Truth Magazine

By Daniel H. King, Sr.

Throughout the history of Israel, the temple represented the place where Heaven and earth came together for the purpose of sacred worship. Like the ark before it, the temple was intended to be a symbol of God’s presence in the midst of his people (Exod. 25:21-22). Its location was, therefore, the most sacred place on earth. The O.T. word for temple, hekal, meant “palace” or “great house.” The Sumerian word from whence it derived could be used of the dwelling place of a king or of a god. More often used in the O.T., however, were the terms beth Yahweh or beth Elohim, which simply signified the “house” of God, his place of earthly dwelling. In the N.T. two terms are found. First there is hieron, signifying a “temple area,” and naos, which described the “sanctuary” itself.

Three Temples

The Bible records in its history the stories of three successive Temples. Solomon built the first Temple (ca. 957 B.C.) after David had planned it and spent years accumulating wealth to adorn it (2 Sam. 7:3-16). David had acquired the Temple hill as a place of sacrifice from Araunah the Jebusite at an earlier period at the insistence of the prophet Gad (2 Sam. 24:18-25). The book of Chronicles identifies this hill with Mount Moriah, where Abraham offered his son Isaac (2 Chron. 3:1; Gen. 22:1ff.). So the place itself was considered sacred on account of these earlier events. 

The second period of Temple construction was initiated by the decree of Cyrus in 538 B.C. This proclamation made it possible for the Jews to return to their homeland from Babylonia. Persian financial aid was also offered to make the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem a reality. Sheshbazzar, the governor, laid the original foundation, but it was left to Zerubbabel the new governor in 520 B.C. to complete the work. Jeshua the high priest supplied support for the work, as did the prophets Haggai and Zechariah (Ezra 5:1-2). The size of this Temple was approximately that of Solomon, except that some aspects appear to have been influenced by the Temple Vision of Ezekiel (Ezek. 40-42). This Temple was later profaned by Antiochus in December, 167 B.C., and subsequently rededicated by Judas Maccabeus in 164 B.C.. Still later, it was captured by the Roman general Pompey in 63 B.C. Pompey, however, neither profaned nor plundered it.

The third and final epoch of Temple building is roughly equivalent to the period of the N.T. itself. Herod the Great came to power in 37 B.C. Hoping to capture the hearts of his Jewish subjects and the imagination of all the Roman Empire, Herod set about making the Jerusalem Temple one of the architectural achievements of the age. Since the Jews were afraid that the work would interrupt the temple service, Herod went to great lengths to prevent this, rebuilding the old structure piecemeal, never stopping the worship. Since only priests could enter the Temple and the inner court, one thousand of them were the masons and carpenters for that inner area. 

Herod’s workers began their work in 20 B.C., and although the king died in 4 B.C., they continued their labors until the rebellion in A.D. 64. Actually, the house itself was completed in a year and a half; eight years were spent on the surrounding buildings and the court areas took many decades. The Jews said to Jesus that the Temple had been under construction for forty-six years (John 2:20); more than thirty more years were to pass before the work was completed. Unfortunately, this great monument was destroyed just six years later in A.D. 70.

The Temple During N.T. Times

The most notable contribution of Herod the Great was the magnificent stonework of the Temple platform which was greatly enlarged by his workmen, to roughly twice its former dimensions. As enlarged by Herod, the Temple area occupied an elongated square of from 925 to 950 feet and upwards. Both at the southeastern and the southwestern angles of the once proud structure, excavators have found stones measuring from 20 to 40 feet in length, and weighing above 100 tons! The description which is found in the writings of Josephus (Antiquities XV.11; Wars of the Jews V.5) and the tractate Middoth of the Mishnah (written ca. A.D. 150) have thus been further fleshed out by the discoveries of recent archaeological efforts.

Herod is said to have surrounded the whole Temple enclosure with magnificent porches, particularly the royal stoa along the southern wall. Through the Huldah gates, double and triple arches of which may still be seen, worshipers went up through enclosed passageways into the court of the Gentiles. Greek inscriptions separating this court from the court of the women and the holier inner courts of Israel (men) and the priests have been found. The steps south of the Temple, where Jesus is thought to have taught on several occasions, have been excavated and reconstructed. An inscription which reads, “To the place of trumpeting,” was found below the southwest corner where there was a monumental staircase ascending into the Temple from the main street below. Perhaps this was the “Pinnacle of the Temple” from which Satan tempted Jesus to throw himself down.

