Temple of Jerusalem

TEMPLE OF JERUSALEM. - A permanent sanctuary, the only one for the conduct of Israelite worship, conceived by King David and built by Solomon on Mount Moriah, in place of the mobile Mosaic Tabernacle (v.).

I. SOLOMON'S TEMPLE

David, at the height of his power, resolved to build the temple, but this was forbidden him by Nathan (II Sam. 7, 1-29; I Par. 17); he then prepared for its construction: he purchased for 50 shekels of silver (600 according to I Par. 21, 25) the area of Ornan the Jebusite, where the angel had appeared on Moriah; he amassed (ibid. 21, 14-22, 19) vast stores of metals, precious stones, marbles and cedar wood from Lebanon, besides immense sums of gold and silver; he gave Solomon the detailed design of the buildings "inspired by God" (ibid. 28, 1-29, 19), exhorting the princes to assist him. Solomon (I Reg. 5, 9-15; II Par. 2-8) made an agreement with Hiram king of Tyre for the cutting and transport of cedars and firs (cypresses?) from Lebanon to Jerusalem, via Joppa, assigning to this task 30,000 workers alternating 10,000 per month, under the direction of Adoniram. Then he hired 70,000 laborers and 80,000 stonecutters not

Hebrews (Canaanites, prisoners of war), plus 3,600 assistants and another 550 overseers. The stone was quarried from Mount Bezetha (the Royal Caverns). From King Hiram he obtained the master craftsman Hiram or Hūrām 'abhī, of a Hebrew mother (Naphtali-Dan) and a Tyrian father, skilled in work in gold, silver, copper, iron, stones, inlay and woven stuffs. The foundation stones were squared by the craftsmen of Byblos (Fl. Josephus, Bell. Ind., V, 5, 1-2; Antiq. Ind., VIII, 3, 2; XV, 11, 2-3).

Construction began in the 480th year from the Exodus (986 B.C., a date now under discussion), the 4th year of Solomon, in the month of Ziv (= Iyyar = April-May). The stones were cut and squared at the quarry, to avoid the noise of chisel and hammers in the sacred area. The present-day remains of the temple display the same style as the Herodian buildings of Hebron; no trace of Solomon's work survives today. The construction was difficult, both because of the unevenness of the terrain and because the summit of Ornan's threshing floor was too narrow, bounded as it was on the north by Bezetha, on the east by the Kidron valley, on the west by that of the Tyropoeon, and on the south by the Ophel. It was necessary to level part of Bezetha and to raise enormous walls with vaulted constructions resting on massive pillars, used in various ways, such as those called "Solomon's stables" (80 × 50 m.); the south-east corner now drops to 24.32 m. Flavius Josephus says that the stone blocks were sealed with lead and iron. Solomon thus obtained a square platform one stadium (about 200 m.) on each side, with the area of Ornan at its center; the platform of the Haram esh-Sherif, which today measures 491 × 462 × 310 × 281 m., appears to be due to the Romans under Hadrian, or at most to Herod. Others hold that Solomon's enclosure comprised only a quadrilateral with 300 m. on the north-east at the height of the Golden Gate and 100 on the south-west; and the sanctuary would have occupied the rectangular paved area around the mosque, measuring 132 m. on the south and 160 on the other sides. Some maintain that the sacred rock (ṣubrah), about 18 m. long, 13 wide, and 1.25-2 high, at the center of the mosque called that of 'Omar, served as the base of the Ark (Desnoyers, III, 84-88); H. Schmidt, Der heilige Fels in Jerusalem, Tübingen (1933); according to the common opinion, however, it was the base of the altar of holocausts. The temple was approached through several gates on the east, west and south, ascending by stairways. The viaducts of Wilson's and Robinson's arches, passing over the Tyropoeon, connected it with the upper city.

The temple consisted of the sanctuary, the porch and the courts. The sanctuary was 60 cubits long (1 cubit = from 45 to 50 cm.), 30 high and 20 wide; twice that of the Tabernacle. The 40 cubits on the east constituted the "Holy Place" (hēkhāl), the other 20 the "Holy of Holies" or "Most Holy" (dēbhīr), which was a perfect cube of 20 cubits on each side. Around the hēkhāl ran a three-story structure with chambers 5 cubits high each, and 5 cubits wide on the first story, 6 on the second, 7 on the third, because the walls of the hēkhāl narrowed toward the top, forming as it were steps against which the structure rested. The doors were on the right side of the hēkhāl and were reached by spiral staircases. In the part of the walls of the hēkhāl projecting above the said structure were the windows. The dēbhīr was in darkness, and only once a year did the High Priest officiate in it, on the day of hippūr. The roof of the sanctuary was of cedar wood.

