Second Temple

A stone (2.43x1 m) with Hebrew inscription "To the Trumpeting Place" excavated by Benjamin Mazar at the southern foot of the Temple Mount is believed to be a part of the Second Temple.

The Second Temple (Hebrew: בית המקדש, romanized: Beit HaMikdash meaning The Temple House or The Holy House) was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem which stood between 516 BCE and 70 CE. During this time, it was the center of Jewish worship, which focused on the sacrifices known as the korbanot. Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple, was destroyed in 586 BCE when the Jews were exiled into Babylonian Captivity. Construction of a new temple was begun in 535; after a hiatus, work resumed ca. 521, with completion occurring in 516 and dedication in 515. As described in the Book of Ezra, rebuilding of the Temple was authorized by Cyrus the Great and ratified by Darius the Great, both leaders of the Persian Empire; it was completed on the 3rd of Adar. The Romans destroyed Jerusalem and its Second Temple on 4 August 70 CE, ending the Great Jewish Revolt that began in 66 CE.

File:Second Temple Destroyed.jpg

Artist's impression of the Second Temple Destroyed

Nation reorganized

Model of Second Temple made by Michael Osnis from Kedumim.

After the return from captivity, under Zerubbabel, arrangements were almost immediately made to reorganize the desolated Kingdom of Judah after its demise seventy years earlier. The body of pilgrims, forming a band of 42,360 including children (besides their male and female servants, who numbered 7,337, and 200 singing men and women; cf. Ezra 2:65), having completed the long and dreary journey of some four months, from the banks of the Euphrates to Jerusalem, were animated in all their proceedings by a strong religious impulse, and therefore one of their first concerns was to restore their ancient house of worship by rebuilding their destroyed temple and reinstituting the sacrificial rituals known as the korbanot.

On the invitation of Zerubbabel, the governor, who showed them a remarkable example of liberality by contributing personally 1,000 golden darics, besides other gifts, the people poured their gifts into the sacred treasury with great enthusiasm (Ezra 2). First they erected and dedicated the altar of God on the exact spot where it had formerly stood, and they then cleared away the charred heaps of debris which occupied the site of the old temple; and in the second month of the second year (535 BCE), amid great public excitement and rejoicing (befitting Psalms 116; 117; 118), the foundations of the second temple were laid. A wide interest was felt in this great movement, although it was regarded with mingled feelings by the spectators (Haggai 2:3; Zechariah 4:10).

Samaritans offer

The Samaritans made proposals for co-operation in the work. Zerubbabel and the elders, however, declined all such cooperation, feeling that Judea must build the temple without help. Immediately evil reports were spread regarding the Jews. According to Ezra 4:5, the Samaritans sought to "frustrate their purpose" and sent messengers to Ecbatana and Susa, with the result that the work was suspended.

Monarchs

Seven years after this Cyrus the Great, who ordered and declared the rebuilding of the temple, died (2Chronicles 36:22–23); he was succeeded by his son Cambyses. On his death the "false Smerdis," an imposter, occupied the throne for some seven or eight months, and then Darius I of Persia became king (522 BCE). In the second year of this monarch the work of rebuilding the temple was resumed and carried forward to its completion (Ezra 5:6–6:15), under the stimulus of the earnest counsels and admonitions of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. It was ready for consecration in the spring of 516 BCE, more than twenty years after the return from captivity. The temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius. (Ezra 6:15)

Missing articles

File:Temple inscription in greek.jpg

A Greek language inscription from Herod's Temple, late 1st century BCE. It warns gentiles to refrain from entering the Temple enclosure, on pain of death. Gentiles were restricted to the Court of the Gentiles.

This second temple was missing the Ark of the Covenant, the Urim and Thummim, the holy oil, the sacred fire, the Ten Commandments, the pot of manna, and Aaron's rod. The Kodesh Hakodashim was separated by curtains rather than a wall as in the first Temple. As in the Tabernacle, there was in it only one golden lamp for the holy place, one table of showbread, and the incense altar, with golden censers, and many of the vessels of gold that had belonged to Solomon's Temple that had been carried to Babylon but restored by Cyrus (Ezra 1:7-11).

Completion

The temple, when completed, was consecrated and the sacrificial observances known as the korbanot resumed, amid great rejoicings on the part of all the people (Ezra 6:16), although it was evident that the Jews were no longer an independent people, but were subject to a foreign power. The Book of Haggai includes a prediction (2:9) that the glory of the second temple would be greater than that of the first. This temple, during the different periods of its existence, is often regarded by believers as but one house, the one and only house of God.

New construction under Herod

Model of Herod's Temple

Main article: Herod's Temple

Around 19 BCE, Herod the Great began a massive renovation and expansion of the Second Temple complex. The Temple itself was torn down and a new one built in its place. The resulting structure is sometimes referred to as Herod's Temple, but it is still called the Second Temple because the sacrificial rituals continued unabated throughout the construction process.

Destruction

Siege and Destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans (1850 painting by David Roberts)

In 66 CE the Jewish population rebelled against the Roman Empire. Four years later, in 70 CE, Roman legions under Titus reconquered and subsequently destroyed much of Jerusalem and the Second Temple. The arch of Titus, located in Rome and built to commemorate Titus's victory in Judea, depicts Roman soldiers carrying off the Menorah from the Temple. Jerusalem itself was razed by the Emperor Hadrian at the end of the Bar Kochba Rebellion in 135 CE when he attempted to establish a pagan city called Aelia Capitolina.

Discovery of quarry

On September 25, 2007 Yuval Baruch, archaeologist with the Israeli Antiquities Authority, announced their discovery of a quarry compound which may have provided King Herod with the stones to construct Herod's Temple. Coins, pottery and an iron stake found indicated the date of the quarrying to be about 19 BCE. Excavation director Ofer Sion described the findings as including cut stone blocks that match the size of the ones used in the construction of the Temple walls. He proposes that Herod must have trained 10,000 workers in order to complete the work.

See also

• First Jewish-Roman War
• Shekinah
• Jerusalem’s Model in the Late 2nd Temple Period
• Siege of Jerusalem (70)
• Third Temple
• Timeline of Jewish history
• Jerusalem stone
• Replicas of the Jewish Temple
• Temple of Divine Providence

External links

• Resources > Second Temple and Talmudic Era > Second Temple JerusalemThe Jewish History Resource Center, Project of the Dinur Center for Research in Jewish History, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
• Jewish Encyclopedia: Temple, The Second
• 4 Enoch: The Online Encyclpedia of Second Temple Judaism

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Easton, Matthew George (1897). Easton's Bible Dictionary (New and revised ed.). T. Nelson and Sons. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)