KING SOLOMON'S TEMPLE
by
W. Bro. Garnet Holmes
From the first time that I trod the outer courts of the
Temple, I have had a fascination with this magnificent edifice built by King
Solomon to house the Arc of the Covenant and to serve as a permanent dwelling
place for Jehovah, the Lord God.
For many years there had not been a suitable house for the
Ark wherein were placed the two tablets of stones outlining the Ten Commandments
given to Moses by God, an ‘omer of manna' ["..that they may see the bread
wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the
land of Egypt..."] and the rod of Aaron. Bezaleel and Aholiab were made "wise
hearted to build the tabernacle and all the furniture including the Ark". This
Ark had been made from acacia wood (shittim) and lined inside and out with pure
gold. Four gold rings were affixed to the outside through which were inserted
two carrying poles. These poles had been fashioned from acacia wood and covered
in pure gold. Across the golden lid of the Ark, called the ‘Mercy Seat', two
cherubim faced each other. The Ark measured 4 ft 4 inches by 2ft 7 inches.
During the long period of wandering in the Sinai desert, the People of Israel
kept The Ark of the Covenant in a special tent called the Tabernacle, made
according to precise dimensions and specifications contained in the Book of
Exodus. Although King David had received from God the plans for the Holy House,
and although he coveted the special honour and distinction of being the
architect and creator, we learn in the M.E.M. Degree that God refused him. In
point of fact, David was refused because his hands were covered in the blood of
his enemies. By the time his son, Solomon, had assumed the throne, there was
peace on all his borders and he had no enemies. He could begin the Holy work
without interruption and focus all his energies and attention on it. His father
had conquered the area known as ‘Jebus' in 1,000 B.C. David had established it
as a capital city and renamed it ‘Jerusalem'. Here it was, on Mount Moriah, that
Abraham had been prepared to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, to the Lord.
Consecrated as Holy ground, it was the logical choice for the Temple site.
Hiram, the Phoenician King of Tyre, ruled from 970-936 B.C.
He had already established friendly relations with King David of Jerusalem with
the commercial ventures that were carried on between their two nations. When
Solomon approached him for help with the great undertaking of building a
magnificent temple , King Hiram was ready to accommodate with materials and
labourers.
The Phoenicians called themselves ‘Kinahna' meaning
Canaanites. The Greeks called them ‘Phoenicians' which means purple because of
the royal purple cloth the Greeks traded with them. These people were traders,
not warriors. From history we acknowledge the Phoenicians as a very civilized
and intelligent race. They were extremely skilled as artists and artisans. From
the Egyptians they had developed a high degree of skill in making glass and
weaving the imported linen. Their skill in navigation and seafaring was
unparalleled and to them is credited the discovery and use of Polaris, the Pole
Star. They were so successful as seamen that, by about 1,000 B.C., they had
gained control of all the trading commerce on the Mediterranean, had established
colonies all along the Mediterranean and had straddled this huge coastal area
with factories that were centred at Tyre. They exported cedar from the Lebanon
forests and many articles made from cedar, dyed woollen cloth, glassware, metal
ware, pottery, and ivory. They imported tin, silver, iron and lead from Spain;
gold, spices, wrought iron, horses and superior wool from Arabia; and corn of
superior quality from Israel. Papyrus , ivory, ebony, silk and spices were
imported from Egypt; copper and various kinds of raw materials were imported
from Cyprus. They smelted their metals with the aid of blowpipes and bellows.
They blasted in their mines by using fire and vinegar. They even had learned the
practical use of pulleys from their Asiatic trading partners. The Phoenicians'
chief gift to the world was the invention of an alphabet which later evolved and
was adapted by the greeks to become the backbone of the modern alphabet.
‘Papyrus' (paper) was familiar to them from their trade with the Egyptians. They
were great geometricians and they had a proven record of building skills.
