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re of herod s temple the second temple in jerusalem was remarkable for its sheer size surpassing typical temples in the roman empire 60 herod s temple from a practical commentary on holy scripture the writings of flavius josephus and the information in tractate middot of the mishnah had for long been used for proposing possible designs for the temple up to 70 ce 1 the discovery of the temple scroll as part of the dead sea scrolls in the 20th century provided another possible source lawrence schiffman states that after studying josephus and the temple scroll he found josephus to be historically more reliable than the temple scroll 61 temple structure the temple itself once stood on the location now occupied by the dome of the rock while its gates led to areas adjacent to what would later become the site of the al aqsa mosque 62 a golden vine adorned the gates of the temple it is described by both josephus and the mishnah its fame reached as far as rome where it was mentioned by the historian tacitus 63 60 temenos expansion date and duration reconstruction of the temple under herod began with a massive expansion of the temple mount temenos for example the temple mount complex initially measured 7 hectares 17 acres in size but herod expanded it to 14 4 hectares 36 acres and so doubled its area 64 herod s work on the temple is generally dated from 20 19 bce until 12 11 or 10 bce writer bieke mahieu dates the work on the temple enclosures from 25 bce and that on the temple building in 19 bce and situates the dedication of both in november 18 bce 65 elements platform substructures retaining walls mt moriah had a plateau at the northern end and steeply declined on the southern slope it was herod s plan that the entire mountain be turned into a giant square platform the temple mount was originally intended by whom to be 1 600 feet 490 m wide by 900 feet 270 m broad by 9 stories high with walls up to 16 feet 4 9 m thick but had never been finished to complete it a trench was dug around the mountain and huge stone blocks were laid some of these weighed well over 100 tons the largest measuring 44 6 by 11 by 16 5 feet 13 6 m 3 4 m 5 0 m and weighing approximately 567 628 tons 66 unreliable source court of the gentiles the court of the gentiles was primarily a bazaar with vendors selling souvenirs sacrificial animals food currency was also exchanged with roman currency exchanged for tyrian money as also mentioned in the new testament account of jesus and the money changers when jerusalem was packed with jewish pilgrims who had come for passover perhaps numbering 300 000 to 400 000 67 68 above the huldah gates on top the temple walls was the royal stoa a large basilica praised by josephus as more worthy of mention than any other structure under the sun its main part was a lengthy hall of columns which includes 162 columns structured in four rows 69 the royal stoa is widely accepted to be part of herod s work however recent archaeological finds in the western wall tunnels suggest that it was built in the first century during the reign of agripas as opposed to the 1st century bce 70 pinnacle the accounts of the temptation of christ in the gospels of matthew and luke both suggest that the second temple had one or more pinnacles then he satan brought him to jerusalem set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him if you are the son of god throw yourself down from here 71 the greek word used is πτερύγιον pterugion which literally means a tower rampart or pinnacle 72 according to strong s concordance it can mean little wing or by extension anything like a wing such as a battlement or parapet 73 the archaeologist benjamin mazar thought it referred to the southeast corner of the temple overlooking the kidron valley 74 inner courts the royal stoa in the holyland model of jerusalem according to josephus there were ten entrances into the inner courts four on the south four on the north one on the east and one leading east to west from the court of women to the court of the israelites named the nicanor gate 75 according to josephus herod the great erected a golden eagle over the great gate of the temple 76 roofs joachim bouflet fr states that the teams of archaeologists nahman avigad in 1969 1980 in the herodian city of jerusalem and yigael shiloh in 1978 1982 in the city of david have proven that the roofs of the second temple had no dome in this they support josephus description of the second temple 77 pilgrimages and religious services see also pilgrimage judaism pilgrimages at the time of the three pilgrimage festivals jerusalem became a gathering place for tens of thousands of pilgrims from across judea galilee transjordan and the diaspora 78 79 80 who stayed anywhere from a few days to several weeks 80 jews from distant parts of the roman empire would arrive by boat at the port of jaffa 81 where they would join a caravan for the three day journey to the holy city and secure lodgings in one of the many