The porch ('ūlām) stood before the door of the sanctuary, 10 cubits long, 20 wide and perhaps 20 high (according to II Chron. 3, 4, 120 cubits, but this is an error). In the porch were hung the arms of David and other gifts. Its door had no leaves (I Kings 6, 3; II Kings 11, 10). The courts were two (II Kings 21, 5; 23, 12; II Chron. 33, 5). The outer court (ibid. 4, 9; cf. Ezek. 10, 17) was a square, enclosed by a wall and paved with stones. It had gates with bronze leaves (II Chron. 4, 9; Ezek. 40, 5), furnished with small towers and reached by 7 steps (Ezek. 40, 6-26). Between the gates were rooms for storerooms and dwellings of the levites on duty (II Chron. 31, 11; Jer. 35, 2-4; Ezek. 40, 7 ff.). At the corners were small courts for the sacrificial banquets of the people (Ezek. 46, 21-24). In the middle of the court was placed the platform for the members of David's family (II Chron. 6, 12 ff.; 23, 13; 34, 31). The inner court was called "of the priests." It was reached by 8 steps (15) (I Kings 6, 36; II Chron. 4, 9). It surrounded the sanctuary (I Kings 8, 64), and was separated from the outside by a wall built with 3 courses of stone and one course of cedar wood (ibid. 8, 64; 6, 36; II Chron. 27, 3). It had no gates except on the west (the high gate on the east; II Chron. 27, 3). There were rooms for various uses (I Chron. 9, 33; Jer. 35, 4; 36, 10). The measurements of the courts are not given.

The sanctuary was paneled with cedar boards adorned with bas-reliefs of cherubim, fruit, palms, flowers, overlaid with gold leaf, floored with cypress, covered with gold. No stone was visible. A cedar partition divided the dēbhīr from the hēkhāl, with a small door with two olive-wood leaves, perhaps pentagonal, 4 cubits, with carvings like the rest of the paneling. There was a golden bolt (or chains). II Chron. 3, 14 also speaks of the curtain woven of violet, purple, crimson and fine linen with representations of cherubim that hung in front. The door of the hēkhāl, likewise carved and overlaid, had two olive-wood jambs, with cypress leaves that folded one upon the other; it was quadrangular and measured 5 cubits. Two cherubim (v.), 10 cubits high, stood in the middle of the dēbhīr, upright, their faces looking toward the entrance; of their wings, 5 cubits each, two were outstretched and touched above the ark, the other two touched the wall. On the facade of the porch were the two columns (as in the temples of Melkart at Tyre, of Tell 'Obeid in Mesopotamia and of Baalbek in Syria), of cast bronze, the work of Hiram: one on the right, Jākhīn ("He will establish"), the other on the left, Bū'az ("in Him is strength"); some read jākhūn be'āz "let him stand with stability." They were 18 cubits high with a circumference of 12, hollow within, four fingers thick; they bore a capital 5 cubits high, bulging like a bulb and adorned with net-like interlacements with two rows of 200 pomegranates running around the edges, and opening out in the form of a great lotus corolla.

In the hēkhāl there were: the table of incense, of cedar overlaid with gold, the golden table of the 12 loaves of proposition (according to II Chron. 4, 8 there were 10: 5 on the right and 5 on the left), 10 golden lampstands, 5 on the right and 5 on the left, with flowers, lamps, snuffers, patens, knives, trays, mortars and the censers of pure gold. Even the hinges of the doors of the dēbhīr and of the hēkhāl were of gold.

