{N}THE MOUNTAIN OF THE TEMPLE{/}

{K}- THE TEMPLE{/}
When King David captured Jerusalem, he established it as a "Royal City." At the same time and inseparably identified with that condition, he declared it to be the "City of God." On that basis the plan was born to build the Dwelling Place of God there. In reality, it would be his son, Solomon, who would build the first Temple of Jerusalem, since God had willed it so. Throughout the following centuries the Temple would share the trials and destiny of the Holy City, until that time when the promises of the Old Testament would be fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God made man, upon whom the fullness of the Glory of God would rest.
The Holy Place will know a long history in which there will be a succession of Israelite temples, Muslim mosques and crusader buildings. Wars and profanations would stain its porticos until those days arrived that were announced in the Book of Revelation when He who sits on the throne would declare: "See, I make all things new" [Rev_21,5].

{K}DAVID'S ALTAR{/}
David, after having been consecrated King of Judah in Hebron and then King of Israel by the tribes of the north, wanted to unite the twelve tribes into one single kingdom. Acting as an astute politician, he decided to make Jerusalem his capital. Even as a Canaanite city, it was situated in the precise location where the tribes of the north could meet with those of the south, and as such it was the ideal site for the king's projects. This would guarantee the stability of the Davidic dynasty as well as Israel's faithfulness to their Covenant with Yahweh.
David would not carry out the construction of the Temple. God would let him know through the mouth of the Prophet Nathan, that his divine wisdom had decided it so. Nevertheless, the king would build an altar on the north side of the city walls and on the hilltop that dominates the city on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. This is an accommodation of the Canaanite custom of erecting their sanctuaries and raised stones on the top of hills. This altar would mark the consecration of Jerusalem as a Holy City [2S_24,25].

{N}MOUNT MORIAH{/}
The Book of Chronicles relates that Solomon began to build the House of Yahweh in Jerusalem and on Mount Moriah where God had manifested himself to his father David. It was the location prepared by David, the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite [2Chr_3,1]. This mountain is mentioned only once elsewhere associated with Abraham's sacrifice [Gen_22,2], but textually this is a late reference. The name Moriah does not appear in the parallel and much more ancient text of the Book of Kings. It is probable that the priests, upon their return from captivity and once more assembled in the reconstructed Temple, may have wanted to identify the great figures of the past with the Holy Place of Israel. They did this by associating Mount Moriah with the mount of the Temple. This Jewish custom will be continued by Christians and even later by Muslims.

{K}- SOLOMON'S TEMPLE{/}
In front of the altar erected by his father David, Solomon built the first temple in honor of Yahweh in Jerusalem around 965 BC. The description of this construction is presented in chapters six and seven of the First Book of Kings. This temple was modest in its proportions but sumptuous in its decoration. It followed the design of Canaanite temples and it was necessary to employ Phoenician and Egyptian technicians and artisans in its construction and decoration.
Solomon's temple was rectangular in form, measuring 50 meters in length by 25 meters in width. Its design corresponded basically to the requirements of religious architecture of the second millennium BC in Canaan and Syria. The sanctuary consisted of three sections built in a line. Access to them was made one after another from the front axis of the building beginning at an exterior vestibule, then entering a large hall, and finally a square room. At each side of the central entrance there were two large columns both crowned with capitals. It is not known whether these pillars were purely decorative or whether they fulfilled some ritual or symbolic function.
The bareness of the vestibule contrasted with the richness of the large hall, which later would be called: "the Holy Place." The rear of this room was decorated with paneling of gold and cedar with relief ornamentation. Here stood the table on which were placed the "Loaves of {N}Proposition{/}," then there were two vases containing incense and large candlesticks.
The rear chamber, that later would be called "the Holy of Holies," was cubic in form, each side measuring ten meters. There stood the Ark of the Covenant containing the stone Tablets of the Law which had been engraved "directly by the hand of God." According to a later tradition, the Ark also included "Aaron's staff" and a vase containing manna. On top of the Ark two cherubim extended their wings. Undoubtedly these were similar to the winged sphinxes which were very common in Canaan, Phoenicia and Egypt. God had said to Moses in the theophany on Sinai: "They must build me a sanctuary so that I may dwell among them" [Ex_25,8]. In this sense the Jerusalem Temple was a continuation of the tabernacle of the desert and a reminder of the times of the Exodus.
The "{N}Sea{/} of {N}Bronze{/}" was an enormous laver resting on the backs of twelve statues of bulls. It may have been intended as a symbol of the pool in which Aaron and his sons were required to purify themselves before entering the Tent of Testimony.
Solomon's Temple would be destroyed in 587 BC during the capture of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. During the Jews' exile in Babylonia the esplanade would remain abandoned and strewn with the ruins of the Temple and of the Palace.

