First Temple

Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple (), was a biblical Temple in Jerusalem believed to have existed between the 10th and 6th centuries BCE. Its description is largely based on narratives in the Hebrew Bible before being destroyed during the Siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar II of the Neo-Babylonian Empire in 587 BCE. No excavations are allowed on the Temple Mount, and no positively identified remains of the destroyed temple have been found. Most modern scholars agree that the First Temple existed on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem by the time of the Babylonian siege, and there is significant debate among scholars over the date of its construction and the identity of its builder.

The Hebrew Bible, specifically within the Book of Kings, includes a detailed narrative about the construction's ordering by Solomon, the penultimate ruler of the United Kingdom of Israel. It further credits Solomon as the placer of the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies, a windowless inner sanctum within the structure. Entry into the Holy of Holies was heavily restricted; the High Priest of Israel was the only authority permitted to enter the sanctuary, and only did so on Yom Kippur, carrying the blood of a sacrificial lamb and burning incense. In addition to serving as a religious building for worship, the First Temple also functioned as a place of assembly for the Israelites. The First Temple's destruction and the subsequent Babylonian captivity were both events that were seen as a fulfillment of biblical prophecies and thus affected Judaic religious beliefs, precipitating the Israelites' transition from either polytheism or monolatrism (as seen in Yahwism) to firm Jewish monotheism.

Previously, many scholars accepted the biblical narrative of the First Temple's construction by Solomon as authentic. During the 1980s, skeptical approaches to the biblical text as well as the archaeological record led some scholars to doubt whether there was any Temple in Jerusalem constructed as early as the 10th century BCE. Some scholars have suggested that the original structure built by Solomon was relatively modest, and was later rebuilt on a larger scale. No direct evidence for the existence of Solomon's Temple has been found. Due to the extreme religious and political sensitivity of the site, no recent archaeological excavations have been conducted on the Temple Mount. Nineteenth and early-twentieth century excavations around the Temple Mount did not identify "even a trace" of the complex. The ''House of Yahweh'' ostracon, dated to the 6th century BCE, may refer to the First Temple. Two 21st century findings from the Israelite period in present-day Israel bear resemblance to Solomon's Temple as it is described in the Hebrew Bible: a shrine model from the early half of the 10th century BCE in Khirbet Qeiyafa; and the Tel Motza temple, dated to the 9th century BCE and located in the neighbourhood of Motza within West Jerusalem. The biblical description of Solomon's Temple also appears to share similarities with several Syro-Hittite temples of the same period discovered in modern-day Syria and Turkey, such as those in Ain Dara and Tell Tayinat.Batiuk, S., Harrison, T E, and Pavlish, L.
The Ta'yinat Survey, 1999-2002
in The Amuq Valley Regional Projects, Volume 1: Surveys in the Plain of Antioch and Orontes Delta, Turkey, 1995–2002, Oriental Institute Publications 131, pp. 171-192, Oriental Institute, 2005Monson, John M. "The Temple of Solomon: Heart of Jerusalem"
C. The Ain Dara Temple: A New Parallel from Syria
pp. 10, 16. In "Zion, city of our God", Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing (1999), editors: Hess, Richard S. & Wenham, Gordon J. . Retrieved 15 February 2011. Following Jewish return from exile, Solomon's Temple was replaced with the Second Temple.

Location

Archeologist Israel Finkelstein writes that the exact location of the Temple is unknown. It is believed to have been situated upon the hill that forms the site of the Second Temple and present-day Temple Mount, where the Dome of the Rock is situated.

According to the Bible, Solomon's Temple was built on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem, where an angel of God had appeared to David (). The site was originally a threshing floor David had purchased from Araunah the Jebusite (; ).

Schmid and Rupprecht are of the view that the site of the temple used to be a Jebusite shrine that Solomon chose in an attempt to unify the Jebusites and Israelites.

Biblical narrative

Construction

According to 1 Kings, the foundation of the Temple is laid in Ziv, the second month of the fourth year of Solomon's reign and construction is completed in Bul, the eighth month of Solomon's eleventh year, thus taking about seven years.

The Hebrew Bible says that the Tyrians played a leading role in the construction of the Temple. The Second Book of Samuel mentions how David and Hiram forged an alliance. This friendship continues after Solomon succeeds David, and the two refer to each other as brothers. A literary account of how Hiram helps Solomon build the Temple is given in 1 Kings (chapters 5–9) and 2 Chronicles (chapters 2–7). Hiram agrees to Solomon's request to supply him with cedar and cypress trees for the construction of the Temple. He tells Solomon that he will send the trees by sea: "I will make them into rafts to go by the sea to the place that you indicate. I will have them broken up there for you to take away." In return for the lumber, Solomon sends him wheat and oil. Solomon also brings over a skilled craftsman from Tyre, also called Hiram (or Huram-abi), who oversees the construction of the Temple. Stonemasons from Gebal (Byblos) cut stones for the Temple.

After the Temple and palace (taking an additional 13 years) is completed, Solomon hands over twenty cities in the northwestern Galilee near Tyre as a repayment to Hiram. Hiram was not pleased with the gift, however, and asks "what are these towns that you have given me, my brother?". Hiram then calls them "the land of Cabul", and the writer of 1 Kings 9 says they were called by this name "to this day". Hiram however remains on friendly terms with Solomon.

