwas and Sam Wells Forthcoming The Blackwell Companion to the Study of Religion Edited by Robert A. Segal The Blackwell Companion to Eastern Christianity Edited by Ken Parry The Blackwell Companion to Judaism Edited by Jacob Neusner Bard College Alan J. Avery-Peck College of the Holy Cross © 2000, 2003 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd except for editorial material and organization © 2000,2003 by Jacob Neusner and Alan Avery-Peck 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020, USA 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 IJF, UK 550 Swanston Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia The right of Jacob Neusner and Alan J.
    [Show full text]
  • Mishkan Prayer and Worship
    NOMANSZONE.ORG MISHKAN PRAYER AND WORSHIP NOMANSZONE.ORG 0 NOMANSZONE.ORG MISHKAN PRAYER AND WORSHIP Introduction Mishkan (Tabernacle) prayer and worship is the appointed gateway into the Shekinah (the Supernatural Presence of YHWH) and a Panayim-El-Panayim (Face to Face) audience with Abba YHWH. You cannot enter into the Presence of YHWH through any other way. Mishkan (Tabernacle) prayer and worship are patterned after the Tabernacle and Temple of YHWH. See the references below. The Mishkan of Moshe (Tabernacle of Moses) (Shemoth (Exodus); 25-40 Bamidbar (Numbers) 7- 9). The Hakel of Shlomo (Temple of Solomon) (Melechim Alef (First Kings) 5-9; Divre HaYamim Bet (Second Chronicles) 1-7). The Mishkan of Dawid (Tabernacle of Dawid) (Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 16:5; Ahmos (Amos) 9:11, and Maaseh Shlichim (Acts) 15:16). The navi (prophet) Moshe was given specific instructions to build a Tabernacle with specific furniture and priestly procedures (Protocols) so that the Shekinah of YHWH could physically abide among His people Yisra’el forever. This Moshe understood it could only be possible when the Law of Presence was satisfied. The Law of Presence The Law of Presence states that YHWH’s presence can only abide where His sacred Name abides and is reverenced. YHWH built into the design of the Temple the Gematria of His name (a system of assigning a numerical value to a word or phrase) and allowed the Aron Ha-eh-dut or Aron Habrit (Ark of the Testimony or Covenant) that was called by His Name to be placed inside the most esteemed compartment. The Ark, according to the book of Samuel was called by the Name (YHWH) (Schmuel Bet (Second Samuel) 6:1-2).
    [Show full text]
  • Do Scripture and Mathematics Agree on the Number Π? Professor Isaac Elishakoff and Elliot M
    132 Do S cripture and Mathematics Agree on the Number Pi? B’Or Ha’Torah 17 (5767/2007) 133 Do Scripture and Mathematics Agree on the Number π? Professor Isaac Elishakoff and Elliot M. Pines, PhD Presented at the Fifth Miami International Conference on Torah and Science, 16-18 December 2003 Visiting Koiter Chair Professor at the Delft The five parts of this paper discuss the University of Technology in the Netherlands, seeming contradiction between scripture and Visiting Professor at the Naval Postgraduate School mathematics concerning the value of π (pi), in the USA and the University of Tokyo in Japan. and offer possible resolutions. Alongside A Fellow of the Japan Society for Promotion of a review of the widely accepted opinions Science at the University of Kyoto, he was a Visiting and some recent investigations, we humbly Eminent Scholar at Beihang University in Beijing, offer our own suggestions. In Part One, we and Distinguished Castigliano Professor at the introduce the apparent conflict and its signifi- University of Palermo, Italy, and Visiting Professor cance. In Part Two, Professor Elishakoff takes a at the College of Judea and Samaria. He also served direct approach, investigating some pertinent as a distinguished lecturer of the American Society of issues of Jewish law and offering an analysis Mechanical Engineers. He is an associate editor of four in terms of engineering practice. In Part Three, international journals and general advisory editor of Professor Elishakoff and Dr. Pines discuss Elsevier Science Publishers in Oxford, England. evidence that the Sages of the talmudic era [email protected] had knowledge of π to greater accuracy than that implied by a surface reading of Scripture After receiving a BA Magna cum Laude in that defines the Jewish legal standard.