{K}- THE TEMPLE OF ZERUBBABEL{/}
After defeating Babylonia, Cyrus permitted the deported Jews to return to their homeland and there to rebuild the House of Yahweh, God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem [Esd_1,3]. Zerubbabel, leader of Judah, would head the first group of repatriates and direct their works. This second Temple would be finished in 515 BC. Its architecture would be a copy of the Mesopotamic temples. To accomplish this, the top of the hill was transformed into an esplanade by creating a terrace supported by thick retaining walls and filled in with earth. Those walls would be extended later in the time of Herod. This Temple did not in any way approach the splendor of Solomon's, but that did not hinder it from becoming the center of Israel's community in a period in which Judaism was organized under the leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah.
The holy place would know tragic times during the persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes. At the initiative of an older Athenian sent by the king [2Mac_6,1] - [2Mac_6,2] the Temple would be dedicated to the Olympian god, and a pagan altar would be constructed on the very place of the altar of Yahweh the "abominable idol of the invaders" [1Mac_1,54].
As soon as Jerusalem was liberated, Judas Maccabeus proceeded with the purification of the Temple. Nevertheless, it would be necessary to wait until the reign of Herod the Great to see the Temple reconstructed in the grandiose style of the famous Greco-Roman sanctuaries. It is very probable that the temple of Baalbek served as its model.

{K}HEROD'S ESPLANADE {/}
When Herod decided to expand the esplanade toward the south, he had to deal with a terrain whose general slope was oriented to the south. Therefore, he duplicated what he had done in Caesarea Maritima, namely he had an esplanade constructed that would now extend toward David's Old City and would be built on arches. Once these were completed with walls, they housed what would later be called "Solomon's halls or stables." On the northern side, in contrast, the terrain rose to form Bezetha hill. Here, instead of leveling the place, it was necessary to create an incision in the hill by cutting away some of the terrain to create a sloping stone rampart. Herod took advantage of this new, abrupt configuration of the hill to build the Antonia Fortress on top of it. The Antonia dominated the Temple, facilitating a constant vigilance over it.
Direct access to the Temple was made possible on the western side by a viaduct and on the southeastern side by a stairway built upon a massive cubic structure.

{K}SYMBOLIC ARCHITECTURE{/}
The Herodian Temple was laid out in three concentric areas, symbolizing the theology of the Temple in the Old Testament and the Jewish vision of the order of the universe. The heavens and the earth belong to God. This is the first example of symbolism. "The heavens, those that are seen and those that are unseen, the earth and all that is in it, everything belongs to Yahweh, your God" (Deut 10, 14). But on this earth that belongs to God there is a privileged country, "the land which you have given to your people as an inheritance" [1K_8,36]. In this promised land, Yahweh chose Jerusalem from all the cities of Israel to be the place where his name dwells: "The Lord prefers the gates of Zion to all of Jacob's towns" [Ps_87,2]. To summarize: The dwelling place of God is found in this holy city on the Holy Mountain of the Temple.

{K}THE COURTS{/}
The esplanade of the Temple at the time of Jesus, as also today, formed a rectangle approximately 500 meters long by 300 meters wide. The exterior part was open to everyone. Was this perhaps to symbolize the universalism and openness to pagans which the prophets manifested upon their return from exile?
Nevertheless, an inscription written in Greek warned any "non-Israelite" with punishment of death for daring to trespass the wall dividing the court of the gentiles from the area reserved to Israel. It was in this reserved zone within the concentric vision of the Temple that God's dwelling place was to be found, living within the midst of his people. Since the central podium was surrounded by a high wall, pagans could not see anything inside the sanctuary. The main entrance was on the east side, called the Beautiful Gate, which gave access to the women's court.
The women's court consisted of a square patio surrounded by bare walls. From here, the women could not see any of the ritual ceremonies being celebrated around the altar. There was a small building in each of the four corners of the court. Two of these were for storing wood and oil. The other two were associated with rituals. One was for the recognition of vows and the other for the purification of lepers. After Jesus had cured the leper, he sent him to this building so that the priest would officially reintegrate the man into the religious community. Jesus said to him, "See that you do not tell anyone, but go to the priest, have yourself declared clean, and offer the gift that Moses ordered as proof of it". It was also here that James and the Elders of the Church recommended that Paul should go. "There are four men among us who have made a vow. Take them and purify yourself along with them and pay the sacrifice for them to shave their heads. In that way everyone will know that there is nothing true in what they have been told about you, but that you keep the Law" [Acts_21,17] - [Acts_21,24].
Men, after passing through the women's court, passed through a second gate called, "the gate of Nicanor." Access to this was by a semicircular stairway with fifteen steps. From here one entered the court of Israel. Here one could see the burnt offering altar and the ramp leading up to it. On the right side were hoops for beheading the animals and the hooks for restraining them. Behind the altar the Holy Dwelling rose majestically with its vestibule and the Holy of Holies.
In this last empty room, the high priest would enter once a year for the feast of reconciliation. On the southern side of the court of Israel was situated the large hall of the Sanhedrin. On the northern side were the kitchens where the communion foods were prepared.