In the inner court stood the altar (v.) of holocausts (I Kings 8:64; II Kings 16:14; II Chron. 4:1), made of rough stones overlaid with bronze, twenty cubits wide and long and ten high. There was also the "bronze sea" (to the southeast of the hēkhāl, on the right), an enormous round basin in the shape of a lotus for the water needed for ablutions (diameter 10 cubits, height 5, circumference 30, adorned with two rows of bronze gourds) with a capacity of 2,000 bath (about 787 hectoliters; according to II Chron. 4:5, 3,000 bath); it rested on twelve bronze oxen, three on each side with their heads protruding forward; it must have been very bulging and fitted with spigots; the water was supplied by cisterns, and ten movable bronze basins were placed on ten four-wheeled basin-carts, each consisting of a square bronze frame (3 cubits high, 4 long and wide) with ornaments and surmounted by a cylinder hollow on the inside for securing the basins; the description of these is very complicated; extra-biblical examples serve to illustrate it; the ten basins held 40 bath (15 hectoliters) and served the priests officiating from the top of the altar of holocausts for washing the victims; five were placed to the right and five to the left of the altar. Then came cauldrons, shovels, and patens. The casting was carried out at the clayey ford of the Jordan at Adama (Dāmijjeh) near the mouth of the Jabbok, 11 km from Succoth (Tell Aḥsās) and Zarthan (Qarn Sartabah).

The temple was a reproduction of the Mosaic Tabernacle (the description in Ezek. 40-48, which corresponds to Solomon's temple only in its general lines, must be considered symbolic) and was completed in seven years. In the seventh month, Ethanim (tīrī), in the seventh year (according to others the twentieth year, that is, thirteen years after the construction), at the Feast of Tabernacles, the priests carried the ark from Zion and placed it in the dēbhir beneath the wings of the cherubim. Its poles were so long that they could be seen from the hēkhāl. The cloud covered the house of the Lord. Solomon delivered a speech, followed by a long prayer, before the great multitude assembled. The feast lasted fourteen days and was celebrated with sacrificial hecatombs (22,000 cattle and 12,000 sheep). Solomon consecrated the middle of the court, and God appeared to him again (I Kings 9:2; 3:4). The Mosaic tabernacle from Gibeon was kept in the new temple, which was to be the sole sanctuary of the people of Israel. It was subjected to enemy incursions, plunderings, devastations, and profanations, narrated in the books of Kings and Chronicles. It was plundered (925) by Pharaoh Shishak (I Kings 14:26), by Jehoash of Israel (798-783), by Athaliah; profaned by Ahaz, Manasseh, Amon, Zedekiah (II Chron. 36:14); Ahaz (736-721) replaced the altar of holocausts with another reproducing a model from Damascus (II Kings 16:10-14). It was restored or purified by Jehoshaphat (II Chron. 20:5), Joash of Judah (ibid. 24:4-14), Jotham (ibid. 27:3), Hezekiah (ibid. 28:34), Josiah (ibid. 34:3-7). With its treasures tribute was paid to invaders by Asa, Joash, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. It was plundered by Nebuchadnezzar under Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin and burned in the year 587. All the most precious objects were carried off as trophies to Babylon.

II. THE SECOND TEMPLE

1. Reconstruction by Zerubbabel

Cyrus (538 B.C.) granted the Jews the return to their homeland and the reconstruction of the t. (Eid. 1, 1-4) and restored the sacred vessels of gold and silver taken away by Nebuchadnezzar (ibid. 1, 7-11). As soon as they arrived in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel (v.) and the high priest Joshua built the altar of holocausts on the ruins of the t., offering sacrifices there. In 537, amid the singing of the Levites and the groans of those who had seen the splendor of Solomon's t., the first stone of the new t. was laid; but the Samaritans, excluded from the construction, prevented its continuation until Darius I; at the urging of Haggai and Zechariah, Joshua, in year 2 of Darius I (520), resumed the work, despite the difficulties raised by the Samaritans, since the decree of Cyrus was found, according to which the t. was to be high and wide (perhaps long) 60 cubits, with 3 courses of hewn stone and 1 of new wood, charging the expense to the royal treasury (Eid. 5, 1-6, 12); it was finished in year 6 of Darius (515), in the month of 'dāhār (Feb.-March) and inaugurated with hecatombs of sacrifices. It had the form of Solomon's, but was much more modest and must not have exceeded the limits established in the decree of Cyrus. The prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah refer principally to it. The vessels restored by Cyrus were placed in it. The dēbhir remained without the Ark; a stone marked its place, and the high priest on the kippūr placed the censer upon it. In the hēkhāl there was a single table, a single lampstand and the altar of incense (I Mach. 1, 21 ff.; 4, 49). It had two courts like Solomon's. In the court of the people there were porticoes, storerooms, dwellings of the ministers in turn (Neh. 10, 38-40; 12, 25, 44; 13, 4 ff.); in the middle, the altar of holocausts of rough stones (I Mach. 4, 38-59), then the bronze basin for ablutions. With the gifts and offerings of princes, even Gentile ones, and the half-shekel tribute of the Jews of all nations, the t. was subsequently sumptuously adorned. However, it was despoiled by Antiochus (v.) Epiphanes (175-164 B.C.) and profaned in various ways (I Mach. 1, 21-24; 5, 47-59; II Mach. 6, 5). It was purified by Judas Maccabeus. Antiochus Eupator destroyed part of its walls (I Mach. 6, 62), later restored by Jonathan. It was fortified at the time of the Maccabees (ibid. 6, 7; 13, 52; Eccl. 50, 1 f.). The Hasmoneans on its north side built the fortress Baris (Biyra), adorned and named by Herod "Antonia" (v.). Alexander Jannaeus separated the court of the people from that of the priests with wooden barriers; the t. was joined by a bridge to the upper city (Fl. Josephus, Antiq. Iud., XIII, 13, 5; XIV, 4, 2).

