We are told that the victims were slain on the north, the blood sprinkled about the altar, and the refuse cast away towards the east, in the 'place of the ashes[206],' and the Priest's chambers built on the north side of the altar of burnt-offerings[207]. Hence it follows that drains must have existed at the altar of burnt-offerings, on the north-side, and at the 'place of the ashes.' That these and many other things were constructed by Solomon, we shall presently see from my investigations in the Haram-es-Sherîf; I have now only alluded to the account given in the Bible of the ground-plan of the building, in order to be more easily understood in describing them.
Although the Temple was sacked in the reign of Rehoboam by Shishak king of Egypt[208], and under Amaziah by Joash king of Israel[209], and repaired by Joash king of Judah[210], it did not undergo any material change up to the time of its destruction by the Chaldeans. It was set on fire by order of Nebuchadnezzar, with the rest of Jerusalem, and in a few days became a heap of ruins. So fell the first Temple of the Lord, rather more than four centuries after its first foundation[211]. This done, the Chaldeans carried away a part of the people into captivity, but left the poorer class to cultivate the land; over whom Gedaliah, their countryman, was set as governor. He fixed his residence at Mizpah[212], the abode of Jeremiah, and under his good rule the number of inhabitants rapidly increased, the fugitives returned from all quarters, tranquillity and order were established, and the people began to devote themselves to the vintage and the harvest of summer-fruits[213]; but before long a traitor, Ishmael, overthrew the hopes of this remnant of Judah by the murder of Gedaliah[214], after which the greater part of them, fearing the anger of the king of Babylon, migrated into Egypt, and settled in the land of Tahpanhes[215], five years after the destruction of Jerusalem. From these facts, derived from the Bible, it is evident that the country was never wholly cleared of its inhabitants during the captivity; and that, as Jeremiah mourned for five years over the ruins of the city, so might many others follow his example during successive years; so that the recollection, not only of the site of the Temple, but of its very details, would be preserved, together with the traces of the ancient threshing-floor of Araunah, and the cisterns, which must have escaped the flames.
Cyrus ascended the throne of Persia B.C. 536, and in the first year of his reign allowed the Jews to return to Palestine and rebuild the Temple[216]; fifty-two years after the destruction of the city, and sixty-three after the exile of King Jehoiakim[217], a numerous band, headed by Zerubbabel and Joshua, set out for Judæa, and arrived there after a journey of four months[218]. The next year, B.C. 535, in the second month, Zerubbabel began to rebuild the Temple, and the new walls rose among the joyful shouts of the young men, who saw them for the first time, and the tears of the old, who remembered the greater glories of the former House[219]. Hence we see that persons, worthy of credit, who had seen the first Temple, were alive when the second was built; and therefore cannot but believe that it stood on its ancient foundations. The Samaritans, ever the rivals of the Jews, wished to share in this work; and when their offers were rejected, harassed the workmen and interrupted its progress, until, at last, by sending exaggerated and false reports to the King, they obtained an order suspending it[220]. After a lapse of fifteen years, in the second year of Darius, Zerubbabel[221], instigated by Haggai, re-commenced the building; which was finished and solemnly inaugurated[222], in the sixth year of Darius B.C. 517, on the third day of the month Adar (February-March). We do not find any description of the dimensions and appearance of Zerubbabel's Temple: according to the decree of Cyrus[223], it was to be sixty cubits broad and as many high; but these dimensions cannot be relied on, because we are told that the new edifice was not in any respect equal to the former[224]. It was visited by Alexander the Great B.C. 332; and if we can credit Hecatæus of Abdera, a contemporary of the conqueror, it differed considerably in style and size from Solomon's Temple; the dimensions of the enclosure in which it stood were six plethra (606 feet) long and 100 cubits wide; the great altar of burnt-offerings was built of large white unpolished stones, being 20 cubits square and 12 high. According to the assertion of Herod the Great, quoted by Josephus[225], the second House was not so high as the first.
Antiochus Epiphanes entered Jerusalem B.C. 170, and after killing many of the Jews and plundering the Temple, withdrew to Antioch. After two years he returned, persecuted the people more barbarously than ever, and profaned the House of the Lord, despoiling it of all that had been left on the former occasion. He built a fortress in the lower city in a commanding position, and placed therein a Macedonian garrison to harass all who went to pray at the Holy Place[226]; still the form of the Temple and its enclosure remained unaltered during this calamitous period.