The Fortress Antonia

Near the northwest corner of the Temple area was located the fortress Antonia. This structure was built or rebuilt in Hasmonean times upon a rock 50 cubits high covered with smooth stonework to make it more difficult to climb. Herod strengthened it and gave it the new name it had in N.T. times in honor of Antony. Protected by a wall 3 cubits high, the tower itself was 40 cubits high. At each corner of the tower was a turret. Three of these were 50 cubits high, but the one on the southeast corner was 70 cubits high. Stairways led up from the porticoes of the Temple to the tower. This defensive structure dominated the Temple, and was the headquarters of the Roman garrison so often needed to keep the peace. From the stairs which led from the Temple precincts to Antonia, Paul delivered his sermon after having been rescued by the guard from the riotous mob (Acts 21:31-22:21). The priestly vestments were kept in this building.

The Royal Bridge

By far the most magnificent avenue into the complex was that at the southwestern angle of the Temple. A colossal bridge on arches spanned the intervening Valley of the Tyropoeon, connecting the ancient City of David with what is called the “Royal Porch of the Temple.” Each arch of this bridge spanned 41.5 feet, and the spring-stones measured 24 feet in length by 6 inch thickness. It is difficult to exaggerate the splendor of this approach to the sanctuary. Here the city would have lain spread before us like a map. Over the parapet of the bridge we might have looked into the Tyropoeon Valley below, a depth of not less than 225 feet. The roadway which spanned this cleft for a distance of 354 feet, from Mt. Moriah to Mt. Zion opposite, was about 50 feet wide. And, it was over this bridge that the Jewish leadership led the Savior, in the sight of all Jerusalem, when they shuffled him to and from the palace of the high-priest, that of Herod, the  meeting-place of the Sanhedrin, and the judgment-seat of Pilate.

The Temple Porches

The Royal Bridge led into the Royal Tem- ple Porch. This Porch (portico, Greek stoa, an area with a roof supported by columns) consisted of a treble colonnade, formed of 162 pillars, ranged in four rows of 40 pillars each, the two odd pillars serving as a kind of screen, where the Porch opened upon the bridge. It consisted of a central nave 45 feet wide, with gigantic pillars 100 feet high, and of two aisles 30 feet wide, with pillars 50  feet high. This was only one of the porches which formed the southern enclosure of the first and outermost court of the Temple, that of the Gentiles. The view from the top of this colonnade into Kidron was to the stupendous depth of 450 feet. This and the other porticos, or cloisters, were among the finest architectural features of the Temple. They ran all around the inside of its wall, and bounded the outer enclosure of the Court of the Gentiles. They consisted of double rows of Corinthian pillars, all monoliths, wholly cut out of one block of marble, each pillar being 37.5 feet high. A flat roof, richly ornamented, rested against the wall, in which also the outer row of pillars was inserted. Possibly there may have been towers where one colonnade joined the other.

These halls or  porches around the Court of the Gentiles must have been very convenient places for friendly or religious meetings and discussions. Here Jesus was found by his parents, disputing with the doctors; here in later years he would often teach the people; and here the first assemblies of the Jerusalem church when they were “continuing daily with one accord in the Temple . . .” (Acts 2:46). In Solomon’s Porch, which ran along the eastern wall of the Temple, Jesus walked during the Feast of Dedication (John 10:23), when he so boldly declared, “I and my Father are one.” All the people ran together to this location after a “notable miracle” was performed upon a lame man (Acts 3:11), since this was the place where the Christians assembled on a regular basis (Acts 5:12).

The Court of the Gentiles

When one entered the Temple, it was the rule to pass in by the right side, and when leaving it to go out by the left hand. The first great expanse as one came into the structure itself was the great Court of the Gentiles. It formed the lowest or outer enclosure of the Sanctuary. The area was paved with the finest variegated marble. Its name was derived from the fact that it was open to all, both Jews and Gentiles, provided they observed the rules of decorum and reverence. In this court tradition places the apartments for the Levites, and a synagogue. In addition, a market was located there for the sale of oxen, sheep, and doves to be sacrificed. Here also were the tables of the money-changers (Matt. 21:12; John 2:14). 