hotels or hostelries thereafter they would exchange some of their money from the standard greek and roman currency to jewish and tyrian money the latter two considered acceptable for religious use 82 83 mishnah bikkurim 3 3 4 provides a detailed account of how pilgrims were welcomed to jerusalem during the festival of shavuot 84 those who lived near jerusalem would bring fresh figs and grapes while those who lived far away would bring dried figs and raisins an ox would go in front of them his horns bedecked with gold and with an olive crown on its head the flute would play before them when they drew close to jerusalem they would send messengers in advance and they would adorn their bikkurim the governors and chiefs and treasurers would go out to greet them and according to the rank of the entrants they would go forth all the skilled artisans of jerusalem would stand up before them and greet them saying our brothers men of such and such a place we welcome you in peace when they reached the temple mount even king agrippas would take the basket and place it on his shoulder when he got to the temple court the levites would sing the song i will extol you o lord for you have raised me up and you have not let my enemies rejoice over me psalms 30 2 85 this passage reflects the public and ceremonial nature of the pilgrimage as well as the communal ethos fostered by shared ritual music and mutual recognition 86 the idea that pilgrimage helped promote social cohesion is also expressed by josephus who writes 86 let them come together three times a year from the ends of the land that the hebrews conquer into the city in which they establish the temple in order that they may give thanks to god for the benefits that they have received and that they may appeal for benefits for the nature and coming together and taking a common meal may they be dear to each other for it is well that they not be ignorant of one another being compatriots and sharing in the same practices this will occur for them through such intermingling instilling a memory of them through sight and association for if they remain unmixed with one another they will be thought completely strangers to each other 87 the jerusalem temple held central importance not only for jews in judaea but also for jewish communities in the diaspora 88 the celebrations brought a variety of languages and dialects spoken by jews to the streets of the city 28 philo a jewish philosopher from alexandria writes countless multitudes from countless cities come some over land others by sea from east and west and north and south at every feast they take the temple for their port as a general haven and safe refuge from the bustle and great turmoil of life and there they seek to find calm weather and released from the cares whose yoke has been heavy upon them from their earliest years to enjoy a brief breathing space in scenes of genial cheerfulness 89 the importance of the temple for the diaspora is further illustrated by the delegation led by philo and other alexandrian jews to emperor caligula during which they appealed against the proposed installation of the emperor s statue in the temple 43 there is evidence that the pilgrimage to the second temple continued to impress non jewish authors centuries after its destruction menander rhetor a late 3rd century orator from laodicea writes that while many festivals gather crowds the greatest gatherings are found elsewhere the largest multitudes are to be found at the festival of the hebrews living in syria palaestina as they are gathered in very large numbers from most nations 90 pilgrimage festivals passover on the 14th of nisan the eve of passover participants would bring a lamb or kid to the temple for sacrifice the slaughtering took place in the temple courtyards typically in the afternoon between the ninth and eleventh hours roughly 3 5 pm according to josephus 91 who also notes that groups of 10 to 20 people shared each animal 92 overall it is estimated that several thousand sheep were sacrificed during passover 4 the mishnah 93 records that the sacrifices were performed in three organized batches with priests assisting by collecting and pouring the blood at the base of the altar 92 once slaughtered the animals were roasted in clay ovens according to the mishnah 94 and eaten later that night along with unleavened bread matzah and bitter herbs maror in accordance with exodus 12 95 participants also recited the hallel during the meal 95 shavuot shavuot was observed on the fiftieth day following the waving of the omer barley offering 96 celebrated in the month of sivan it marked the beginning of the wheat harvest and served as the conclusion of the passover season earning it the alternative name atseret conclusion in some sources 96 the central temple ritual in shavuot was the offering of the two loaves of wheat bread along with prescribed animal sacrifices as outlined in the torah 96 according to rabbinic tradition 97 while new grain ḥadash was permitted for general use