Never have more glorious deeds been done by any nation than by the Jews under the rule of the Maccabees, men ever ready to die rather than break the laws of their God and country. The Temple was recovered and cleansed from pollution; the sacred things, which had been carried away by the Syrians, were recaptured; the altar of burnt-offerings, having been defiled by heathen sacrifices, was destroyed and a new one erected[227]; the walls surrounding the Temple, which had been pulled down by Antiochus Eupator, were rebuilt by Jonathan, and strengthened by towers[228]; the neighbouring fortress on the hill Acra was captured by Simon, the Macedonian garrison expelled, and the building razed. The hill itself was levelled, so that it no longer commanded the Temple: three years of incessant labour, night and day, being spent on the work. He afterwards fortified Moriah, and built his house upon it[229], probably on the site at the north-west corner, where his successors built the castle Baris[230]. In this dwelt Aristobulus, son of Hyrcanus, by whose orders his brother Antigonus was murdered, at a place in an underground passage, leading to the castle, called Strato's Tower[231]. I shall return to this again, as I think that I have discovered it, or at least been the first to identify it.
At the time of Pompeius the Great the Temple was joined to the city by a bridge, which was destroyed by the followers of Aristobulus, as they retreated within the sacred walls, and prepared to defend themselves against their assailants, who had called the Roman forces to their aid. On the north it was protected by high towers and a deep ditch, excavated with great pains in a valley; and on the west by precipices, which could not be scaled when the bridge was broken down[232]. The Roman conqueror entered the sanctuary, but respected its treasures, and permitted the Jews to carry on their worship without interruption. Crassus, on the contrary, though only passing through Jerusalem, did not imitate the moderation of Pompeius, but despoiled it of its treasures and sacred vessels. The last calamity that befell it was when some of the cloisters were burnt, during the siege by Herod the Great[233].
Of all the great works executed by this King, the most important for several reasons was the Temple of Jerusalem. In the eighteenth year of his reign he convoked a national assembly, and set before them the necessity of rebuilding it, giving as his chief reason that, at the time of its restoration by Zerubbabel, it had not been made of the proper dimensions or on the right plan. No doubt a house, raised five centuries before, by a poor colony, with funds supplied by the King of Persia, must have had a paltry appearance, contrasted with the magnificent buildings erected by Herod in the highest style of Grecian art. The Jews hesitated to consent to his scheme, fearing that after he had demolished the old Temple, he might be unable or unwilling to finish the new. He reassured them by promising not to begin to pull it down, until he had collected all the materials required for so great an undertaking. He kept his word; two years were spent in preparation[234]; the sanctuary itself was completed in eighteen months, and the courts and their cloisters in eight years; but the works in the outer buildings were carried on for a much longer time[235]. This wonderful pile rose upon the summit of Moriah, now enlarged by the labours of many centuries, and surrounded by solid walls and deep valleys, more like an impregnable fortress than a house of prayer; therefore the Apostles, beholding with wonder the huge blocks of stone, bound with clamps of lead and iron into a mass as firm as the rock itself, said one day to our Saviour, "Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!" The truth of His reply may still be seen at the place itself[236].
