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Second
Temple Era - 536 BC - 70 AD
536-517 BC - Temple rebuilt by Jews under their new
king, Zerubbabel..
This
Temple built by the Jews returning from 70 year exile
in Babylon.
The Hasmonean (164 - 63 BC)
rebuilt the Meah and Hananeel Towers into a
fort called the Baris Tower.
The Guards traveled through an underground passageway that went from
the Baris to the Temple. The Hasmonean also extended the east wall to
the
south.
Akra (Acra) approximatly 141 BC
The Akra is believed to have been found between the Temple Mount and the City of David.
It appears the Akra would have been built on a section of Ophel hill, and not only was it torn down by the Hasmonean,
but also that lower section of Ophel hill also cut down so that it became level with the City of David.
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Herod's
Temple - 20 BC to 26 AD
20 BC - Herod disassembles old Temple and begins work
on new Temple.
By the death of Herod, in
4 BC, the inner Sanctuary,
including Temple, Priest court, Woman's
court, and inner
walls, were completed.
Fort Antonia was
also completed.
The Jewish Temple most likely remained within the old walls while the
Herod/Herodian extended courts were being built during the 1st century.
The courts to the north, west, and south were not finished until around
65-66 AD. Only the height of the Citadel of Fort Antonia is
known.
The Citadel's length and width may have been much larger than I have
depicted it here.
The width and length of Fort Antonia, with parade grounds, would
have been approximately 600 x 600 feet (a furlong by a furlong)
21
AD - Construction began on the West wall, deep into the
Tyropoean Valley began. Work was stopped and begun again at
least twice.
26/7- AD -
By the time of the ministry of Jesus the work on the
Temple of Herod had lasted for 46 years.
The West wall would have still
been under construction when Jesus prophecied that not one stone would
be left upon another in the Olivet Discourse (Matt 24).
The Temple would have remained within the old walls,
as a fortress for the city, until the new courts and walls were
completed.
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Herod's Extended Courts under his son, Herod Agrippa I, and grandson Herod Agrippa II -70AD
The Temple, as it might have
looked in 70 AD,
before its total destruction.
With the completion of Herod's courts and walls in 66 AD the Temple
and Fort Antonia, together, measured 600 by 1200 feet. (six furlong
around, as per Josephus). The moat and Fort Antonia protected the
Temple and city from a northern attack. The southern court of the
Temple compound was torn down to ground level and most of the west wall
above street level. Of course nothing of the Temple house and the new
buildings and gates of Herod remained, not even one stone upon
another.
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Temple of Jupiter
on the Temple Mount -135 AD - 225 AD
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Temple Mount Walls and Ground Level - 135 AD to Present Time
Building the Temple of Jupiter required building a new southeast corner from the bedrock up. Hadrian used the re-cycled Herodian stones to build up the new corner. This corner is now called Solomon’s Stables. The Ophel, which contained the southern court of the Temple, remained in ruins. It would not have been usable to Hadrian, the topography shows that he would have had to build too deeply into the Kidron Valley if he were to create the rectangle any further to the south. Instead he used the platform of the inner walls of the Temple to build his south wall on. There has never been a north wall to the Temple Mount and there still isn't one.
This
digital painting represents the Temple mount surface today in the shape
of the rectangle created by Hadrian. The gray area is the
Temple surface, along with the southeast corner which was added by
Hadrian.
The Ophel area consists of ruins from the First Temple era to the
Second
Temple era and Herod's Temple, along with ruins of buildings built
after the destruction in
70 AD.
As
you can see the walls of the Temple Mount we see today are NOT the
walls of the Temple fortress that Jesus and the Apostles were looking
at. None of those walls remain today.
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Temple Mount Today
The Ophel was excavated beginning in 1967.
The upper courses of the walls all the way around and the gate in the
east wall were built by the Muslim's.
The size of the Temple Mount today is double the size of Herod's Temple
told to us by Josephus.
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Solomon's Temple"
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