In 63 B.C., on the Day of Atonement, after Jerusalem was occupied, Pompey the Great entered it, inspected even the dēbhir, but without devastating it. In 56 B.C. Crassus despoiled it of 2000 talents and of gold ornaments worth 8000 talents.

2. Herodian expansions

Herod captured the t. in 37, month 10 (tīrī), with great slaughter and burning of some porticoes. Then, to win the goodwill of the Jews, he set about restoring it and almost renewing it, making it exceedingly sumptuous (20/19 B.C.). Herod had the north wall demolished and the other sides arranged, which, with the exception of the eastern one, were uncovered and on substructures. In the lowest part the walls reached 300 and more cubits in height. He doubled the esplanade. The Haram el-Serif today measures 1.544 sq km. Of Herod are the northeast and north corner, up to the Antonia tower; from here to the Wailing Wall and the southwest corner. The work was carried out in stages, without suspending worship so as not to arouse the suspicions of the Jews. Herod procured 1000 transport carts, hired 10,000 workers and for the works of the sacred enclosure used exclusively 1000 priests, whom he had taught the art of working stone and wood. The ancient foundations were removed and new ones laid, 100 cubits long and 120 high; they gave way and were repaired in the time of Nero. The stones used measured some 25 x 8 x 12 cubits. The work of the priests was finished in 18 months. In the time of Jesus they were still working there (cf. Io. 2, 20: for 45 years, that is, from 19 B.C. to 26/27 A.D.). In Io. 8, 59 and 10, 31 there is mention of the stones for stoning Jesus.

In the vast t. that resulted, one could distinguish the various porticoes, the various gates, the courts, the sanctuary. As a whole the enclosure was an immense trapezoid (462 x 491 x 310 x 281 m.), surrounded by sumptuous porticoes of white marble, at whose center a series of buildings rose very high, shining with gold, silver, copper and multicolored stones, surmounted on the northwest by the massive and lavish Antonia tower.

The outer porticoes, all of marble, encircled it on the four sides. The most famous were those of Solomon on the east and the royal one (basilikhē) on the south. This was so called because of the proximity of the palace of the kings of Judah. It had 4 rows of columns (162 in total), which formed three naves. The last row was set against the marble wall. Each column could barely be embraced by 3 men; it was 27 feet high (7.98 m.), with a double spiral fluting and Corinthian capitals. The two outer naves were 30 feet wide, 50 high and one stadium long; the central one was half again as wide

60. - ENCICLOPEDIA CATHOLICA. - XI.

and twice as high, and perhaps above the columns another row ran up to the ceiling, which was of wood carved with various figures. The central nave opened onto a bridge, of which the arch of Robinson remains, and which connected it with the Xystus near the palace of the Hasmoneans. The south-east corner overhung the valley of the Kidron by fully 400 cubits. Perhaps this is the πτερόγιον τοῦ ἱεροῦ (pinnaculum templi) of Mt. 4:5. The portico of Solomon, perhaps restored by Herod, rose on the east above a scarp made of enormous stones fastened with lead. Like those to the north and west, it had two naves formed by 3 rows of monolith columns of white marble, 25 cubits high. The porticoes were 30 cubits wide and extended 6 stades. They served to shelter from the weather, for walking, for listening to the teachers (Jn. 10:23; Acts 3:11; 5:12), for the sale of animals and the exchange of currency. The sellers, however, also invaded the courtyards in front.