    [Show full text]
  • The Pillars of the Temple
    THE PILLARS OF THE TEMPLE RAYMOND APPLE Among the notable features of Solomon's Temple were the two monumen- tal pillars or columns which formed a major artistic feature of the Sanctuary. Our first question is: What were these pillars made of? I Kings 7:15 states that they were made of nehoshet , a word that the biblical text employs in a rather indeterminate sense: it can mean pure copper or a copper alloy. Ne- hoshet is generally translated to mean copper, but the pillars are more likely to have been made of bronze, an alloy of copper with a small amount of tin. This material is more durable than copper or stone and was used for various building materials in the ancient world. The JPS translation thus reads col- umns of bronze . According to II Chronicles 4:16, all the Temple vessels were made of nehoshet maruk, "burnished bronze." The pillars were heavy structures: one column was 18 cubits high and measured 12 cubits in circumference (I Kgs. 7:15) – about 8.2 m tall and 1.8 m thick. They were probably made in parts, cast in clay molds (II Chron. 4:17), taken to Jerusalem, and assembled there. Not only the pillars but the whole edifice required the making and moving of massive materials, which could be handled with relative ease today, but would then have created major technical difficulties. Recognizing the magnitude of the problem, Song of Songs Rabbah 1:1, 5 posits that the stones of the Temple carried themselves and placed themselves in position.
    [Show full text]
  • The Brazen Altar (2 Chronicles 4.1) in the Accounts of Solomon’S Temple, the Brazen Altar Is Mentioned in Only One Verse (2 Chronicles 4.1)
    The Brazen Altar (2 Chronicles 4.1) In the accounts of Solomon’s Temple, the Brazen Altar is mentioned in only one verse (2 Chronicles 4.1). The altar was 20 cubits long (10m), 20 cubits wide (10m) and 10 cubits high (5m). Brazen Altars are also to be found in the Tabernacle (Exodus 27.1) and Ezekiel’s Temple (Ezekiel 43.13-17), although they are different in size. The Altar speaks of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus. The Altar was made of brass which signifies the Lord Jesus as the One who endured great suffering. All the vessels outside the Temple building were made of brass, whilst the vessels within the Temple were made of gold. William Kelly: ‘Gold is the righteousness of God for drawing near where God is; brass is the righteousness of God for dealing with man’s evil where man is.’ The Altar was also exactly the same dimensions as the Holy of Holies (2 Chronicles 3.8) suggesting that the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus completely and entirely met the claims of a Holy God against sin. Access is now available into His presence. WW Fereday: ‘The sacrifice of Christ is equal to the demands of holiness.’ There was no other vessel which could compare in size to the Altar. So also, there is nothing quite so great to meditate upon as the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus (Galatians 6.14). The Molten Sea (1 Kings 7.23-26, 2 Chronicles 4.2-5) The Molten Sea was round with an ornate lip (‘brim’) decorated with ‘flowers of lilies’ (1 Kings 7.26).
    [Show full text]
  • The Cosmological Temple in the Apocalypse of Abraham
    The Cosmological Temple in the Apocalypse of Abraham A monster below, on the left side, swims in all those rivers. He comes with his mighty scales, each one as strong as iron, and he arrives there in order to draw water and defile the place. All the lights are darkened before him; his mouth and his tongue flame with fire; his tongue is as sharp as a mighty sword until he gets as far as entering the sanctuary within the sea, and then he defiles the sanctuary, and the lights are darkened, and the supernal lights disappear from the sea. —Zohar I.52a For, as the nut has a shell surrounding and protecting the kernel inside, so it is with everything sacred: the sacred principle occu- pies the interior, whilst the Other Side encircles it on the exterior. —Zohar II.233b Introduction In chapter 18 of the Apocalypse of Abraham, Abraham, having entered into the celestial throne room, receives a vision of all creation and the entire human history from the beginning to the end. This dis- closure accounts for much of the apocalypse, stretching from chapter 19 to chapter 31. Although the main portion of the vision is devoted to describing the history of humankind, from the fall of Adam and Eve until the appearance of its eschatological messianic figures, the beginning of this vision is concerned with cosmological matters. In the cosmological revelations situated in chapters 19 and 21, the seer 37 38 ■ Divine Scapegoats contemplates the complex architecture of the heavenly realm and learns about the structure and features of the lower realms, which include earth and the underworld.
    [Show full text]