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Herod's Temple
Courts, with Josephus text
The Temple
complex is called the Bais Hamikdash
The Azarah,
the sacred area of the complex, was made up of the Temple House, Priest
court, Men's court, and the inner gates.
The
Chanuyos, Herod's Royal Stoa, was the court along the
southern
wall, much like a modern mall.
Josephus, Antiquities of
the Jews: Book 8 - Chapter
3 Verse 9
But he made
that temple which was beyond this a wonderful one indeed, and such as
exceeds
all description in words; nay, if I may so say, is hardly believed upon
sight; for when he had filled up great valleys with earth, which, on
account
of their immense depth, could not be looked on, when you bended down to
see them, without pain, and had elevated the ground four hundred
cubits,
he made it to be on a level with the top of the mountain, on which the
temple was built, and by this means the out most temple, which was
exposed
to the air, was even with the temple itself.
9. Solomon made all these things for
the honor of God, with great
variety and magnificence, sparing no cost, but using all possible
liberality
in adorning the temple; and these things he dedicated to the treasures
of God.
He also placed a partition round about
the temple, which in our
tongue we call Gison, but it is called Thrigcos by the Greeks, and he
raised
it up to the height of three cubits; and
it was for the exclusion of the multitude from coming into the temple,
and showing that it was a place that was free and open only for the
priests.
He also built beyond this court a temple, whose figure was that of
a quadrangle, and erected for it great and broad cloisters;
this
was entered into by very high gates, each of which had its front
exposed
to one of the [four] winds, and were shut by golden doors (inner
gates).
He encompassed this also with a building of
a double row of cloisters,
which stood on high upon pillars of native stone, while the roofs were
of cedar, and were polished in a manner proper for such high roofs; but
he made all the doors of this temple of silver
--------
War of the Jews -
BOOK
5, CH. 5
A DESCRIPTION OF THE TEMPLE.
(Solomon's)
1. NOW this temple, as I have already said,
was
built upon a strong hill. At first
the plain at the top was hardly sufficient
for the holy house and the altar, for the ground about it was very
uneven,
and like a precipice; but when king Solomon,
who was the person that built the temple, had built a wall to it on
its east side, there was then added one cloister founded
on
a bank cast up for it, and on the other parts the holy house
stood
naked.
(Herod's
temple)
But in future ages the people added new
banks,
(12) and the hill became a larger plain.
They then broke down the wall on the north
side, and took in as much as sufficed afterward for the compass of
the entire temple.
And when they had built
walls on three sides
of the temple round about, from the bottom of the hill, and had
performed a work that was greater than could be hoped for, (in which
work
long ages were spent by them, as well as all their sacred treasures
were
exhausted, which were still replenished by those tributes which were
sent
to God from the whole habitable earth,) they then encompassed their
upper
courts
with cloisters, as well as they [afterward]
did the lowest [court of the] temple. (courts
of the gentiles) The lowest part of this
was erected to the height of three hundred cubits,and in some
places
more; yet did not the entire depth of the foundations appear,
for
they brought earth,
and filled up the valleys, as being desirous
to make them on a level with the narrow streets of the city; wherein
they
made use of stones of forty cubits in magnitude; for the great plenty
of
money they then had, and the liberality of the people, made this
attempt
of theirs to succeed to an incredible degree; and what could not be so
much as hoped for as ever to be accomplished, was, by perseverance and
length of time, brought to perfection.
2. Now for the works that were above these
foundations,
these were not unworthy of such foundations; for all the cloisters
were
double, and the pillars to them belonging were twenty-five
cubits
in height, and
supported the cloisters. These pillars were of one entire stone each of
them, and that stone was white marble; and the roofs were adorned with
cedar, curiously graven. The natural magnificence, and excellent
polish,
and the harmony of the joints in these cloisters, afforded a prospect
that
was very remarkable; nor was it on the outside adorned with any work of
the painter or engraver.