Within a short distance, in the court, a beautifully ornamented marble screen stood 4.5 feet high, bearing Greek and Latin inscriptions warning Gentiles not to proceed further, on pain of death. Because the Jews thought Paul infringed this order, the infuriated multitude “went about to kill him” (Acts 21:31). Beyond this enclosure a flight of 14 steps, each 9 inches high, led up to a terrace 15 feet wide, which bounded the inner wall of the Temple.

The Gates of the Temple

On both the north and south sides of the Temple terrace, flights of steps led up to three gates which opened into the Court of the Priests, while a fourth gate led into the Court of the Women. Thus there were nine gates opening from the terrace into the Sanctuary, the principal one from the east, and four north and south, of which one on the north and south, led into the Court of the Women. The other three on both north and south led into the Court of the Priests. These eight side gates were all two-leaved, wide, high, with superstructures and chambers supported by two pillars, and covered with gold and silver plating.

More magnificent than all of these, however, was the ninth or eastern gate, which formed the principal entrance into the Temple. The ascent to it was from the terrace by fifteen easy steps. On these steps the Levites were wont on the Feast of Tabernacles to sing the fifteen ‘Psalms of Degrees,’ or ascent (Pss. 120-134). The gate itself was made of dazzling Corinthian brass, richly ornamented, and so massive were its double doors that it needed the united strength of twenty men to open and close them. This was the ‘Beautiful Gate’ of the Temple. It is twice mentioned in the N.T. (Acts 3:2, 10). From the fact that it was composed entirely of Corinthian brass, and had been the gift of a certain Nicanor of Alexandria, Josephus tells us it was known as “the Corinthian gate,” and the Mishnah informs us that it was also called the “gate of Nicanor.” It was before this gate that everything that was ordered to be done “before the Lord” took place. There the cleansed leper and the women coming for purification presented themselves to the priests, and there also the “water of jealousy” was given to the suspected wife.

The Court of the Women

This was most likely the place of common worship for most Jews. Since women were not allowed to proceed any further into the Temple complex, females occupied raised galleries along three sides of this court. The space itself covered an area around 200 feet square. All around it ran a simple colonnade, and within it, against the wall, the 13 chests, or “trumpets,” for charitable contributions were placed. These chests were narrow at the mouth and wide at the bottom, so that they were shaped like trumpets. Nine were marked for legally required gifts, the others were for strictly voluntary contributions. Trumpets 1 and 2 were for the Temple half-shekel; Trumpet 3 was for purchase of turtle doves for sacrificing (cf. Luke 2:22, 24); Trumpet 4 similarly received the value of the offerings of young pigeons; Trumpet 5 was for wood used in the sacrifices; Trumpet 6 for incense; Trumpet 7 for golden vessels; Trumpet 8 for sin offerings; Trumpets 9-13 for any left over after purchase of trespass-offerings, offerings of birds, the offering of the Nazirite, of the cleansed leper, and other voluntary offerings. This was the treasury where Jesus taught during the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7-8). He also taught several lessons which pertained to this place and the practices which were familiar there (cf. Matt. 6:2; Mark 12:41; Luke 21:1).

The Court of Israel

This large double court, divided as it was by a low balustrade 1.5 feet high, measured about 280.5 feet in length by 202.5 feet in breadth. Of this only a narrow strip, 16.5 feet in width and extending the entire breadth of the court from north to south, formed the Court of Israel. Two steps led up from it to the Court of the Priests. In that court, three low semicircular steps brought one up to a sort of pulpit or platform, where the Levites often sang and played during the ordinary Temple service. On the northern side of the Court of the Priests were three gates, that of Nitzutz, Sacrifices, and Beth-Moked. But the most prominent object in this Court was the immense altar of unhewn stones, 15 feet high, and 48 feet square. An inclined plane, 48 feet long by 24 wide, led up to the altar. Beside it was a great heap of salt wherewith every sacrifice was to be salted, and upon it burned three separate fires. One was for the sacrifices, another for incense, and the third to supply the means for kindling the other two. An immense Molten Sea or Great Laver for the priests ablutions, stood between the altar and the porch of the Temple, supported by twelve colossal lions. It was filled every morning and drained every evening by machinery which brought it from tunnels in the Temple mount. They ultimately derived the water supply from the hills about Hebron, from Etham, and from the three pools of Solomon. The total length of this aqueduct (called the “low-level” aqueduct) was over 40 miles in length. Archaeologists have estimated that the total number of gallons which could have been stored for Temple use in the storage cisterns which they have discovered approach some 10 million gallons!

