The temple treasury was a storehouse (Hebrew אוצר 'otsar) first of the
tabernacle
According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle (), also known as the Tent of the Congregation (, also Tent of Meeting), was the portable earthly dwelling of God used by the Israelites from the Exodus until the conquest of Canaan. Moses was instru ...
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach" . '' Joshua 6:19 where all the silver and gold vessels are consecrated to a "storehouse" which travelled with the tabernacle. Later, this was made permanent in the First Temple, till the treasury was pillaged by Nebuchadnezzar's army.
In the
Second Temple
The Second Temple () was the Temple in Jerusalem that replaced Solomon's Temple, which was destroyed during the Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC), Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in 587 BCE. It was constructed around 516 BCE and later enhanced by Herod ...
, the treasury was used for storing the grain for the Levites. In Nehemiah and Zechariah, this became the subject of contention when Eliashib, grandson of Joshua the high priest, leased the storehouse to Tobiah the Ammonite. In the deutero-canonical , reference is made to "untold sums of money" held at the treasury in Jerusalem.
A related term, the ''korbanas'', is found in the
New Testament
The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...
( Matthew 27:6) where the money of Judas Iscariot cannot be received into the temple "treasury", or κορβανᾶς ''korbanas'', because it is " blood money". Josephus explains this term ''korbanas'' as the temple treasury – ''ton hieron thesauron, kaleitai de korbanas'' ( War of the Jews 2.9.4; #175). Josephus says that
Pontius Pilate
Pontius Pilate (; ) was the Roman administration of Judaea (AD 6–135), fifth governor of the Judaea (Roman province), Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is best known for being the official wh ...
used the korbanas to fund the construction of an aqueduct of about 400 ''stade'', or 75 kilometers, and that this action incited the population to a riot.Josephus, The Jewish Warbr>2.175 /ref>
The treasury storehouse is to be distinguished from the '' hanuyot'' or "shops" near the Temple into which the Sanhedrin relocated from 30 to 70 CE.