The gates of the outer enclosure were four on the west, one of which (Barclay gate?) led to the royal palace across a bridge, two to the suburbs and one to the city by means of a stairway that descended to the valley, called Kiponios (Coponius), perhaps corresponding to Bâb es-Silsileh; two on the south, in the middle, beneath the portico, one of which was two-part (below the mosque el-'Aqsâ), the other three-part, called of Hulda (mole). On the east, the gate called of Susa, later called "the golden"; one on the north, called of Teri or Tadi, an unknown personage. Herod also built an underground gallery from the tower of Antonia to the eastern gate, which he fortified with a defense tower.

The courts, uncovered and paved with stones of various colors, were four: of the gentiles, of the women, of the Israelites, of the priests. The court "of the gentiles" (which pagans too could enter) extended from the porticoes to the peribolos, a stone balustrade 3 cubits high and finely worked, in which were placed, at equal distances, small columns with inscriptions in Latin or Greek, which forbade the gentiles and the impure to go beyond, on pain of death (Fl. Josephus, Bell. Iud., V, 5, 2; VI, 2, 4; Antiq. Iud., XV, 11, 5). Two examples of these were found. Hél "rampart" or platform "προτεύχημα" = outer wall) was the raised level (10 cubits wide) on which stood the wall that enclosed the temple; one ascended to it by 14 steps, it was 10 cubits wide and ran all around the temple; the gentiles and the impure could not penetrate it (cf. Acts 21:29-30, perhaps also Eph. 2:14). On the enclosing wall of the temple (25 cubits high on the inside) Herod hung the war trophies taken from the conquered peoples and his personal offerings as anathema. Perhaps this is what is meant in Lk. 21:5. The inner gates in the temple wall, to which one climbed from the hél by means of 5 steps, were 10, of which 4 on the north, 4 on the south and 2 on the east. On the west there was no gate. They were of wood, covered with gold and silver. They were 30 cubits high and 15 wide. Inside the portals they widened and had on both sides exedras 30 cubits wide and long in the form of towers and more than 40 cubits high each, supported by 2 columns 12 cubits in circumference. Each gate was double. The eastern one was called of Nicanor and "the beautiful gate" (Acts 3:2); it is probably the "Corinthia" of Fl. Josephus (Bell. Iud., V, 5, 3) and led to the court of the women, at the end of which, opposite, was the "Great" gate, of bronze, 50 cubits high and 40 wide. Two other gates led to the court of the women, 6 others to that of the Israelites.

The court "of the women," 135 cubits long and wide, was between the "Great" gate and that of Nicanor. The women could not go beyond it. According to Middôth, II, 5, there were raised platforms to allow the women to attend the ceremonies. At the corners of the court were 4 square rooms of 40 cubits; the north-east one for storing wood, the north-west for the lepers, the south-west for wine and oil, the south-east for the Nazirites. Between these last two was the treasury. Toward the north were the trumpet-shaped chests for receiving the offerings; the treasury rooms were called gazophylacia. From the court of the women the altar of holocausts could be seen, but not all the ceremonies. The court "of the Israelites" was reached by 15 steps of semicircular form, which led to the "Great" gate, to which the woman who had given birth and the woman suspected of adultery had access. It was 11 cubits long (east-west) and 135 (north-south); a total of 300 sq. m. All pure (male) Israelites could enter it, and it held about a thousand. There the musicians and the Levite singers were stationed. It had two gates, on the north and on the south, and in the walls various chambers.

The court "of the priests," 2½ cubits higher than that of the Israelites, was separated from it by an artistic parapet of beautiful stone, about 1 cubit high. One entered it in the center by means of steps. It was 135 cubits wide and 176 long and surrounded the Sanctuary. Around the court ran porticoes and in the walls chambers were hollowed out: at the south-west corner the lâkath hag-gâzith, where the great Sanhedrin assembled, which also had an entrance on the hél; beneath the wood store was the room where the high priest dwelt during the 7 days preceding the hippûr. In the middle of the court, opposite the "Great" gate, was the altar of holocausts (15 cubits high, 50 long and wide); around it were arranged the instruments for killing, flaying, and dividing the victims; the basin, with two drainage channels, for the water that came from 'Ajn 'Atân near Ortâs (Bethlehem).

