route to the Promised Land.—Hab. 3:3, 4; compare Deuteronomy 33:2.

TEMANITE

A term generally understood to refer to a native of Teman in Edom. An early Edomite king, Husham, came from the “land of the Temanites,” and Eliphaz, one of Job’s three companions, was a Temanite. (Gen. 36:31-34; Job 2:11; 4:1; 42:7) That Eliphaz came from Teman in Edom is suggested by the understanding that the land of Uz, where Job lived, was near Edom. Some scholars, however, believe that there is a possibility that the Eliphaz named in the book of Job was, not from Teman, but from Tema, a place identified with an oasis on the Arabian Peninsula about 250 miles (402 kilometers) SE of Ezion-geber.—Job 6:19.

TEMENI

(Teʹme·ni) [possibly, southern].

A son of Ashhur by his wife Naarah; of the tribe of Judah.—1 Chron. 4:1, 5, 6.

TEMPLE

[Heb., heh·khalʹ, temple, palace; Gr., hi·e·ronʹ, temple; na·osʹ, sanctuary, a dwelling (specifically, of a god), temple]. Temples, literal, visionary and symbolic, are described in the Scriptures, the primary ones being the temples built by (1) Solomon, (2) Zerubbabel and (3) Herod the Great, and (4) the visionary temple of Ezekiel and (5) the spiritual temple.

SOLOMON’S TEMPLE

King David entertained a strong desire to build a house for Jehovah, to contain the ark of the covenant, which was “dwelling in the middle of tent cloths.” Jehovah was pleased with David’s proposal, but told him that, due to the fact that he had shed much blood in warfare, his son (Solomon) would be privileged to do the building. This was not to say that God did not approve David’s wars fought in behalf of Jehovah’s name and His people. But the temple was to be built in peace by a man of peace, foreshadowing the Great Temple Builder and Prince of Peace Jesus Christ.—2 Sam. 7:1-16; 1 Ki. 5:3-5; 8:17; 1 Chron. 17:1-14; 22:6-10.

Cost

Later David purchased the threshing floor of Ornan (Araunah) the Jebusite on Mount Moriah as the temple site. (2 Sam. 24:24, 25; 1 Chron. 21:24, 25) He amassed 100,000 talents of gold, one million talents of silver, and copper and iron in great abundance, besides contributing from his personal fortune 3,000 talents of gold and 7,000 talents of silver. He also received as contributions from the princes, 5,000 talents and 10,000 darics of gold and 10,000 talents of silver, as well as much iron and copper. (1 Chron. 22:14; 29:3-7) This total, 108,000 talents and 10,000 darics of gold and 1,017,000 talents of silver, would be worth $5,623,273,830 at current values. His son Solomon did not spend the entire amount in building the temple; the remainder he put in the temple treasury.—1 Ki. 7:51; 2 Chron. 5:1.

Workmen

King Solomon began building the temple in the fourth year of his reign (1034 B.C.E.), in the second month, Ziv, following the architectural plan that David had received by inspiration. (1 Ki. 6:1; 1 Chron. 28:11-19) The work continued over a seven-year period. (1 Ki. 6:37, 38) In exchange for wheat, barley, oil and wine, Hiram king of Tyre supplied timbers from Lebanon and skilled workers in wood and stone, and one special expert, also named Hiram, whose father was a Tyrian and his mother an Israelitess of the tribe of Naphtali. This man was a fine workman in gold, silver, copper, iron, wood, stones and fabrics.—1 Ki. 5:8-11, 18; 7:13, 14, 40, 45; 2 Chron. 2:13-16.

In organizing the work, Solomon conscripted 30,000 men out of Israel, sending them to Lebanon in shifts of 10,000 for a month, with a two-month stay at home between shifts. (1 Ki. 5:13, 14) As burden bearers he conscripted 70,000 from among the “alien residents” in the land, and as cutters 80,000. (1 Ki. 5:15; 9:20, 21; 2 Chron. 2:2) As foremen over the work Solomon appointed 550 men and apparently 3,300 as assistants. (1 Ki. 5:16; 9:22, 23) It appears that, of these, 250 were Israelites and 3,600 were “alien residents” in Israel.—2 Chron. 2:17, 18.