I must now describe the ground-plan of the Temple sufficiently to enable my readers to understand my investigations; referring those who are desirous of entering more minutely into the subject, to the two accounts of Josephus[237], and the description of Munk, to which I am greatly indebted[238]. The area, enclosed by the outer wall, (called in the Mischna 'the Temple Hill,') was a square of 500 cubits, or, according to Josephus[239], of one stadium. This was divided into a series of platforms, rising one above the other, and the Sanctuary was situated rather nearer to the north-west corner, on the highest ground. This arrangement produced a magnificent effect, and rendered the building visible from every part of the city[240]. In the outer wall were several gates; five, according to the Mischna[241], two on the south, and one on each of the other sides; but in Josephus[242] it is stated that there were four on the west alone, the numbers on the other sides not being mentioned. Cloisters were built round the wall on the inside, those on the east, north, and west were double, being supported by three rows of columns, and thirty cubits wide; that on the south, called the 'Royal Cloister,' was triple, and supported by four rows of columns[243]. The Temple-market was held in this court; for all, even foreigners, were allowed to enter it; hence it has been called by modern authors the 'Court of the Gentiles[244].' It was bounded on the inside by a stone balustrade, in which columns were placed at certain intervals, bearing inscriptions forbidding the Gentiles to pass them. In this fence, according to the Mischna, were thirteen gateways from which fourteen steps (each half a cubit in height and breadth) led up to a platform ten cubits wide, called by the Mischna, Hêl (before the wall), above which rose the wall enclosing the sacred precincts. This was 25 cubits high, and had nine gates, four to the north, four to the south, and one to the east; these were approached by five steps; consequently the enclosure was higher than the Hêl. It was divided into two courts, one on the east, another on the west. The eastern gate led into a court, 135 cubits square, devoted to the women, and called after them Azarath naschîm (court of the women). This was divided from the western court by a wall, in the middle of which, opposite to the entrance into the women's court, was 'Nicanor's Gate[245],' approached by five steps circular in form; the western court was therefore raised above the eastern. It surrounded the Sanctuary, and was 135 cubits from north to south, and 187 from east to west. The wall on the inside was surrounded by columns; and on the north, east and south were a number of chambers, devoted to various purposes, among which was the Hall of the Sanhedrim, Lischcath Hagazîth. This court was divided by a balustrade, 11 cubits from the east end, in the middle of which were three flights of steps[246], from which the Priests blessed the people. The part devoted to the men (135 cubits from north to south, and 11 from east to west) was called the 'Court of the Israelites,' Azarath Yisrael: the other, the 'Court of the Priests,' Azarath Cohanîm.
The Temple itself was 100 cubits in length, and as many in height; its east front was formed by a vestibule, 100 cubits wide, measuring from east to west 11 cubits, according to the Mischna, and 20 according to Josephus. The rest of the building was 60 cubits wide (according to the Mischna 70), therefore the vestibule projected 20 (or 15) cubits on each side; twelve steps led up to the open door of the vestibule, which was 25 cubits wide. The Hechal, or Holy Place, was 20 cubits wide and 43 long, and was divided from the Holy of Holies (20 cubits square) by a curtain. The sacred things were arranged as in Solomon's Temple. The bronze laver stood in the Priests' court, south-east of the Sanctuary; a certain Ben Katîn made twelve outlets for water in it, so that the same number of Priests could purify themselves at the same time; he also contrived a machine to bring the water into it from a well[247]. In the middle of the court opposite the entrance of the Temple, north-east of the laver, was the altar of burnt-offerings, made of unhewn stones, as ordered by the law of Moses[248]. According to Josephus it was 50 cubits square and 15 high, terminated at each corner by a kind of horn, and approached by a gentle slope on the south side. The Rabbins say that it rose in steps, the base being 32 cubits square[249], and that at the south-east corner was a conduit, draining off the blood into the torrent Kidron. North of the altar were marble tables to receive the flesh of the victims[250]. In the Holy Place, the table of shewbread stood on the north, the seven-branched candlestick on the south, and between them the altar of incense; all made of gold. The Holy of Holies was empty, since there was no ark in the second Temple, as it was lost when the first was destroyed. According to a tradition, it had been hidden for security by the prophet Jeremiah in a cave on Mount Nebo, which could not afterwards be found[251]. A stone, about 2 inches high, called by the Rabbins Schethiyya (foundation), occupied its place, on which the High Priest placed the censer on the day of Atonement[252].
Herod did not restrict his liberality to the Temple alone, but executed some other great works in the same part of the city. He extended the sacred enclosure on the north[253], strengthened its fortifications, restored the ancient tower Baris[254], built by the Asmonean princes at the north-west corner of the Temple, and called it Antonia, after his patron, Marcus Antonius. As altered by him it was a square[255], half a stadium each way; so that the whole perimeter of it and the Temple together was six stadia. The outer wall enclosed a palace and four towers, one at each angle; three of them 50 cubits high, and the fourth, at the south-east corner, nearest the Temple, 70; from its summit the Roman sentinel could see what was going on in the several courts[256]. The fortress was joined by a subterranean passage to a tower near the east gate of the Temple, so that in case of a popular tumult the king could easily escape into the Antonia[257]. At the present day, a plot of levelled ground, a rocky knoll on the north of the Haram-es-Sherîf, and a few shapeless fragments of masonry, are all that remain of the splendid buildings of Herod.