Solomon was familiar with the Phoenician Temple of Melqart, and wanted similar
magnificence for his Temple at Jerusalem. Historians refer to this temple as one
of unmatched magnificence in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Solomon contracted with King Hiram of Tyre to receive Cedar,-
which is still world renowned today- Cypress and Juniper logs from the
mountainous forests of Lebanon. Cedar of Lebanon was of especially good quality,
solid, not many knots, and of a deep rich, reddish colour. They could sometimes
reach a height of well over a 100 feet. They are now extremely rare. (Hiram)
"And we shall cut wood out of Lebanon, as much as Thou shalt need....floats by
sea to Joppa". What we do not realize from this passage is that once the wood
was cut, it had to be taken down the mountain side to the coast. This would have
been an awesome task in itself because the distance was some 15 miles N. of Tyre.
They rolled it down the mountainside and when it was on level ground, they
pulled it to the coast by teams of oxen. There, the logs were bound together in
rafts using very strong rope and floated down to Joppa, (today known as Tel
Aviv). This was a further distance of about 90 miles. Joppa's harbour was formed
by a low ledge of rocks about 330 ft. from the coast. The north end being open
and shallow is probably where the log rafts were accessed. The city of Joppa was
situated on a rocky hill rising to a height of about 115 ft. Did they have to
get the logs up that hill, or were they able to somehow by-pass the city? I
don't know, but regardless, from the coast of Joppa it was ANOTHER 35 miles to
Jerusalem. A new road laid by King Solomon, enabled them to transport the cedar
logs to Jerusalem. In exchange for the wood and 30,000 labourers from Tyre, each
year Hiram received from Solomon the following: 2,000 tonnes of wheat; 2,000
tonnes of barley; 400,000 litres of wine; and 400,000 litres of olive oil.
We learn in the Senior Warden's lecture that an immense
number of Masons were involved in building the Temple. More accurately, there
were 70,000 Entered Apprentices in the rock quarries, 80,000 Fellowcrafts who
quarried rock out of the mountains and cut and polished them into perfect
ashlars, and 30,000 who cut wood out of Lebanon. Additionally, there were 3300
overseers of the work and 550 chief overseers, making a combined labour force of
183,850, Adoniram being one of the chief overseers. Solomon also contracted from
Hiram, King of Tyre, a ‘..man cunning to work in wood, gold, silver, brass,
iron, glass, purple, crimson and blue and an engraver'. This man was Hiram Abiff.
In the Book of ‘Kings' in the Bible, he is referred to as Hurum, the widow's
son. About 3000 B.C. the Egyptians had opened up copper mines in the Sinai
peninsula, so the Phoenicians were very familiar with its practical uses. They
had discovered that by refining copper and tin together, they could get bronze.
The Jordan Valley was some 60 miles N.E. of Jerusalem. Think then, of the
awesome task of getting these massive bronzed (brazen) pillars back to
Jerusalem. The pillars were at least 30 ft. high, each nearly 20 ft around. (The
dimensions of these pillars differs depending on which researcher one selects).
Each pillar was adorned with capitals of cast bronze formed in the shape of
lilies, which had a thickness of almost three inches. Each capital was about 7
1/2ft high. A network of seven interwoven chains decorated the capitals. Hiram
Abiff made pomegranates in two rows above the bowl-shaped part next to the
network. The pomegranates totalled two hundred for each pillar. As we learn in
the SW's lecture, these pillars were cast in bronze in the clay grounds of the
Jordan, formed hollow and made of molten brass. The reason for them being hollow
was to store the ‘ancient records' and the ‘valuable writings' pertaining to the
historic past of the Jewish people. Boaz, the left-hand pillar, stood to the
south representing the land of Judah and signifying ‘in strength'; Jachin stood
to the north representing the land of Israel, signifying ‘God will establish'
and when united by the lintel of Yahweh the two provided ‘stability'.
King Solomon began construction of the Temple in the year 957
B.C. during the 4th year of his reign. The Temple was built due east and west
and was surrounded with high walls built of stone and timber. A vast retaining
outer wall spanned 750 ft X 500 ft. Inside this was an inner court which
extended from the Temple about 209 ft on all sides. The method used to build the
walls was to place 3 rows of stone and follow that up with a row of interlocking
cedar beams. This provided a sort of elasticity as a safeguard against the earth
tremors which were prevalent in that area. For seven years Jerusalem was filled
with busy workers engaged in leveling the chosen site, building vast retaining
walls, laying broad foundations, shaping the heavy timbers brought from the
Lebanon forests, and erecting the magnificent sanctuary. At the same time, the
manufacture of the furnishings for the Temple was steadily progressing under the
leadership of Hiram Abiff.