The Holy House

The Temple itself was built upon immense foundations of solid blocks of white marble covered with gold, each block measuring, according to Josephus, 67.5 by 9 feet. Mounting by a flight of 12 steps up to the Porch, the Holy Place and the Most Holy were contained within a building which was 90 by 120 feet. A gabled cedar roof, with protruding golden spikes, and surrounded by an elegant balustrade, covered the entirety.

Five Things Lacking

The Babylonian Talmud (Yoma 21b) presents a list of five things that were present in the Temple of Solomon which were lacking in the Herodian sanctuary. They are: the ark and its equipment, the sacred fire, the Shekinah, the Holy Spirit, and Urim and Thummim. The whole point of the passage is to point out the relative inferiority of Herod’s Temple, despite its physical grandeur, to that of Solomon.

Jesus Pronounces a Curse Upon the Holy Temple

In Matthew 24:1, 2 Jesus foretold the end of the magnificent Jewish sanctuary, noting that “not one stone shall be left upon another which shall not be thrown down.” The Lord’s prediction was fulfilled with chilling accuracy in the year A.D. 70, within one full generation of Jesus’ pronouncement. The Arch of Titus in Rome, upon which are sculptured some of the sacred objects taken from the Temple, is interesting in this regard. It pictures the golden lampstand, the golden table of the bread of the Presence with incense cups, two silver trumpets, and other objects being carried in the triumphal procession in honor of Titus, Jerusalem’s conqueror. These were the final vestiges of the sacred worship of Israel’s Temple. It has never again been rebuilt.

P.O. Box 148335, Nashville, Tennessee 37214-8335 danielhking@email.msn.com

By Russell H. Dunaway Jr.

Beginning in 606 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon launched the first of three successive attacks upon the city of Jerusalem and the people of Judah. During the second attack (597 B.C.) Ezekiel, Daniel, and about 10,000 other inhabitants of Jerusalem were carried into captivity. During the third attack (587-586 B.C.) Jerusalem was completely destroyed. Her walls were broken down. The gates were burned. The temple was destroyed. The city was left desolate in shambles.

While in captivity Daniel foretold that the Babylonian Empire would be overtaken by the Medes and the Persians, the Medes and the Persians would be conquered by the Greeks, and the Greeks would be conquered by the Romans. He further foretold that the establishment of the kingdom of God would take place during the days of the Roman kings (Dan. 2:41-44).

Under the leadership of Cyrus, the Medes took control of Babylon (539 B.C.). It was during the reign of Cyrus that the first remnant of the Jews, under the leadership of Zerubbabel, returned to Jerusalem with instructions to rebuild the temple (536 B.C.). They began to rebuild the temple, but due to apathy and opposition the work soon stalled (Ezra 4:4-5). For a period of nearly twenty years, nothing was accomplished, until the prophets Zechariah and Haggai, during the reign of Darius I (522-486 B.C.), motivated the people to finish the task. The Temple was rebuilt in 516 B.C.

During the reign of Artaxerxes I (464-423 B.C.) a second remnant of Jews returned under the leadership of Ezra to restore the worship (458 B.C.). A third remnant returned under Nehemiah in order to rebuild the walls of the city (445 B.C.).

The Medo-Persian dominion continued until 334 B.C. Alexander the Great, one of the greatest military leaders in history, became the king of Macedonia (Greece) when his father, Philip of Macedonia, was killed (336 B.C.). He immediately made plans to lay siege against Persia and expand the borders of his kingdom. In 334 B.C. he led his troops into Asia Minor where they won a series of victories over the Persians. He continued his victorious military march into Syria and Egypt. From victories there, he led his troops into Persia, Media, and as far east as northern India. He returned to Babylon, where he died in 323 B.C. at the age of thirty-three.

Upon the death of Alexander the Great chaos resulted in his empire. Five of his prominent generals established themselves over different parts of his empire. Ptolemy chose the land of Egypt, Cyrenaica, Palestine, Phoenicia, Cyprus and some parts of western Asia Minor and the Aegean Sea. Seleucus took control of Babylonia. Antigonus became ruler of Asia Minor and northern Syria. The other two ruled in Europe and did not have direct influence over events in Palestine. From the beginning, however, Ptolemy and Seleucus struggled over the control of Palestine.

