Part 14 (2/2)

It was about 200 feet wide, north and south, by 275 feet long, east and west, a few feet lower in elevation than the floor of the temple proper.

Here stood the great _Altar of Burnt Offering_, upon which the daily sacrifice was offered, its site now shown under the Dome of the Rock; and near the door to the house _the Laver_ for was.h.i.+ng the sacrifices.

Sol'o-mon built also a great ”_Sea_,” or reservoir of water, standing on the backs of twelve oxen, all of ”bra.s.s,” probably copper (1 Kings 7.

23-26). This was broken up by the Bab-y-lo'ni-ans, B. C. 587 (2 Kings 25. 13), and was not replaced in the later temples.

V. Around the Court of the Priests was another and larger corridor, the =Court of Is'ra-el=, or ”the men's court.” In the later temples this was 320 by 240 feet in dimensions, 26 feet wide on the north and south, 24 feet wide on the east and west. The size of this court in Sol'o-mon's temple is not given, but was probably the same as in later times. This was the standing place of the wors.h.i.+pers (exclusively men) as they witnessed the service.

VI. These were the only courts around the first temple, as the s.p.a.ce to the south of the last-named court was occupied by Sol'o-mon's palaces, from which a magnificent flight of steps ascended to the temple area (1 Kings 10. 5). After these buildings were destroyed the latest temple, that of Her'od, included their site in additional courts and buildings for the wors.h.i.+p. East of the Court of Is'ra-el, and a little lower, stood the =Court of the Women=, 200 feet square, having a lattice gallery on the western side, from which the women could look on the services of the altar. This court was also called ”the Treasury” (John 8. 20) from the gift boxes fastened upon the wall (Mark 12. 41, 42). In each corner of this court was a room said to be 60 feet square, with an open roof.

VII. Around all these buildings and courts, with Her'od's temple, but not with Sol'o-mon's, was the =Court of the Gen'tiles=, an irregular quadrangle of about 1,000 feet on each side (north 990, east 1,000, south 960, west 1,060). The wall on the east was surmounted by a double row of columns, and called Sol'o-mon's Porch (John 10. 23; Acts 3. 12).

The ”Beautiful Gate” was from the Court of the Gen'tiles to the eastern side of the Court of the Women (Acts 3. 1), through which the people pa.s.sed on their way to the public wors.h.i.+p. The narrow corridor extending entirely around the Court of the Women and the Court of Is'ra-el was called ”Chel”--that is, the sacred inclosure--and no one except an Is'ra-el-ite was permitted to enter it. The Court of the Gen'tiles was not regarded by the Jews as sacred, since foreigners were allowed within it, and in its area had grown up a market for the sale of animals for sacrifice and tables for the exchanging of foreign money.

Twice this court was purged of these desecrations by Je'sus (John 2.

13-17; Matt. 21. 12, 13).

The princ.i.p.al access to the temple in the time of Christ was a bridge over the Ty-ro'poe-on valley from Mount Zi'on. Of this bridge a fragment of one arch still remains, known as ”Rob'in-son's Arch.”

The immediate surroundings of the temple, in the New Testament period, were the following: 1. On the north stood the Castle or Tower of An-to'ni-a, erected by the Ro'mans for the control of the temple area.

2. On the east was the valley of the Kid'ron. 3. On the south and west lay the curving valley of the Ty-ro'poe-on.

Blackboard Outline

I. =Thr. Tem.= 1. Sol. 970-587. 2. Zer. 534. 3. Her. B. C. 20.

A. D. 70.

II. =Situa.= Vall. Kid. Tyr. Hin. Mts. Mor. Oph. Zi.

III. =Hou. Lor.= 1. Por. 30x15. 2. H. P. 30x60. 3. H. H. 30x30.

4. Chamb.

IV. =Cou. Pri.= 200x275. Alt. Lav. ”Sea.”

V. =Cou. Isr.= 240x320.

VI. =Cou. Wom.= 200x200. ”Treas.” Rooms.

VII. =Cou. Gen.= 1,000. ”Chel.” Market. Bridge.

Hints to the Teacher and the Cla.s.s

Let each pupil in turn draw on the blackboard one of the departments or courts of the temple, state its dimensions, and explain its uses.

Let a pupil recite the history of each temple.

Let one pupil state in what parts of the temple Je'sus walked and taught, and another events in the life of Saint Paul connected with the temple.

Review Questions

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