The Temple stone was immediately at hand in the hills round
about Jerusalem and even in the city itself. The stone was quarried and prepared
by masons from Tyre and Byblos. Entered apprentices prepared the rough ashlars
in the quarries, then carried them up to a place close to the building site
where more skilled and expert craftsmen gave them their fine finish with the
result that they were perfect ashlars. These stones were the famous white
limestone," which was so easily worked and carved. To gain some idea of the size
of some of these blocks of stone, consider this. The remnants of an ancient
Phoenician temple still exist today. The four corner stones stand in their
proper place. The temple was 221 ft. long and 167 ft. wide. A block of blue
granite which exists to this day measures 15 ft 10 in. long X 7 ft. 11 in. wide
and 2 ft. 5 in. deep. There was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron
heard in the house..." while it was in the process of being built. The blocks of
white limestone slotted perfectly together in their placement.
At the S.E. corner of the Temple, Hiram Abiff had fashioned a
huge ‘bowl' called a ‘molten sea'. This huge tank was about 15 ft. in diameter.
It stood about 7 ½ ft. high and the circumference was about 45 ft. holding about
10,000 gals of water. All round the outer edge of the rim of the tank were two
rows of bronze gourds, which had been cast all in one piece with the rest of the
tank. It is thought to have represented a ‘sacred lake' which had great
cleansing powers. The great bowl was for the High Priests to cleanse themselves.
It was made of molten bronze and a handsbreadth in thickness. It was supported
by 12 bronze bulls arranged in four groups of three, each group facing a
different direction with the heads facing outwards.
To the left and in front of Boaz was a great altar for burnt
offerings. Mounted on four stages, each one smaller than the one below it, the
altar was made of bronze and the stages were of stone. It was 30 ft. square and
stood about 15 ft. high. When an animal was to become a burnt offering, it was
slaughtered, skinned, and cut up. The priest laid his hand on the head of the
animal as it was being slaughtered, emblematically transferring the sins and
transgressions of the people into the innocent animal. The blood was drained
into a container; the intestines and shanks were washed, then the body, head and
all were burned on the altar. Only the most perfect specimens qualified for
sacrificial rites, thus the reason for generally selecting lambs. All round the
altar were bronze carts, totaling 10. These carts were about 6 ft. long X 6 ft.
wide X 4 ½ ft. high. They were set on 4 bronze wheels with bronze axles. The
wheels were about 26 inches high shaped like chariot wheels. A circular band,
about 9 inches in width was placed around the top of the cart. The side panels,
as well as the supports placed at each corner of the cart were all decorated in
carved relief with figures of bulls, lions, palm trees and cherubim. Each cart
had a basin set upon the band which was about 6 ft. in diameter and held about
211 gals of water. These were used to cleanse the animals intended as
sacrifices. 5 carts were on the S. side and 5 on the N. side. The overseer of
all this work was Hiram Abiff.
In my research I cannot find a consensus with respect to the
actual dimensions of the Temple; however; even by today's standards, King
Solomon's temple was immense. It was somewhere in the neighbourhood of 125 ft
long, 65 ft wide and about 40 ft high. Unfortunately, the only illustrations of
the Temple that exist are artists' conceptions. All around the outside of the
building there were ‘side chambers' or ‘side rooms'. These were arranged in 3
storeys which were divided into 90 rooms, with 30 in each storey. Each storey
measured about 10 ft. high. The wall on each floor was thinner than the one
below it so that the rooms could rest on the wall without having their beams
built into the wall. The entrance to the lowest storey was on the south side of
the Temple with stairs leading up to the 2nd and 3rd storeys. Access was gained
to the Middle Chamber by a winding stairway in the southeast corner of the
building. No access to the Temple could be gained from these storeys.