The porch was ascended from the court of the priests by 12 steps. It had a facade entirely gilded, 100 cubits high and long, but 11 deep and projecting 20 cubits to the right and 20 to the left from the body of the rear building, which was 60 cubits. The portal was 70 cubits high and 25 wide, but without doors, and through it the hall could be seen. The gate opposite, gilded together with the wall, led into the "holy place" (lâkhâll); it had golden doors, and above them golden vines (symbol of Israel: Is. 3:14; Jer. 2:11; Ex. 19:40), from which hung clusters the size of a man. Before the gate hung a curtain woven of violet, fine linen, scarlet and purple, wonderfully worked. In the porch were tables on which to place the loaves and many gifts offered by kings and princes, for example, the golden lamp of Helena queen of Adiabene, the golden table of Ptolemy Philadelphus.

The sacred building was 60 cubits high and long and 20 wide, divided into "Holy Place" and "Holy of Holies," by a curtain.

The Holy Place (hēhhlā = qōdheh) occupied the first 40 cubits of length and contained the seven-branched lampstand, the table of the showbread and the altar of incense. The "Holy of Holies" (dāhhlr) was a perfect cube of 20 cubits. "There was nothing in it, inaccessible, intangible, invisible to all" (Fl. Josephus, Bell. Iud., V, 5, 5). The 3 stories (with 38 chambers) adjoining the sacred building, 60 cubits high with windows, were as in the Solomonic temple. They were reached by two entrances from the porch. The wall of the sacred building rose 40 cubits above them, reaching a height of 100 cubits, and had windows for the hēhhlā. The roof sloped slightly and was surrounded by a parapet with very sharp golden spikes to protect it from birds.

According to Fl. Josephus (Bell. Iud., V, 56) "in the outward appearance of the Sanctuary nothing was lacking of what might astonish the mind or the eye... It appeared from afar like a mountain of snow, because where it was not gilded it was very white...". Its architectural style was Greek, but adapted to Jewish mentality and customs. Oaths were sworn by it, and it was a crime not to speak of it with respect (hence the accusation against Jesus: Mt. 26, 61; 27, 40 and parallels). A στρατηγός (Lk. 22, 4, 52; Acts 4, 1; 5, 24, 26) maintained order there. Herod probably placed a golden Roman eagle on the "beautiful" gate, which was the cause of disturbances (Fl. Josephus, Antiq. Iud., XVII, 6, 2-4; Bell. Iud., I, 33, 2-4). It was plundered by Sabinus (4 B.C.), and in the revolt the porticoes were set on fire. Under Coponius (4-6 A.D.) the Samaritans profaned it by scattering the bones of the dead in it. Pilate (4. 26-36) laid hands on the treasury to build an aqueduct. Jesus was often in Herod's temple; he never entered beyond the court of the Israelites. The archangel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah in the hēhhlā (Lk. 1, 11, 21). Mary entered it for the offering of her firstborn and her purification, and there she met the old man Simeon and the prophetess Anna. At the age of 12 Jesus stayed with the teachers in one of the halls under the porticoes (Lk. 2, 46). Memorable are the episodes of the expulsion of the sellers, of the adulterous woman, of the solemn entry on the day of palms; he stopped in the gazophylacium, taught there on many occasions, and foretold its destruction to the apostles who were showing him the grandeur of the buildings, the size of the stones and the wealth of the ex-votos (Mt. 24, 1-2). At his death the veil was torn in two.

The temple is also connected with the events of the Apostles and of the nascent Church (Acts 3-23). Under Ventidius Cumanus (48-52 A.D.) 1000 or 2000 Jews died in the temple (Fl. Josephus, Bell. Iud., II, 12, 1; Antiq. Iud., XX, 5, 3). Paul was arrested there on the pretext of having violated it by introducing gentiles beyond the peribolos (Acts 20, 20-23, 10) and was led from the porticoes into the Antonia. There St. James the Less was killed. Completed under Albinus (62-64), its 18,000 workers were left without work; in the same year the Jewish war broke out (66-70), during which struggles and massacres among the different parties took place in the temple. It was set on fire in the year 70 "by a higher impulse," by a Roman soldier against the orders of Titus, on the 15th day of dāh; on the same day as that of Solomon. Among the spoils carried in triumph to Rome were the golden table of the showbread, the seven-branched lampstand, and the book of the law (Fl. Josephus, Bell. Iud., VII, 5, 5; arch of Titus). On the site of the temple a temple to Jupiter was erected by Hadrian (120). Under Julian the Apostate the Jews attempted to rebuild it to refute the prophecy of Jesus (Mt. 24, 2), but as its foundations were being laid flames burst forth from the ground and killed the workers; and the work was interrupted. Today's pious Jews weep at sunset every Friday over the outer ruins of the temple, called the "Wailing Wall."

Bonaventura Mariani