after the omer offering wheat for meal offerings in the temple was permitted only from shavuot onward 96 shavuot also functioned as the festival of first fruits bikkurim during which pilgrims brought offerings from the seven species to the temple priesthood 96 according to the mishnah 98 these bikkurim could be brought from shavuot until sukkot 96 sukkot the pilgrimage festival of sukkot which began on the 15th of tishrei and lasted seven days was regarded as the preeminent jewish festival during the second temple period 99 100 its centrality is evident in the ancient sources some referring to it simply as the festival 101 100 102 temple offerings during sukkot involved a extraoridnarily high number of animals sacrificed daily as required by the torah 100 102 central to the celebration was the procession with the four species which derives from leviticus 23 103 a palm branch lulav myrtle hadas willow aravah and citron etrog which were carried and according to the mishnah 104 shaken during the recitation of psalm 118 100 another key ritual was the willow ceremony in which large willow branches were placed around the altar 100 participants would circle the altar once each day and seven times on the seventh day reciting psalm 118 and concluding with the beating of branches according to the mishnah the willow ceremony overrode the shabbat though the boethusians objecting to this ruling 105 100 the water libation ritual symbolizing the onset of the rainy season involved water drawn from the pool of siloam and poured by the priest at the altar each day 106 100 each night this ritual was preceded by the simchat beit hashoevah a night long celebration held in the temple courtyards characterized by music dancing and the lighting of bonfires 107 100 84 the levites stood on the steps leading to the nicanor gate chanting the songs of ascent from the book of psalms 84 yom kippur yom kippur the day of atonement commanded in the torah and observed on the tenth of tishrei was marked by a special temple service performed by the high priest as described in leviticus 16 and later elaborated in mishnah yoma 108 the high priest prepared for a week prior to the festival through isolation purification and instruction 108 on the day itself he put on white linen garments after the morning tamid sacrifice offered a bull and a goat as sin offerings and entered the holy of holies multiple times to sprinkle blood on the mercy seat and pronounce the divine name 108 he also carried out the scapegoat ritual confessing israel s sins over a second goat and sending it into the wilderness after further immersions and changes of garments the high priest concluded the day with additional sacrifices and the evening tamid 108 archaeology further information archaeological remnants of the jerusalem temple view of the temple mount in 2013 east at the bottom archaeological understanding of the second temple is primarily derived from investigations of the outer walls of the temple complex as direct excavations on the temple mount itself have been limited due to the presence of later islamic structures 31 foundational research was conducted by sir charles warren between 1867 and 1870 his work remains a principal source for the site s architectural layout 31 temple warning inscriptions soreg inscription warning non jews from entering the sanctuary of the second temple in 1871 a hewn stone measuring 60 cm 90 cm 24 in 35 in and engraved with greek uncials was discovered near a court on the temple mount in jerusalem and identified by charles simon clermont ganneau as being the temple warning inscription the stone inscription outlined the prohibition extended to those who were not of the jewish nation to proceed beyond the soreg separating the larger court of the gentiles and the inner courts the inscription read in seven lines μηοενααλλογενηεισπο ρευεσοαιεντοστουπε ριτοιεροντρυφακτουκαι περιβολουοσδανλη φθηεαυτωιαιτιοσες ταιδιατοεξακολου θεινθανατον translation let no foreigner enter within the parapet and the partition which surrounds the temple precincts anyone caught violating will be held accountable for his ensuing death today the stone is preserved in istanbul s museum of antiquities 109 in 1935 a fragment of another similar temple warning inscription was found 109 the word foreigner has an ambiguous meaning some scholars believe it referred to all gentiles regardless of ritual purity status or religion others argue that it referred to unconverted gentiles since herod wrote the inscription herod himself was a converted idumean or edomite and was unlikely to exclude himself or his descendants 110 place of trumpeting another ancient inscription partially preserved on a stone discovered below the southwest corner of the herodian mount contains the words to the place of trumpeting the stone s shape suggests that it was part of a parapet and it has been interpreted as belonging to a spot on the mount described by josephus where one of the...
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