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The Jerusalem Temple ( Hebrew: beit ha-mikdash) was the center of Israelite and Jewish worship, primarily for the offering of sacrifices known as the korbanot. It was located on Jerusalem's Temple Mount. According to the Bible, the First Temple was built by Solomon. It replaced the Tabernacle of Moses. Solomon's Temple was destroyed centuries later by the Babylonians. The Second Temple was rebuilt decades later at the same location. It too was eventually destroyed, this time by the Romans.
The dual destruction of the two temples, five hundred years apart, marks two central eras in Jewish history: the first marks the beginning of the Babylonian Exile; the second marks the beginning of the Jewish diaspora.
1 Etymology
The word Temple is derived not from the Hebrew but from the Latin word for place of worship, templum. The name given in Scripture for the building was Beit Adonai or "House of AdonaiIn Judaism, the name of God is more than a distinguishing title. It represents the Jewish conception of the divine nature, and of the relation of God to the Jewish people. The various Jewish names of God represent God as He is known, and represents divine" (although this name was also often used for other temples, or metaphorically). Because of the prohibition against pronouncing the holy name, the common Hebrew name for the Temple is Beit ha-Mikdash or "The Holy House", and only the Temple in Jerusalem is referred to by this name.
2 First and Second Temples
Two distinct temples stood in succession on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem:
- Solomon's Temple, from approximately the 10th century BC11th century BC 10th century BC 9th century BC other centuries) ( 1000s BC 990s BC 980s BC 970s BC 960s BC 950s BC 940s BC 930s BC 920s BC 910s BC 900s BC other decades) ( 3rd millennium BC 2nd millennium BC 1st millennium BC) Events Partition of the anci, replacing the Tabernacle, destroyed by NebuchadnezzarNebuchadnezzar or Nevuchadnetzar Standard Hebrew Nvuadnear Tiberian Hebrew Nuanar Akkadian origin Nabu-kudurri-uur "Nabu, defend my boundary marker. was the name of several kings of Babylonia. The best known of these kings was Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon and by the Babylonians in 586 BC.
- The Second Temple was built after the return from the Babylonian Captivity, around 536 BC (completed on March 12, 515 BC).
3 Julian's Third Temple
There was an aborted project by the Roman emperor Julian ( 331- 363) to allow the Jews to build a Third Temple. There is reason to believe that Julian wanted the rebuilt Third Temple to be for the purpose of his own apotheosis, rather than the worship of the Jewish God. Rabbi Hilkiyah, one of the leading Rabbis of the time, spurned Julian's money, arguing that Gentiles should play no part in the rebuilding of the temple. [1].