At the front of the Temple was a porch or entrance hall with
dimensions of 14 ft. deep and 30 ft. wide Since Solomon's Temple closely
followed the Phoenician example of temple construction, it is safe to assume
that he copied the practice of placing 2 great pillars at the porch entrance,
although the Bible does support our S.W.'s lecture concerning the 2 pillars of
fire and cloud. Biblical scholars cannot come to agreement as to whether the
pillars stood alone or were an actual part of the entrance wall, helping to
support the roof (pediment).
The Temple followed the traditional Phoenician design: an
outer hallway, a central open courtyard, and an inner Holy of Holies or sanctum
sanctorum. Once past the 2 great pillars, the vestibule opened into a vast main
sanctuary, lit by small windows. A double door of olive and pine wood, covered
in gold and decorated with carved figures of gourds, cherubim, palm trees and
open flowers led into the sanctuary. This sanctuary was approximately 46 ft.
long X 30 ft. wide. The stone walls were covered with cedar panels, as was the
whole interior of the sanctuary. Even the rooves were covered in cedar. The
floor was covered in cypress wood (pine by some researchers) and the whole
structure was then overlaid with fine gold, carved with designs of palm trees
and chain patterns. The gold came from southern Arabia, the land of the
legendary Queen of Sheba. All of the furnishings in here were of the finest gold
which included: the altar and the tables for the show bread offered to God; the
lamp stands and the lamps of fine gold that were to burn in front of the Holy of
Holies; the flower decorations; the lamps and the tongs; the lamp snuffers; the
bowls; the dishes for incense and the pans used for carrying live coals. All
these objects were made of pure gold. On the walls also, the workers carved
designs of winged creatures (cherubim). These creatures are described in the
Book of Ezekiel. They had 4 faces; those being a man, an ox, a lion, and an
eagle. Do these sound familiar?? They had 4 wings and feet shaped like a calf.
Directly in front of the double doors leading into the ‘Holy
of Holies' stood the altar. This altar was 7 ½ ft. long, 7 ½ ft. wide, and 4 ½
ft. high. It was made of acacia wood and 4 horns projected from the upper 4
corners. All was overlaid with gold.
The "Holy of Holies' or inner sanctuary was a curtained inner
chamber. A perfect cube, the ‘Holy of Holies' measured thirty feet long, wide
and high and was raised 10 ft. above the temple floor. A double door which
spanned 10 ft. 8 in. led to this inner sanctuary; it was made of olive wood and
gilded with gold, carved with figures of gourds, flowers, palm trees, and
cherubim. These doors occupied 1/4 of the wall. The top of the doorway was
formed into a pointed arch. The curtains, or veils were of the finest silk cloth
brightly coloured in hyacinth blue, purple and scarlet. The Phoenicians were
famous for their coloured dyes, especially purple . They obtained the purple ink
from a marine snail (murex) found on their coast. Other shades of ink were
obtained from other species of marine snails common throughout the
Mediterranean. The silk for the veils came from their trading with tribes to the
East, possibly India. They were embroidered with figures of cherubim. The floor,
four walls and ceiling were completely lined with pure gold. Herein was kept the
Ark of the Covenant which sat in a recessed area just large enough to contain
the Ark. Above the Ark, King Solomon had caused two cherubim of gigantic size to
be made. They stood over 20 ft. high and were made of olive wood ; both were of
the same size and shape. They were placed side by side, so that 2 of their
outstretched wings touched each other in the middle of the room, and the other 2
wings touched the walls. The two winged creatures were covered with gold and
faced the doorway to the ‘Holy of Holies'. Herein, also, were kept other tokens
of the Israelites' deliverance from Egypt and their sojourn in the Sinai
wilderness.
Into this windowless chapel, the High Priest, who had
undergone many washings, was allowed to enter once a year on the Day of
Atonement that he might make propitiation for the sins of the people. His
garment had been sown with bells around the rim and a rope was tied about his
waist. The people could hear the bells as he moved about in his prayers, and
should he collapse or die, he could be pulled out of the sanctum sanctorum by
priests who were allowed entry into the sanctuary.