The Second Book of Chronicles fills in some details of the construction not given in narrative brought in 1 Kings. It states that the trees sent as rafts were sent to the city of Joppa on the Mediterranean coast, and in return for the lumber supplied, Solomon, in addition to the wheat and oil, sent wine to Hiram.

Transfer of the Ark of the Covenant

According to biblical narrative, the purpose of Solomon’s Temple was to store the Ark of the Covenant. and record that in the seventh month of the year, at the feast of Tabernacles, the priests and the Levites brought the Ark of the Covenant from the City of David. Within the temple, the Ark was placed inside the Holy of Holies.

Dedication

and recount the events of the temple's dedication. When the priests emerged from the holy of holies after placing the Ark there, the Temple was filled with an overpowering cloud that interrupted the dedication ceremony,Pulpit Commentary on 1 Kings 8
, accessed 2 October 2017 "for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord uch thatthe priests could not stand to minister" (1 Kings 8:10–11; 2 Chronicles 5:13, 14). Solomon interpreted the cloud as "roofthat his pious work was accepted":

The allusion is to :

The ''Pulpit Commentary'' notes that "Solomon had thus every warrant for connecting a theophany with the thick dark cloud". Solomon then led the whole assembly of Israel in prayer, noting that the construction of the temple represented a fulfilment of God's promise to David, dedicating the temple as a place of prayer and reconciliation for the people of Israel and for foreigners living in Israel, and highlighting the paradox that God who lives in the heavens cannot really be contained within a single building. The dedication was concluded with musical celebration and sacrifices said to have included "twenty-two thousand bulls and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep". These sacrifices were offered outside the temple, in "the middle of the court that was in front of the house of the Lord", because the altar inside the temple, despite its extensive dimensions, was not big enough for the offerings being made that day. The celebration lasted eight days and was attended by "very great assembly atheredfrom the entrance of Hamath to the Brook of Egypt". The subsequent feast of Tabernacles extended the whole celebration to 14 days, before the people were "sent away to their homes".

After the dedication, Solomon hears in a dream that God has heard his prayer, and God will continue to hear the prayers of the people of Israel if they adopt the four ways in which they could move God to action: humility, prayer, seeking his face, and turning from wicked ways. Conversely, if they turn aside and forsake God's commandments and worship other gods, then God will abandon the temple: "this house which I have sanctified for My name I will cast out of My sight".

Plunder

According to the biblical narrative, Solomon's Temple was plundered several times. In the fifth year of Rehoboam's reign (commonly dated to 926 BCE), Egyptian pharaoh Shishak (positively identified with Shoshenq I) took away treasures of the Temple and the king's house, as well as shields of gold that Solomon had made; Rehoboam replaced them with brass ones (; ). A century later, Jehoash, king of the northern Kingdom of Israel, advanced on Jerusalem, broke down a portion of the wall, and carried away the treasures of the Temple and the palace (). Later, when Ahaz of Judah was threatened by defeat at the hands of Rezin of Aram-Damascus and Pekah of Israel, he turned to king Tiglath-Pileser IV for help. To persuade him, he "took the silver and gold that was found in the house of Yahweh, and in the treasures of the king's house, and sent it for a present to the King of Assyria" (). At another critical juncture, Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors and doorsteps of the temple he himself had overlaid, and gave it to king Sennacherib ().

Joash's restoration

and recount that King Joash and the priests of the temple organised a restoration programme funded from popular donations. The temple was restored to its original condition and further reinforced.

Destruction by the Babylonians

According to the Bible, the Temple was plundered by King Nebuchadnezzar II of the Neo-Babylonian Empire when the Babylonians attacked Jerusalem during the brief reign of Jehoiachin c. 598 BCE ().

A decade later, Nebuchadnezzar again besieged Jerusalem and after 30 months finally breached the city walls in 587/6 BCE. The city finally fell to his army in July 586/5 BCE. A month later, Nebuzaradan, commander of Nebuchadnezzar's guard, was sent to burn and demolish the city. According to the Bible, "he set fire to the Temple of Yahweh, the royal palace and all the houses of Jerusalem" (). Everything worth plundering was then removed and taken to Babylon ().

Jewish tradition holds that the Temple was destroyed on ''Tisha B'Av'', the 9th day of Av (Hebrew calendar), the same date of the destruction of the Second Temple. Rabbinic sources state that the First Temple stood for 410 years and, based on the 2nd-century work ''Seder Olam Rabbah'', place construction in 832 BCE and destruction in 422 BCE (3338 AM), 165 years later than secular estimates. The Jewish historian Josephus says; "the temple was burnt four hundred and seventy years, six months, and ten days after it was built".

Solomon's Temple was subsequently replaced with the Second Temple in 515 BCE, following Jewish return from exile.