{K}THE ESPLANADE ABANDONED{/}
This Temple was burned by Titus in 70 AD, and then it was totally leveled at the end of the second Jewish revolt in the year 134. This dismantling was total, even to the point of knocking down the retaining walls. Hadrian came with the plan of building a new city on the site that would forever erase the memory of Israel, calling it Aelia Capitolina. Apparently he used what remained of the esplanade to erect a shrine to Jupiter Capitolinus there.
During the Byzantine era the esplanade was unexplainably left in total abandonment. This is difficult to understand when we recall that it was the Byzantine custom to build basilicas to honor those places associated with important biblical events, whether they were of Jewish or Christian origin. 
When the Arabs came in the seventh century they restored the esplanade, beginning with the restoration of the retaining walls over which they eventually would erect their mosques. 

{K}THE EL-AQSA MOSQUE: THE DISTANT ONE{/}
This is how the 17th  sura (chapter) of the Quran begins: "Glory to Him who took his servant from the Sacred Mosque to the distant Mosque whose precincts we have blessed." The masters of the Quran will identify this "distant Mosque," which in Arabic is called "El-Aqsa," with the Temple of Jerusalem. For that reason at the end of the seventh century they built a mosque on the southern part of the esplanade. The first mosque, built of wood, was replaced by a stone building which was destroyed several times by earthquakes.
During the first crusade, Jerusalem fell to the Christians in the year 1099 AD. In 1100 King Baldwin, the first king of Jerusalem, established himself in the mosque, which he then ceded to a military order founded at the beginning of the century by Hugh de Payens. The order would take the name, "Knights of the Temple," the famous "Templars." When the Muslims reconquered Jerusalem, Saladin restored the mosques to Muslim prayer, as an inscription engraved above the principal mihrab (prayer niche) records.

{K}THE DOME OF THE ROCK{/}
Today a Muslim sanctuary, a masterpiece of Omeyan art, graces the esplanade in place of the altar of biblical times. This is the Mosque of the Rock whose golden dome immediately dominates all photos of Jerusalem. This hilltop is most likely the very place where David erected his first altar in the field of Araunah the Jebusite [2S_24,18]. Undoubtedly this was also the location of the altar of sacrifice in Solomon's Temple and in the second Temple. Four doors, each protected by porches with marble columns, permit access to the interior of the building which is constructed in two octagonal walking spaces. These are designed concentrically, one inside the other, in the center of which Muslims venerate the rock on which they see the footprint of Mohammed at the moment he ascended to heaven.
Sumptuous decorative Arabic writing completely covers the cylindrical wall supporting the cupola. Everywhere verses of the Quran celebrate the glory of the one God and of his Prophet, Mohammed. Some phrases also praise Jesus, but others categorically deny his divine sonship: "Jesus Christ, son of Mary, is nothing more that God's messenger!...Say not, 'They are three.' Truly, Allah is the only One God. For is it from His Holiness that He should have a son? (Quran, chapter 4, 171) This last prayer of praise underlines one of the principal distinctions between Christianity and Islam: Despite the many passages whose inspiration is rooted to some degree or other in biblical revelation, Islam refuses to recognize the mystery of the Incarnation.

{K}- THE WAILING WALL{/}
When Titus returned to  Rome, he had left the Temple in ruins behind him. The Jews who had survived death or slavery carried their offerings to the ashen remains of the Temple. Later, after the second Jewish revolt, Hadrian forbade them to enter the city which he renamed Aelia Capitolina. As a result it was necessary for Jews to ask permission from the commander of the Roman soldiers to go to weep at the "perforated stone" which forms the arched wall of the grotto situated below the Dome of the Rock.
But even this last consolation was soon taken away from the Jews by Islam. The Muslims permitted the Jews access only to a few parts of the retaining wall built by Herod when he expanded the esplanade of the Temple. In the following centuries Jews would come here to sing their praises and nourish their hope.