The cloisters [of
the outmost court] were in breadth
thirty cubits, while the entire compass of it was by measure
six
furlongs, including the
tower of Antonia;
those
entire
courts that were exposed to the air were laid with stones of all
sorts.
When you go through these [first] cloisters,
unto
the second [court of the] temple, there was a partition
made
of stone all round, whose height was three cubits: its
construction
was very elegant; upon it stood pillars, at equal distances from one
another,
declaring the law of purity, some in Greek, and some in Roman letters,
that "no foreigner should go within that sanctuary" for that second
[court of the] temple was called "the Sanctuary," and was ascended
to by fourteen steps
from the first court. This court
was four-square, and had a wall about
it peculiar to itself; the height of its buildings, although it were on
the outside forty cubits, was
hidden by the steps, and on the inside
that height was but twenty-five cubits;
for it being built over
against a higher part of the hill with
steps, it was no further to be
entirely discerned within, being covered by the hill itself.
Beyond these thirteen steps(?)there
was the
distance of ten cubits;
(15 ft) this was all plain,;
whence there were other steps, each of five cubits (7 ft) a-piece, that led to
the gates, which gates on the north and south sides were eight,
on each
of those sides four, and of
necessity two on the east.
For since there was a partition built for the women on that side, as
the
proper place wherein they were to worship,there was a necessity for
a second gate for them: this gate was cut out of its wall, over against
the first gate (gate entering women's
court from the east).
There was also on the other sides (of
the women's court) one southern and
one northern gate, through which was a passage into the court of the
women;
for as to the other gates, the women were not allowed to pass through
them;
nor when they went through their own gate could they go beyond their
own
wall (could not leave court of the
women). This place was allotted
to the women of our own country, and of other countries, provided they
were of the same nation, and that equally.
The western part of this
court had no gate at all,
but the wall was built entire on that side. But then the
cloisters
which were betwixt the gates extended from the wall inward, before
the
chambers; for they were supported by very fine and large pillars.
These
cloisters
were single, and, excepting their magnitude, were no way inferior
to
those of the lower court.
3. Now nine of
these gates (
4 on the north and 4 on the south and 1 east gate, not including
the womans gate cut into the east wall)
were on every side covered over with gold and silver, as were the jambs
of their doors and their lintels; but there was one gate that was
without the [inward court of the] holy house, which was of Corinthian
brass,
(Nicanor
gate/east upper gate)
and greatly excelled
those that were only covered over with silver and gold.
Each gate had two
doors, whose height was severally
thirty cubits, and their breadth fifteen. However, they had large
spaces within of thirty cubits (long),
and had on each side rooms, and those, both in breadth and in
length,
built like towers, and their height was above forty cubits. Two
pillars did also support these rooms, and were in circumference
twelve
cubits.
Now the magnitudes of the other gates were
equal one to another; but that over the
Corinthian gate, which opened
on the east over against (opposite
of) the gate of the holy house itself,
was much larger; for its height was fifty cubits; and its doors
were forty cubits; and it was adorned after a most costly manner, as
having
much richer and thicker plates of silver and gold upon them than the
other.
These nine gates
had that silver and gold poured upon them by Alexander, the father of
Tiberius.
Now there were fifteen steps, which
led away from the wall of the court of the women to this greater
gate;
whereas those that led thither from the other gates were five steps
shorter.
(10
steps)
The Court of Israel
(men's court)
was west of the Women's Court and was part of the sacred inner court of
the Temple. It was a rectangular area that was just
inside
the eastern wall of the sacred Temple court. It covered half the
area
from the eastern wall and the Great Altar, and it was slightly
lower
in elevation than the Priest's Court to its west, where the offerings
were
made.