Architecture

The description of Solomon's Temple given in I Kings and II Chronicles is remarkably detailed, but attempts to reconstruct it have met many difficulties. The description includes various technical terms that have lost their original meaning to time. Archaeological studies have provided ancient Near Eastern counterparts for architectural features, furnishings and decorative motifs. Contemporary Israeli archaeologist Finkelstein considered Solomon's Temple to be built according to Phoenician design, and its description is in accordance with how Phoenician temples looked;According to Finkelstein in ''The Bible Unearthed'', the description of the temple is remarkably similar to that of surviving remains of Phoenician temples of the time, and it is certainly plausible, from the point of view of archaeology, that the temple was constructed to the design of Phoenicians. others have described the structure as temple in antis. In 2011, three small portable shrines were discovered in Khirbet Qeiyafa, an archaeological site 30 km (20 mi) from Jerusalem dated to 1025–975 BCE, a range that includes the biblical date for the reigns of David and Solomon. The smaller shrines are boxes shaped with different decorations showing impressive architectonic and decorative styles. One of the excavators, Israeli archaeologist Yosef Garfinkel, suggested that the style and the decoration of these cultic objects are very similar to the biblical description of some features of Solomon's Temple.

Archeologists categorize the biblical description of Solomon's Temple as a ''langbau'' building. That is, a rectangular building that is longer than it is wide. It is furthermore classified as a tripartite building, consisting of three units; the ''ulam'' (porch), the ''heikal'' (sanctuary), and the ''debir'' (the Holy of Holies). It is also categorized as being a straight-axis temple, meaning that there is a straight line from the entrance to the innermost shrine.

Porch

The ''ulam'', or porch, featured two bronze pillars Jachin and Boaz. It is unclear from the biblical descriptions whether the porch was a closed room, a roofed entranceway, or an open courtyard. Thus, it is not known whether the pillars were freestanding or structural elements built into the porch. If they were built into the porch, it could indicate that the design was influenced by similar temples in Syria or even Turkey, home to the ancient Hittite Empire. While most reconstructions of the Temple have the pillars freestanding, Yosef Garfinkel and Madeleine Mumcuoglu finds it likely that the pillars supported a roof over the porch.

Sanctuary (main chamber)

The porch led to the ''heikal'', main chamber, or sanctuary. It measured 40 cubits in length, 20 cubits in width, and 30 cubits in height and contained a candelabrum, a table and a gold-covered altar used for offerings. In the sanctuary, loaves of Showbread were left as an offering to God. At the far end of the sanctuary there was a wooden door, guarded by two cherubim, leading to the Holy of Holies.

The walls of the sanctuary were lined with cedar, on which were carved figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers that were overlaid with gold (). Chains of gold further marked it off from the Holy of Holies. The floor of the Temple was of fir overlaid with gold. The doorposts, of olivewood, supported folding doors of fir. The doors of the Holy of Holies were of olivewood. On both sets of doors were carved cherubim, palm trees, and flowers, all being overlaid with gold ( et seq.) This main building was between the outer altar, where most sacrifices were performed, and inside at the far end was the entry to the Holy of Holies, originally containing the Ark of the Covenant. The main hekhal contained a number of sacred ritual objects including the seven-branched candlestick, a golden Altar of Incense, and the table of the showbread. According to 1 Kings 7:48 these tables were of gold, as were also the five candlesticks on each side of the altar. The candle–tongs, basins, snuffers, firepans, and even the hinges of the doors were also gold.

Holy of Holies

The Holy of Holies, also called the "Inner House", was 20 cubits in length, breadth, and height. The usual explanation for the discrepancy between its height and the 30-cubit height of the temple is that its floor was elevated, like the ''cella'' of other ancient temples. It was floored and wainscotted with cedar of Lebanon, and its walls and floor were overlaid with gold amounting to 600 talents or roughly 20 metric tons. It contained two cherubim of olivewood, each 10 cubits high and each having outspread wings of 10 cubits span, so that, since they stood side by side, the wings touched the wall on either side and met in the center of the room. There was a two-leaved door between it and the Holy Place overlaid with gold; also, a veil of tekhelet (blue), purple, and crimson and fine linen. It had no windows and was considered the dwelling-place of the "name" of God.

The Holy of Holies was prepared to receive and house the Ark; and when the Temple was dedicated, the Ark, containing the original tablets of the Ten Commandments, was placed beneath the cherubim.

Surrounding chambers

Chambers were built around the Temple on the southern, western and northern sides (). These formed a part of the building and were used for storage. They were probably one story high at first; two more may have been added later.

Courts

According to the Bible, two courts surrounded the Temple. The Inner Court (1 Kings 6:36), or Court of the Priests (2 Chr. 4:9), was separated from the space beyond by a wall of three courses of hewn stone, surmounted by cedar beams (1 Kings 6:36). It contained the Altar of burnt-offering (2 Chr. 15:8), the Brazen Sea laver (4:2–5, 10) and ten other lavers (1 Kings 7:38, 39). A brazen altar stood before the Temple (2 Kings 16:14), its dimensions 20 cubits square and 10 cubits high (2 Chr. 4:1). The Great Court surrounded the whole Temple (2 Chr. 4:9). It was here that people assembled to worship. (Jeremiah 19:14; 26:2).

Molten Sea

According to the Hebrew Bible