Ptolemy treated Judea as a Temple state, given over by the king, in trust, to the high priest at Jerusalem. Authority in religious and most civil matters was granted the high priest in lieu of a yearly tax. The Jews fared well under the Ptolemies. They enjoyed a great degree of liberty and self-rule. Their religious practices were not hampered. Greek customs gradually became more common among the people. The translation of the Old Testament into Greek (the Septuagent) began during the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus, 285-246 B.C.

During the reign of Ptolemy II, the first of five wars with the Seleucids over possession of Palestine broke out. Egypt successfully resisted the Seleucid challenge under the first three Ptolemaic rulers. However, Ptolemaic power began to wane under Ptolemy IV Philopator (221-204 B.C.). In 200 B.C., Antiochus III defeated the Egyptian army at Banyas (Caesarea Philippi) and seized control of Palestine.

Antiochus was succeeded by his son Seleucus IV (187-175 B.C.). When he was murdered, his younger brother, Antiochus IV, became ruler (175-163 B.C.). Antiochus IV is often referred to as Antiochus Epiphanes (“manifest” or “splendid”), though some called him Epimenes (“mad”). During the early years of his reign, the situation of the Jews became worse. Part of it was due to their being divided, especially over the priesthood. The office of high priest had been hereditary and held for life. However, Jason, the brother of the high priest, offered the king a large sum of money to be appointed high priest. Antiochus needed the money and made the appointment. Within a few years, Menelaus, a priest not of the high priestly line, offered the king more money to be named high priest in place of Jason. At this point, the office of high priest became a political office awarded to various individuals not according to Zadok lineage but according to political favor. Menelaus stole vessels from the Temple in order to pay what he had promised.

Antiochus IV sought to add Egypt to his territory. He was proclaimed king of Egypt; but when he went to Egypt to take control of the land, the Romans confronted him and told him to leave. Knowing the power of Rome, he returned to Jerusalem (167 B.C.), only to discover that Jason had driven Menelaus out of the city. He saw this as full revolt. He allowed his troops to kill many of the Jews and determined to put an end to the Jewish religion. He sacrificed a pig on the altar of the Temple. Parents were forbidden to circumcise their children. The Sabbath was no longer to be observed. All copies of the law were to be burned, and it was, in fact, made a capital offense to have a copy of the law. The zeal of Antiochus to destroy Judaism was a major factor in its salvation.

When the Seleucids sent officers throughout the land to compel leading citizens to offer sacrifice to Zeus, open conflict flared. In the village of Modein, about halfway between Jerusalem and Joppa, an aged priest named Mattathias was chosen to offer the sacrifice. He refused to do so, but a young Jew volunteered to do it. Angered by this display of infidelity to Jehovah, Mattathias killed both the Jew and the officer. He then fled to the hills with his five sons and others who supported his action. The Maccabean revolt had begun.

Leadership fell to Judas, the third son of Mattathias. Nicknamed Maccabeus, the hammerer, probably because of his success in battle, Judas was the ideal rebel leader. He fought successful battles against much larger forces. Under his leadership, the office of high priest was combined with that of military leader. A group called the Hasidim (later giving rise to the sect known as the Pharisees) made up the major part of his army. These men were devoutly committed to religious freedom. They were dedicated to obedience to the law and to the worship of God. Judas was able to gain control of Jerusalem within three years. The Temple was cleansed and rededicated exactly three years after it had been polluted by the king (164 B.C.). The Hasidim were satisfied with this conquest and left the army. Judas, however, wanted complete political freedom for the Jews. In 160 B.C., with a force of 800 men, Judas Maccabeus engaged a vastly superior Seleucid army and was killed in battle at Elasa.

Four years later (160 B.C.), Jonathan Maccabeus was awarded the position of High Priest. Jonathan too was a brilliant military leader, but was seized through treachery and later murdered (143 B.C.). His brother, Simon, was chosen by the people to be their new high priest and governor. Simon ruled as high priest and governor until he was murdered by his son-in-law (134 B.C.). With Simon, however, the office of high priest was restored to a hereditary office. His son, John Hyrcanus, became the high priest and civil ruler (134-104 B.C.). Under the leadership of Hyrcanus the Jews broke free from the control of the Seleucids. Hyrcanus began to expand the territory of the Jews. In the  north he destroyed the temple of the Samaritans on Mount Gerizim. He moved southeast and conquered the land of the Idumeans, the ancient kingdom of Edom. The residents were forced to either emigrate or convert to Judaism.