Herod's Temple according to
Josephus
Flavius
(My notes added in italic)
Antiquities of the Jews - Book
15 Ch 11
3. So Herod took away the old foundations,
and laid others, and erected the temple upon them, being in length
a hundred cubits, and in height twenty additional cubits, which
[twenty],
upon the sinking of their foundations (23) fell down; and this part it
was that we resolved to raise again in the days of Nero. Now the temple
was built of stones that were white and strong, and each of their
length
was twenty-five cubits, their height was eight, and their breadth about
twelve; and the whole structure, as also the structure of the royal cloister,
was on each side much lower, but the middle was much higher,
till they
were visible to those that dwelt in the country for a great many
furlongs,
but chiefly to such as lived over against them, and those that
approached
to them. The temple had doors also at the entrance, and lintels over
them, of the same height with the temple itself. They were adorned
with embroidered veils, with their flowers of purple, and pillars
interwoven;
and over these, but under the crown-work, was spread out a golden vine,
with its branches hanging down from a great height, the largeness and
fine
workmanship of which was a surprising sight to the spectators, to see
what
vast materials there were, and with what great skill the workmanship
was
done.
He also encompassed the entire temple with
very large cloisters, contriving them to be in a due proportion thereto;
and he laid out larger sums of money upon them than had been done
before
him, till it seemed that no one else had so greatly adorned the temple
as he had done.
There was a large wall to both the
cloisters, which wall was itself the most prodigious work that was
ever heard of by man.
The hill was a rocky ascent, that declined by degrees towards the east
parts of the city, till it came to an elevated level.
This hill it was which Solomon, who was the
first of our kings, by Divine revelation, encompassed with a wall; it
was
of excellent workmanship upwards, and round the
top of it."
He also built a wall below, beginning at the
bottom, which was encompassed
by a deep valley; and at the south side he laid rocks together,
and bound them one to another with lead, and included some of the inner
parts, till it proceeded to a great height, and till both the
largeness
of the square edifice and its altitude
were immense, and till the vastness of the stones in the front were
plainly
visible on the outside, yet so that the inward parts were fastened
together
with iron, and preserved the joints immovable for all
future
times.
When this work [for the foundation] was done in this manner, and
joined together as part of the hill itself to the
very top of it, he wrought it all into one outward surface,
and filled up the hollow places which were about the wall, and made it
a level on the external upper surface, and a smooth level also.
This hill was walled all round, and in compass
four furlongs,
[the distance of] each angle containing in length a furlong:
The Roman foot at 29.6 centimeters
(11.7 inches).
This is equivalent to 606.95 feet, 202.32
yards, or 185.00 meters.
the Roman mile would have been 1480 meters
or 4856 feet. 1/8 of that would equal
607 feet for a furlong according
to the Roman measurement.) Making a Roman furlong about 185
meters.
but within this wall, and on the
very top
of all, there ran another wall of
stone also, having,
on the east quarter, a double cloister (Nicanor gate), of
the same length with the
wall; in the midst of which was the
temple itself. (Inner
wall and double inner east gate.) This
cloister looked (faced)
to
the
(inner)gates
of the temple; and
it had been adorned by many kings in former times; and round about
the entire temple were fixed the spoils taken from barbarous nations;
all
these had been dedicated to the temple by Herod, with the addition of
those
he had taken from the Arabians.
5. Now in the western quarters of the
enclosure of the temple
there were four gates;
the first led to the king's palace, and went to a passage over
the intermediate valley; (Wilson's Gate)
two more led to the suburbs of the city; (Two
lower gates)
and the last led to the other city, where the road descended
down into the valley, by a great number of steps, (Robinson's
Arch) and thence up again by the ascent for the city lay
over against (across from) the temple
in the manner of a theater, and was encompassed with a deep
valley along the entire south quarter;
but the fourth front of the temple,
which was southward,
had indeed itself gates in its middle,
as also it had the royal cloisters, with three walks, which
reached
in length from the east valley unto that on the west, for it was
impossible
it should reach any farther: and this cloister (covered
area. Court of the gentiles) deserves to be mentioned better
than any other under the sun; for while the (Kidron)
valley was very deep, and its bottom could not be seen, if you looked
from
above into the depth, this further vastly high elevation of the
cloister
stood upon that height, insomuch that if any one looked down from the
top
of the battlements, or down both those altitudes, he would be giddy,
while
his sight could not reach to such an immense depth.