Length of “cubit” used

In the following discussion of the measurements of the three temples built by Solomon, Zerubbabel and Herod, we shall calculate them on the basis of the cubit of 17.5 inches (c. 44.4 centimeters). However, it is possible that they used the longer cubit of about 20.4 inches (51.8 centimeters).—Compare 2 Chronicles 3:3 (which mentions a “length in cubits by the former measurement,” this perhaps being a longer measure than the cubit that came to be commonly in use), and Ezekiel 40:5; see CUBIT.

Plan and materials

The temple, a most magnificent structure, followed the general plan of the tabernacle. The Holy and Most Holy were of the same proportions, but their inside dimensions were twice those of the tabernacle. The Holy was forty cubits (c. 58.3 feet; 17.8 meters) long and twenty cubits (c. 29.2 feet; 8.9 meters) wide and high. The Most Holy was a cube twenty cubits on a side. (1 Ki. 6:20; 2 Chron. 3:8) Additionally, there were roof chambers that were approximately ten cubits (c. 14.6 feet; 4.4 meters) high, since the building reached a height of thirty cubits (c. 43.8 feet; c. 13.3 meters). (1 Ki. 6:2; 1 Chron. 28:11) There were also other buildings around it, containing storage chambers, dining rooms, and so forth.—1 Ki. 6:4-6, 10.

Materials used were primarily stone and wood. The floors of these rooms were overlaid with juniper wood, the inside walls were of cedar engraved with carvings of cherubs, palm trees and blossoms; the walls and ceiling were entirely overlaid with gold. (1 Ki. 6:15, 18, 21, 22, 29) The doors of the Holy Place (at the temple entrance) were made of juniper, carved, and overlaid with gold foil. (1 Ki. 6:34, 35) Doors of oil-tree wood, likewise carved and overlaid with gold, provided entrance between the Holy and Most Holy. Whatever their exact position, these doors did not fully replace the curtain arrangement that had been in effect in the tabernacle. (Compare 2 Chronicles 3:14.) Two gigantic cherubs of oil-tree wood, gold overlaid, occupied the Most Holy. Under these the ark of the covenant was placed.—1 Ki. 6:23-28, 31-33; 8:6; see CHERUB No. 1.

All the utensils of the Holy Place were of gold: the altar of incense and the table of showbread, and ten lampstands, together with their appurtenances. Beside the entrance to the Holy Place (the first compartment) stood two copper pillars, called “Jachin” and “Boaz.” (1 Ki. 7:15-22, 48-50; see BOAZ, II; JACHIN No. 3.) The courtyard was constructed of fine stone and cedarwood. (1 Ki. 6:36) The courtyard furnishings, the altar of sacrifice, the great “molten sea,” ten carriages for water basins, and other utensils were of copper.—1 Ki. 7:23-47; see ALTAR; GATE, GATEWAY; HOLY PLACE; MOST HOLY.

An outstanding feature of the construction of this temple was the fact that all the stone was cut at the quarry, so that it fit perfectly at the temple site. “As for hammers and axes or any tools of iron, they were not heard in the house while it was being built.” (1 Ki. 6:7) The work was completed in seven and a half years (from spring, 1034 B.C.E. to fall [Bul, the eighth month], 1027 B.C.E.).—1 Ki. 6:1, 38.

Inauguration

In the seventh month, Ethanim, apparently in the twelfth year of Solomon’s reign (1026 B.C.E.), Solomon congregated the men of Israel to Jerusalem for the temple inauguration and the Festival of Booths. The tabernacle with its holy furniture was brought up, and the ark of the covenant was placed in the Most Holy. At this Jehovah’s cloud filled the temple. Solomon then blessed Jehovah and the congregation of Israel and, standing on a special platform before the copper altar of sacrifice, offered a long prayer praising Jehovah and asking for his loving-kindness and mercy in behalf of those who turned toward Him to fear and to serve Him, both the Israelite and the foreigner. A grand sacrifice of 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep was offered. The inauguration occupied seven days, and the Festival of Booths seven days, after which, on the twenty-third day of the month, Solomon sent the people home joyful and thankful for Jehovah’s goodness and bountifulness.—1 Ki. chap. 8; 2 Chron. 5:1–7:10; see SOLOMON (Inauguration of the temple).

