{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?

8

