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What time Ierusalem that Cittie faire, Was sieg'd and sackt by great Vespasians heire

Canaan's Calamitie, Jerusalem's Misery ; The dolefull destruction of faire Ierusalem by Tytus, the Sonne of Vaspasian Emperour of Rome, in the yeare of Christ's Incarnation 74 (1598) Wherein is shewed the woonderfull miseries which God brought upon that Citty for sinne, being utterly over-throwne and destroyed, by Sword, pestilence and famine.

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Jerusalem, Judea & Oikumene

Charts & Maps | Jerusalem - Temple | Masada | Portraits
2,000 Years of Josephus | Numismatic History | The Roman Empire

Herod's Temple

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Josephus on the Burning of the Temple, the Flavian Triumph and the Fall of Rome (PDF) | Josephus as a Source for the Burning of the Temple (PDF) | Paul and God's Temple - A Historical Interpretation of Cultic Imagery in the Corinthian Correspondence (PDF)

Views of the Temple as it Appeared in the First Century

Simon the Temple Builder

One of the ossuaries found in a tomb in the Old City of Jerusalem bore the inscription in Aramaic of "Simon the Temple [hklh] Builder" on two sides. Presumably, this man was involved in the construction of Herod's Temple, a fact for which he wanted to be to be remembered.

From The Mount of Olives

Southeast Corner
of the Temple Complex

The city was built upon two parallel ridges which were divided by a steep valley.
The lower hill to the east was the site of the original city dating back to the days of the Jebusites.
The Temple sat at the northern edge of this ridge.

The main entrance to the Temple Mount was through the Hulda Gates, located at the bottom left of the photo. These gates led to a long staircase emerging into the Court of the Gentiles.

Surrounding the Court of the Gentiles were a series of "porches" or cloisters through which ran double rows of Corinthian pillars, each cut from marble and measuring 37 feet in height and covered by a flat roof. The entire court was paved with marble. The southern of these porches was known as "Solomon's Porch" (Acts 3:11).

The Court of the Gentiles derived its name from the fact that Gentiles were permitted into this area provided they conducted themselves in a reverent manner.

The tower in the foreground was the "Place of Trumpeting" and was also known as the Pinnacle of the Temple. It was from this vantage point that the trumpet would be sounded to signal the beginning of the sacrifices.

Southwest Corner
of the Temple Complex

Site of the Martyrdom of James

"To the Place of Trumpeting"

This inscribed stone was found at the southwest corner of the Temple, which suggests that this was the place where the trumpeting occurred.

	This inscription on what is probably part of the parapet of the outer wall is translated as "To [or for] the place of trumpeting to...." It was discovered during B. Mazar's excavations at the base of the Herodian wall at the southwest corner of the Temple Mount. It probably served to indicate where a priest would stand to blow the trumpet to begin and end the Sabbath. Josephus explains the procedure: "And the last [tower] was erected above the roof of the Priest's Chambers, where it was the custom for one of the priests to stand and to give notice, by the sound of a trumpet, in the afternoon of the approach, and on the following evening of the close, of every seventh day, announcing to the people the respective hours for ceasing work and for resuming their labors" (War 4.582-83).

Northwest Corner
of the Temple Complex

The Inner Courts
of the Temple Complex

The Court of the Women was not exclusive to women. It was called this because this was as far within the Temple as women were permitted to enter. The court was surrounded by colonnades. Along the walls there were thirteen jars which served as receptacles for various offerings.

Worshipers would come in and drop their offering into one of the jars. It was in such a manner that Jesus and His disciples would have watched the poor widow bringing her offering into the Temple (Mark 12:43).

On the west side of the Court of Women were 15 steps that led up to the Nicanor Gate, also made of Corinthian Brass. This gate led into the inner courtyard of the Temple.

The inner courts were made up of the Court of the Men, the Court of the Levites, and the Court of the Priests. Within the Court of the Priests there were the Altar and the Laver.

The altar was made of rough, unhewn stones. It stood 15 feet high and was surrounded by a raised platform so that the priests could reach its surface. In contrast to the Altar of Incense within the Temple, this altar was used for sacrificing animals.

The Laver was an immense brass bowl of water supported by the statues of 12 lions. It was drained every evening and refilled each morning. It was also known as the "sea." This is significant when we read in Revelation 4:5 of the Throne of God, the elders and a sea of glass like crystal.

Twelve more steps led up to the Temple itself. Two great columns flanked the doors leading into the Temple. Only the priests were permitted through these doors and only at the appropriate times.