History

This temple existed until it was destroyed by the Babylonian army under King Nebuchadnezzar, in 607 B.C.E. (2 Ki. 25:9; 2 Chron. 36:19; Jer. 52:13) Due to the falling away of Israel to false religion, God permitted the nations to harass Judah and Jerusalem, at times stripping the temple of its treasures. The temple also suffered periods of neglect. King Shishak of Egypt robbed it of its treasures (c. 993 B.C. E.) in the days of Rehoboam the son of Solomon, only about thirty-three years after its inauguration. (1 Ki. 14:25, 26; 2 Chron. 12:9) King Asa (977-937 B.C.E.) had respect for Jehovah’s house, but to protect Jerusalem he foolishly bribed King Benhadad of Syria, with silver and gold from the treasures of the temple, to break his covenant with Baasha king of Israel.—1 Ki. 15:18, 19; 2 Chron. 15:17, 18; 16:2, 3.

After a period of turbulence and neglect of the temple, King Jehoash of Judah (897-858 B.C.E.) oversaw its repair. (2 Ki. 12:4-12; 2 Chron. 24:4-14) In the days of his son Amaziah, Jehoash king of Israel robbed it. (2 Ki. 14:13, 14) King Jotham (777-762 B.C.E.) did some construction work on the temple area, building the “upper gate.” (2 Ki. 15:32, 35; 2 Chron. 27:1, 3) King Ahaz of Judah (761-746 B.C.E.) not only sent the treasures of the temple to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria as a bribe, but he also polluted the temple by building an altar patterned after one in Damascus, and replacing the copper altar of the temple with it. (2 Ki. 16:5-16) Finally he closed the doors of Jehovah’s house.—2 Chron. 28:24.

Ahaz’ son Hezekiah (745-716 B.C.E.) did what he could to undo the bad works of his father. At the very beginning of his reign he reopened the temple and had it cleaned up. (2 Chron. 29:3, 15, 16) However, later on, for fear of Sennacherib king of Assyria, he cut off the doors and the doorposts of the temple that he himself had caused to be overlaid with gold and sent them to Sennacherib.—2 Ki. 18:15, 16.

But when Hezekiah died the temple entered a half century of desecration and disrepair. His son Manasseh (716-661 B.C.E.) went beyond any of Judah’s previous kings in wickedness, setting up altars “to all the army of the heavens in two courtyards of the house of Jehovah.” (2 Ki. 21:1-5; 2 Chron. 33:1-4) By the time of Manasseh’s grandson Josiah (659-628 B.C.E.) the formerly magnificent edifice was in a state of disrepair. Evidently it was in a disorganized or cluttered condition, for High Priest Hilkiah’s finding the book of the law (possibly an original scroll written by Moses) was an exciting discovery. (2 Ki. 22:3-13; 2 Chron. 34:8-21) After the temple’s repair and cleansing, the greatest Passover since the days of Samuel the prophet was celebrated. (2 Ki. 23:21-23; 2 Chron. 35:17-19) This was during the ministry of the prophet Jeremiah. (Jer. 1:1-3) From this time until the temple’s destruction it remained open and in use by the priesthood, though many of the priests were corrupt.

THE TEMPLE BUILT BY ZERUBBABEL

As foretold by Jehovah’s prophet Isaiah, God raised up Cyrus king of Persia as a liberator of Israel from the power of Babylon. (Isa. 45:1) Jehovah also stirred up his own people under the leadership of Zerubbabel of the tribe of Judah to return to Jerusalem for the purpose of rebuilding the temple, in 537 B.C.E., after seventy years of desolation, as Jeremiah had foretold. (Ezra 1:1-6; 2:1, 2; Jer. 29:10) This structure, though not nearly so glorious as Solomon’s temple, endured longer, standing for nearly 500 years, from 515 B.C.E. to very late in the first century B.C.E. (The temple built by Solomon had served about 420 years, from 1027 to 607 B.C.E.)

In Cyrus’ decree he ordered: “As for anyone that is left from all the places where he is residing as an alien, let the men of his place assist him with silver and with gold and with goods and with domestic animals along with the voluntary offering for the house of the true God, which was in Jerusalem.” (Ezra 1:1-4) Cyrus also returned five thousand four hundred vessels of gold and silver that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Solomon’s temple.—Ezra 1:7-11.