This cloister had pillars that stood in four
rows one over against (across
from or opposite of) the other all along,
for
the fourth row was interwoven into the wall, which [also was built
of stone]; and the thickness of each pillar was such, that three men
might,
with their arms extended, fathom it round, and join their hands again,
while its length was twenty-seven feet (High),
with a double spiral at its basis; and the number of all the pillars
[in
that court] was a hundred and sixty-two. Their chapiters were
made
with sculptures after the Corinthian order, and caused an amazement [to
the spectators], by reason of the grandeur of the whole.
These four rows of pillars included three
intervals (isles) for walking
in the middle of this cloister; two of which walks were made parallel
to
each other, and were contrived after the same manner; the breadth (width)
of each of them was thirty feet, the length was a
furlong,
(1/8
of a mile or 600 ft.) and the height fifty feet; but
the breadth of the middle part of the cloister was one and
a
half of the other, (45 feet wide) and
the height was double, for it was much higher than those on each
side; but the roofs were adorned with deep sculptures in wood,
representing
many sorts of figures. The middle was much higher than the rest, and
the
wall of the front was adorned with beams, resting upon pillars, that
were
interwoven into it, and that front was all of polished stone, insomuch
that its fineness, to such as had not seen it, was incredible, and to
such
as had seen it, was greatly amazing. Thus was the first enclosure. (Court
of the Gentiles)
In the midst of which, and not far from it,
was the second, to be
gone up to by a few steps: this was encompassed by a stone wall
for a partition, with an inscription,
which forbade any foreigner to go in under pain of death (Sorag). Now this inner
enclosure had on its southern
and northern quarters three gates
[equally] distant one from another; but on the east quarter,
towards
the sun-rising, there was one large gate (East
gate), through which such as were pure
came in, together with their wives; but the temple further inward
(Inner
courts)
in that gate (Nicanor gate)
was not allowed to the women; but still more inward was there a third
[court
of the] temple, whereinto it was not lawful for any but the priests
alone
to enter. The temple itself was within this; and before that temple was
the altar, upon which we offer our sacrifices and burnt-offerings to
God.
Into none of these three did king Herod enter, (24) for he was
forbidden,
because he was not a priest. However, he took care of the cloisters and
the outer enclosures, and these he built in eight years.
6. But the temple itself was built by the
priests in a year and six
months; upon which all the people were full of joy; and presently they
returned thanks, in the first place, to God; and in the next place, for
the alacrity the king had showed. They feasted and celebrated this
rebuilding
of the temple: and for the king, he sacrificed three hundred oxen to
God,
as did the rest every one according to his ability; the number of which
sacrifices is not possible to set down, for it cannot be that we should
truly relate it; for at the same time with this celebration for the
work
about the temple fell also the day of the king's inauguration, which he
kept of an old custom as a festival, and it now coincided with the
other,
which coincidence of them both made the festival most illustrious.
Tractate Talmid of the Mishnah describes the
daily work of the priests
in detail. The priests who served in the Temple slept in a
dormitory
called the Hearth Room because of the fireplace that kept the sleeping
quarters warm (Gemara, Yoma 20b). The Hearth Room was
built
into the eastern part of the northern wall that surrounded the sacred
precinct
of
the Temple proper. It extended partly into the sacred
area,
while the part that was within the wall was considered to be outside
the
sacred area. Within the sacred precinct, the priests were
required
to be in a state of ritual purity, so the dormitory had its own
mikvah
or
ritual bath in a lower chamber outside the sacred precinct.
Steps of the women's court
In the Temple they were played with the temple
ensemble and other instruments
on the fifteen steps (maalot) (Mishan, Suka, 5:4) on the feast
of
simchat bet hashoeva and also below ezrat Israel (court of the Men)
and open to to the ezra of the women (court of the women) (Mishna,
Midot,
2:6). The 15 steps in the Court of the Women were shallower
than
all the others (Josephus-War 5.206). The fifteen Songs of
Ascents
in the Psalms were sung by the Levites on the steps.
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"Locating
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