The Temple was finished in 960 B.C. having taken a little
more than seven years to build. On the Day of Dedication, the Ark of the
Covenant was placed in the ‘Holy of Holies' beneath the huge cherubim, and the
staves were withdrawn from the Ark for the last time. They were no longer needed
to carry it; God did not plan for it to be moved ever again. On this same day
all the holy vessels were lodged in the Temple. When the Ark was safely seated
and the holy vessels lodged within the Temple, God filled the Holy House with a
cloud of glory to signify that He had taken up residence in the Holy House. No
one could enter the Temple because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord's
House. Over a seven day period, King Solomon dedicated and consecrated it by
solemn prayer and costly sacrifices. He caused 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep
to be slaughtered and burned on the huge altar outside the Temple.
King Solomon's Temple overlooked Jerusalem from its hill
until 586 B.C. when it was destroyed at the command of Nebuchadnezzar, the King
of Babylon. In 538 B.C., the Persians under Cyrus captured Babylon. King Cyrus
issued a proclamation which allowed the Hebrews to be freed from their
Babylonian captivity. They returned to Jerusalem to assist in the rebuilding of
the second temple on the site of the first. The task of rebuilding the Temple
was initiated under Zerubbabel, Prince of the People of Judah. Because of meagre
resources and many difficulties which delayed completion, the second temple was
not completed and rededicated until 515 B.C.
In 164 B.C. Judah Maccabee recaptured Jerusalem and restored
the Temple. The Roman general, Pompey, captured Jerusalem in 63 B.C. Nine years
later, Crassus, a Roman consul plundered the temple. In 37 B.C. King Herod
captured Jerusalem. In 20 B.C. he began the work of rebuilding of the Temple. It
was not completed until 64 A.D. The Romans, under Titus, completely demolished
Jerusalem along with the Temple in 70 A.D. Thus, the final chapter was written
and history closed the King Solomon's Temple book for the final time. Today,
hardly a fragment of this magnificent edifice remains except for a portion of
the outer wall, known as the "Wailing Wall" of Jerusalem.
(Revised and re-written Feb. 11, 2002)
Noteworthy Facts:
1. The Phoenicians were responsible for discovering ‘bronze'.
They were already familiar with tin and brass. They discovered that by mixing
the two, they could get bronze.
2. When they were working in the casting grounds of the
Jordan, between Sukkoth and Zarethan, they discovered glass as a by-product of
the bronze casting.
3. Hurum (the Widow's son from Tyre)-Hiram Abiff to us-was
responsible for the manufacture of:
- The two great pillars
- The two chapiters for the pillars
- The design of interwoven chains on each capital
- The 400 bronze pomegranates
- The ten carts
- The huge tank
- The ten basins
- The twelve bulls supporting the tank
The pots, shovels and bowls which included 30 gold basins,
1000 silver basins, 30 golden bowls, and 1000+ other vessels. He covered the
altar in gold and also manufactured gold flowers, lamps, snuffers, tongs, cups,
incense dishes, pans to hold burning charcoal, and hinges for the inner and
outer doors. In all there were 5,400 gold and silver bowls and other articles
which the exiles brought back with them from Babylon.
4. It has been estimated that 20+ tons of gold were used in
the building of the Temple.
5. The largest stone to be found in modern Jerusalem measures
38 ft 9 in. long and weighs 100 tons. The marks of Phoenician masons are still
on some stones
6. The estimated cost to build the Temple today would
be......174 billion dollars!!!
7. King Solomon's annual revenue of gold was 666 talents or
c. $256.5 million. He, over a period of 40 years, amassed 1400 chariots and
12,000 horses.
8. The Queen of Sheba was so impressed with him and the
Temple that she delivered to him 120 talents of gold -c. $46.2 million- precious
stones and balsam oil in great quantity.
9. In ancient times there were 3 cubits:
- the ordinary of 17.6 inches
- the Royal Hebrew cubit = 20.9 in. And
- a rarely used long cubit of 21.6 inches
back to top |