{K}ISRAEL'S HOLY PLACE {/}
Jews always congregate in large numbers by the "Wall," the men on one side and the women on the other. All stand in an attitude of prayer, bowing slightly with a regular rhythm in order better to pray verses of Scripture. They stick small pieces of paper in the crevices between the stonesexpressing their petitions and their faith. They pray for the lost Temple, but also with hope in God who has saved the people in the past and can, at any moment, renew the marvels that he has already realized.
"O Israel, hope in the Lord,
for with him is unfailing love
and with him full deliverance.
He will deliver Israel
from all its sins [Ps_130,7] - [Ps_130,8].
For prayer, men wear {N}phylacteries{/} on their left forearm and on their forehead. These are like small black leather boxes containing verses from Deuteronomy. They are attached by leather strands which are put on with a ritual. The men also wear the "Tallit," a type of white ritual prayer shawl with blue and black stripes. All of these symbols have the purpose of reminding the pious Jew that his whole life ought to be consecrated to God [Dt_6,4] - [Dt_6,6]. 
Twice a week a ceremony is celebrated called the "Bar mitzvah." Literally it means, "son of the observance." A (male) child reaches his age of religious maturity at thirteen years. At that time he receives the Tallit and the phylacteries, and he is invited to follow the precepts of the Law. Then he goes in search of the Torah which is found in a furnished sacristy in the passage way that leads to the first arch of "Wilson's viaduct." The Torah is brought in jubilant procession in its cylindrical case. The boy reads it, following the text with a small rod sometimes decorated with a small engraved silver hand. The rod is used because it is forbidden to touch the sacred text of God's Word.
On Friday afternoons at sunset, the esplanade becomes alive with the song and dance of youths coming from rabbinical school or the Kibbutzim to celebrate the Shabbat, which commemorates the seventh day of creation on which God rested. This is also the sign of God's eternal Covenant with the people that He chose.
"Let them praise the name of the Lord.
For his name alone is exalted;
his majesty is above earth and heaven.
He has given his people glory;
he has given a praise to his faithful,
to Israel, the people close to him" [Ps_148,13] - [Ps_148,14].

{K}- THE PROBATICA POOL{/}
The ruins of  the Probatica Pool serve as a reminder of how Jesus cured a sick man in this place. At that time there was a sanctuary dedicated to Esculapius there, as archeological excavations have confirmed. Today, one sees the Church of St. Ann built over the reservoirs. It also covers a grotto where, according to ancient tradition, Joachim and Ann lived, the parents of the Virgin Mary.
In Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate there is a pool which in Hebrew is called, "Bethzatha" [Jn_5,2]. The Sheep Gate, through which animals destined to be sacrificed passed, is located to the northeast Temple area. It was from this gate that the pool derived its name: {N}Probatica{/} (Greek = ta probata: the sheep).
The name, {N}Bethzatha{/}, is undoubtedly of Aramaic origin and means courtyard, the small valley that cut through the small hill.
Two enormous cisterns, approximately 13 meters deep and partially hollowed out of the rock, collected the waters running down the slope of the hill which were then directed by canals to supply the needs of the nearby Temple. Water was critical for the numerous purification rites demanded by the Law. A wide dike separated the northern and most ancient cistern from the southern and most important cistern, which had been constructed about the second century BC.
During the reign of Herod the Great these cisterns were abandoned because the "Pool of Israel" had been excavated at the foot of the Temple wall. In this way the reservoirs remained more or less full  A cistern hollowed out of the rock fed the small baths installed in the natural grottos. In this assortment of public baths excavators have found numerous pagan votive offerings, and even a sculptured serpent which was an attribute of Esculapius, which indicates the function for which the offerings were made. This then was a sanctuary dedicated to Asklepios, which was fairly common in different places around the Mediterranean basin. For Greeks, Asklepios, son of Apollo and of the nymph Koronis, was the god of medicine and magic. The Romans gave him the name Esculapius.
This indicates that in pagan culture the hospital and the sanctuary, medicine and magic, were intermixed. Large crowds came here hoping to be helped by ESCULAPIUS' curative powers. Possibly it was the sulfuric spring near these two large pools that was the causal factor in the function of these thermal baths. Coins discovered at this place indicate that it was a place of great activity in Jesus' time.

{K}THE SICK MAN AT THE POOL OF BETHZATHA{/}
"After this there was a feast of the Jews and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now by the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem, there is a pool (called Bethzatha in Hebrew) surrounded by five porticos. In these porticos lay a multitude of sick peopleblind, lame and paralyzed. (All were waiting for the water to move, for at times an angel of the Lord would descend into the pool and stir up the water; and the first person to enter after this movement of the water would be healed of whatever disease he had.) 
There was a man who had been sick for thirty-eight years" [Jn_5,1] - [Jn_5,5]. 
Later in the Temple Jesus would supplement the sign that he had just carried out, instructing the sick man who was now cured, almost menacing him: "Now you are well; don't sin again, lest something worse happen to you."  In effect, why would a Jewish believer hope for a miracle from someone other than the living God? Wasn't the Temple right there in which to pray?



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