Solomon Temple Research Paper

Solomon’s temple was the first to be built in the mid-10th century BCE. It was then destroyed by the Babylonians about 400 years after it was constructed. Herod then filled the need for a new temple by beginning his reconstruction of it in 19 BCE. His temple was later destroyed by the Romans. The first and second temples differed in size and layout but were fairly similar in respect to their composition. Both Herod’s temple and Solomon’s temple were the most significant structures in Jerusalem while they stood. The temple provided a place of worship and identity to the Israelites living at the time and thus were and are very important parts of their history. The temples themselves were thought to house the presence of God. This matters because in order to understand the Israelites relationship with God as well as how they worshiped him, one must have a proper understanding of the temples they gathered at and performed important rituals in. First of all, Solomon’s temple was much smaller than Herod’s. According to 1 Kings 6:2, Solomon’s temple was sixty cubits long and twenty cubits wide with a …show more content…
Herod added a retaining wall around his temple and courtyards with bridges that stretched to the city to the west of it. (Rusty Russel) Herod also raised his temple’s foundation by six cubits which got rid of the ramp that once led up to the Holy of Holies room in Solomon’s temple. The Holy of Holies rooms were very different from temple to temple as well. In the first temple this room contained the Arc of the covenant as well as the tablets with the ten commandments written on them. In contrast, the Holy of Holies room in the second temple was devoid of any holy objects. (Writer) Solomon’s temple also included a sea of bronze containing twelve bull statues. Herod replaced these bronze bulls with a small wash basin. (Badillo) From an ariel view, both temples resembled a T shape or some might say the human