In the seventh month (Ethanim or Tishri) of the year 537 B.C.E. the altar was set up, and in the following year the foundation of the new temple was laid. As Solomon had done, the builders hired Sidonians and Tyrians to bring cedar timbers from Lebanon. (Ezra 3:7) The building work progressed for about fifteen years until it came under official ban of the king of Persia due to accusations written to the king by opposers, particularly the Samaritans.—Ezra chap. 4.

The temple builders weakened, but Jehovah sent his prophets Haggai and Zechariah to stir them to renew their efforts, and in the second year of Darius I (520/519 B.C.E.) a decree was made upholding Cyrus’ original order and commanding that monies be provided from the royal treasury, to supply what the builders and priests needed. (Ezra 5:1, 2; 6:1-12) The building work resumed promptly and the house of Jehovah was completed on the third day of Adar in the sixth year of Darius (probably about March 5/6 of 515 B.C.E.), after which the Jews inaugurated the rebuilt temple and held the Passover.—Ezra 6:13-22.

Little is known about the details of the architectural plan of this second temple. Cyrus’ decree authorized the building of a structure “its height being sixty cubits [c. 87.5 feet; 26.7 meters], its width sixty cubits, with three layers of stones rolled into place and one layer of timbers.” The length is not stated. (Ezra 6:3, 4) It had dining rooms and storerooms, and undoubtedly had roof chambers, and possibly other buildings were associated with it, along the same lines as Solomon’s temple. Apparently it was less magnificent, however, for some of those returned Jews who had seen the former temple foolishly counted it in their eyes “as nothing” by comparison.—Hag. 2:3.

This second temple did not contain the ark of the covenant, which seems to have disappeared before Nebuchadnezzar captured and looted Solomon’s temple in 607 B.C.E. According to the account in the apocryphal book of First Maccabees (1:21-24, 57; 4:38, 44-51) there was one lampstand instead of the ten that were in Solomon’s; the golden altar, the table of showbread and the vessels are mentioned, as well as the altar of burnt offering, which, instead of being of copper, as was the altar in Solomon’s temple, is there described as being of stone. This altar, after being defiled by King Antiochus Epiphanes (in 168 B.C.E.), was rebuilt with new stones under the direction of Judas Maccabaeus. The record by Nehemiah reveals that this temple contained storerooms and dining halls.—Neh. 13:4, 5, 9.

THE TEMPLE BUILT BY HEROD

This temple is not described in any detail in the Scriptures. The primary source is Josephus, who personally saw the structure, and who reports on its construction in his Wars of the Jews and Antiquities of the Jews. The Jewish Mishnah supplies some information, and a little is gained from archaeology. Therefore the description set forth here is from these sources, which in some instances may be open to question.

Josephus says, in one place (Wars of the Jews, Book I, chap. XXI, par. 1), that Herod rebuilt the temple in the fifteenth year of his reign, but in Antiquities of the Jews (Book XV, chap. XI, par. 1), he says it was in the eighteenth year. This latter date is generally accepted by scholars, although the beginning of Herod’s reign, or how Josephus calculated it, is not established with certainty. The sanctuary itself took eighteen months to build, but the courtyards, and so forth, were under construction for eight years. When certain Jews approached Jesus Christ in 30 C.E., saying, “This temple was built in forty-six years” (John 2:20), these Jews were apparently talking about the work that continued on the complex of courts and buildings up until then. The work was not finished until about six years before the destruction of the temple in 70 C.E.

Because of hatred and distrust of Herod, the Jews would not permit him to rebuild the temple, as he proposed, until he had everything prepared for the new building. For the same reason they did not consider this temple as a third one, but only as a rebuilt one, speaking only of the first and second temples (Solomon’s and Zerubbabel’s).

As to Josephus’ measurements, Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible says: “His horizontal dimensions are so minutely accurate that we almost suspect he had before his eyes, when writing, some ground-plan of the building prepared in the quartermaster-general’s department of Titus’s army. They form a strange contrast with his dimensions in height, which, with scarcely an exception, can be shown to be exaggerated, generally doubled. As the buildings were all thrown down during the siege, it was impossible to convict him of error in respect to elevations.”—P. 3203.

Colonnades and gates

Josephus writes that Herod doubled the size of the temple area, building up the sides of Mount Moriah with great stone walls and leveling off an area 400 cubits (c. 583 feet; 178 meters) square on the top of the mountain. On the outer edge of the