The oldest son of Hyrcanus, Aristobulus I (104-103 B.C.), succeeded him. He had his mother and three brothers put in prison. One brother was allowed to remain free, but he was later murdered. He allowed his mother to starve to death in prison. He extended his rule to include part of the territory of Iturea, north of Galilee. He was the first to take the title of king.

When Hyrcanus died, his wife, Alexandra, released his brothers from prison and married the oldest of them, Alexander Jannaeus. He became high priest and king (103-76 B.C.). He made many enemies by marrying the widow of his brother. The Old Testament stated that a high priest must marry a virgin (Lev. 21:14). Alexander was an ambitious warrior and conducted campaigns by which he enlarged his kingdom. He used foreign soldiers because he could not trust Jews in his army. As high priest, he did not always follow prescribed ritual. On one occasion, when the people reacted to his improper actions by throwing citrons at him, he allowed his soldiers to kill six thousand of them. At another time he had eight hundred of his enemies crucified. As they hung on the crosses, he had their wives and children brought out and slain before their eyes.

Alexandra succeeded her husband as ruler (76-67 B.C.). Being a woman, she could not serve as high priest, so the two functions were separated. Her oldest son, Hyrcanus II, became high priest. He was not ambitious. Her younger son, Aristobulus II, was just the opposite. He was waiting for his mother to die so he could become king and high priest. When Salome died, civil war broke out and lasted until 63 B.C. Aristobulus easily defeated Hyrcanus, who was content to retire. This might have been the end of the story were it not for Antipater, an Idumean. He persuaded Hyrcanus to seek the help of the king of Nabatea to regain his position. Aristobulus was driven back to Jerusalem.

At this point Rome arrived on the scene. Both Aristobulus and Hyrcanus appealed to Scaurus, the Roman general charged with the administration of Palestine. He sided with Aristobulus. When Pompey, the Roman commander, arrived, both brothers appealed to him. Aristobulus tried to fight the Romans. He was defeated and taken to Rome as a prisoner. The Romans, took control over Palestine in 63 B.C.

Under the Romans, the Jews paid heavy taxes; but their religious practices were not changed. Several Roman Emperors touch the New Testament narrative, especially these: Augustus (27 B.C.-A.D. 14), during whose reign the birth of Jesus occurred (Luke 2:1), and the census connected with his birth, as well as the beginning of emperor-worship; Tiberius (A.D. 14-37), under whose reign the preaching of John the Baptist (Luke 3:1-2) and Jesus Christ, as well as the crucifixion, burial, resurrection and ascension took place; Caligula (A.D. 37-41), who demanded worship of himself and ordered his statue placed in the temple at Jerusalem, but who died before the order was carried out; Claudius (A.D. 41-54), who reigned during much of Paul’s preaching journeys, and who, due to civil disturbance, expelled Jewish residents from Rome, Aquila and Priscilla being among those thus expelled (Acts 18:2); Vespasian (A.D. 69-79), who as a general began to crush a Jewish revolt, returned to Rome to become emperor, and left completion of the military task to his son Titus, whose army destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in A.D. 70; Nero (A.D. 54-68), the Caesar to whom Paul appealed (Acts 25); and Domitian (A.D. 81-96), whose persecution of the church probably provides the background for Revelation, written to encourage oppressed Christians.

Beginning in 63 B.C., Roman power was exercised in Judea through Antipater, who was named governor of Palestine. Antipater had one of his sons, Phasael, named governor of Judea, and another, Herod, made governor of Galilee.

Antipater was murdered in 43 B.C. In 40 B.C. the Parthians invaded Palestine and made Antigonus, the last surviving son of Aristobulus, king of Palestine. Hyrcanus was mutilated by having his ears cut or bitten off so that he could not serve as high priest again. Phasael was captured and while in prison committed suicide. Herod barely escaped with his family. He went to Rome to have his future brother-in-law, Aristobulus, made king, hoping to rule through him as his father had ruled through Antipater. However, the Roman Senate, at the urging of Antony and Octavian (Augustus), made Herod king (40 B.C.). It took him three years to drive the Parthians out of the country and establish his rule. He was king until his death in 4 B.C.

The years of Herod’s rule were a time of turmoil for the Jewish people. He was an Idumean. His ancestors had been forced to convert to Judaism, but the Jews never accepted Herod. In fact, they resented him. He was the representative of a foreign power. Scheming, jealous, and cruel, he killed two of his own wives and at least three of his own sons. Just five days before his own death, Herod had his oldest son, Antipater, put to death. Augustus once said that it was better to be Herod’s pig than his son (a wordplay, since the Greek words for pig, hus, and for son, huios, sound very much alike). His relations with Rome were sometimes troubled due to the unsettled conditions in the empire. Herod was a strong supporter of Antony, though he could not tolerate Cleopatra with whom Antony had become enamored. When Antony was defeated by Octavian (31 B.C.), Herod pledged his full support to Octavian.

Herod proved himself an efficient administrator on behalf of Rome. He kept the peace among a people who were hard to rule. He was a cruel and merciless man. Yet, during a time of great famine, he used his own funds to feed the people. Among his many building projects in Jerusalem, his greatest contribution to the Jews was the beautification of the temple in Jerusalem. This beautification seems to have largely been an attempt to conciliate his subjects. The temple, decorated with white marble, gold, and jewels, became proverbial for its splendor: “Whoever has not seen the temple of Herod has seen nothing beautiful.”

It was during the reign of Herod that Jesus was born (Matt. 2:1-18; Luke 1:5). Herod was the king who ordered the execution of the male babies in Bethlehem (Matt. 2:16-18).

At his death (4 B.C.), Herod left his kingdom to three of his sons. Antipas became tetrarch (“ruler of a fourth”) of Galilee and Perea (4 B.C.—A.D. 39). Philip became tetrarch of the Gentile regions to the northeast of the Sea of Galilee (4 B.C.—A.D. 34). Archelaus was to be king of Judea and Samaria, but Rome refused to give him the title of king. He was ethnarch (“ruler of the people”) of these two territories. He proved to be a poor ruler and was deposed (6 A.D.). His territories were placed under the direct rule of Roman procurators under the control of the governor of Syria.

John the Baptist rebuked Antipas for divorcing his wife in order to marry Herodias, the wife of Philip, his half brother. In retaliation, Herodias induced her dancing daughter to demand the head of John the Baptist. Antipas yielded to the grisly request (Mark 6:17-29; Matt. 14:3-12). Jesus once referred to Antipas as “that fox” (Luke 13:32). Later Jesus stood trial before him (Luke 23:7-12).

Except for brief periods, Roman governors ruled Archelaus’s former territory. The fifth procurator appointed to rule over Judea was Pontius Pilate, before whom Jesus stood trial prior to his crucifixion. Interesting, three times Pilate pronounced Jesus innocent, yet he lacked the courage to set him free (John 18).

Herod Agrippa I, grandson of Herod the Great, executed James, the Apostle and son of Zebedee, and imprisoned Peter (Acts 12:1-5). He was smitten of God when he accepted the praise of the people, “It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.” Luke tells us that because “he gave not God the glory,” “the angel of the Lord smote him . . . and he was eaten of worms and died” (Acts 12:21-23).

The governor Felix heard the Apostle Paul preach the gospel and trembled at the word, yet postponed obeying the gospel (Acts 24-25). He hoped that Paul would bribe him with money, but Paul never did and remained a prisoner for two years under the governor Felix.

Festus, who took the place of Felix, also heard Paul’s case (Acts 25). Willing to do the Jews a favor, Festus suggested that Paul return to Jerusalem to stand trial. Being a Roman citizen, and knowing that the Jews intended to kill him, Paul appealed his case to Caesar.

This presented a problem for Festus. He had no choice but to send Paul to Rome. The problem was that he did not have any charges to write in the papers to accompany Paul to Rome. Thus, he asked Herod Agrippa II, great-grandson of Herod the Great, to listen to Paul’s self-defense and see if he could determine what charges should be written against Paul before sending his case to Rome. Agrippa heard Paul’s self-defense and was “almost” persuaded to become a Christian himself (Acts 26:28).

Upon the death of Festus, Albinis and then Florus were appointed governors of Judea. It was the raiding of the temple treasury by Florus that ignited the Jewish revolt of A.D. 66-70 which ended with the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in A.D. 70. The clean-up operations of this revolt lasted till the capture of Masada, a fortress on the west side of the Dead Sea, where the last rebels and their families, numbering more than nine hundred, committed mass suicide just before the Romans entered. The Jews suffered even greater loss of life at the destruction of Jerusalem. Both the destruction of Jerusalem and the capture of Masada were preceded by long sieges. Apart from such events, and in spite of the Herods and the Roman governors, however, Jewish priests and Jewish courts controlled most local matters of daily life.

Worship at the temple and its sacrificial system ceased with the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Jewish rabbis established a school in the Mediterranean coastal town of Jamnia (or Yavneh) to expound the Torah, the Old Testament law, more intensively. Unsettled conditions continued in Palestine until Emperor Hadrian erected a temple to the Roman god Jupiter on the site where the Jewish temple had stood. Hadrian also prohibited the rite of circumcision. The Jews revolted again, this time under the leadership of Bar Cochba, proclaimed by many Jews to be the Messiah (A.D. 132). The Romans crushed this uprising in A.D. 135, rebuilt Jerusalem as a Roman city, and banned Jews from entering the city. Thus the Jewish state ceased to exist until its revival in 1948.

(For a more detailed discussion of the history of the Jews from the Babylonian Captivity through the intertestamental period, I highly recommend Old Testament History by Charles Pfieffer, as well as Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Books 10-20, which cover the history of the Jews from the Babylonian Captivity on into the New Testament Period, to the governorship of Florus. For a detailed discussion of the destruction of the Jerusalem, see Josephus.

By Bruce James

Oh how we need more heaven-centered minds! Many have forgotten that this world is not our home and that we’re just passing through. Carnal-mindedness is rampaging across our land and it has even filtered into the Lord’s body. So many are so wrapped up in the cares and affairs of this life that they have made little or no preparation for the next life.

The Holy Scriptures constantly emphasize the need for heaven-centered thinking and living. Paul said, “Seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth” (Col. 3:1, 2). The Colossians needed to revamp their thinking to be more heaven-centered rather than earth-centered. A similar admonition fell from the lips of our Lord in his Mount Olivet discourse, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt and where thieves do not break through and steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matt. 6:19-21).

In spite of the plain declaration of the preceding passages, a mad dash to accumulate earthly treasures has relegated laying up heavenly treasures to a place of secondary importance. When will we ever realize the futility of setting our affections upon a place that is temporal in nature? Peter reminded his readers of the certainty of Christ’s coming and the attendant consequences. When the day of the Lord comes, the heavens will pass away with a great noise, the elements shall melt with fervent heat, and the earth and all of its works will be burned up (2 Pet. 3:10). Peter then asked a question that we would do well to soberly examine. He said, “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness. . .?” (2 Pet. 3:11). In other words, since the earth and all within it is going to someday be annihilated, should you be earth centered or heaven-centered in your thinking?

Oh how we need to emulate and imitate the heaven-centered thinking of the heroes of faith chronicled in Hebrews 11. They confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth (v. 13). They desired a better country, that is, an heavenly country (v. 16). They realized that here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come (v. 14). Abraham looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God (v. 10). It was heaven-centered thinking that prompted Moses to choose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season (v. 25). Heaven-centered thinking explains why some were tortured, not accepting deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection (v. 35ff).

Likewise, heaven-centered thinking will enable us to remember to love not the world, neither the things that are in the world (1 John 2:15). Let us never forget that the world passeth away and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever (1 John 2:17). 

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By L.A. Stauffer

Synagogues have been the center of Jewish religious and social life for more than 2000 years. Although their origin is wrapped in the obscurity of Jewish history between Old and New Testament times, they were prominent throughout the Graeco-Roman world by the time of Jesus and the apostles. Why and how they arose is fathomable in part, but some historians and theologians believe they served a far more extensive and valuable purpose than merely a place for Jewish worshipers to assemble. Some scholars cannot resist the conclusion that synagogues developed for just such a time as the arrival of the Messiah, the prophesied kingdom, and the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose to redeem mankind. 

Synagogues indisputably provided an arena in which Jesus could challenge the scribes, Pharisees, and other leaders of Judaism; a place where he could put the right construction on the law and prophets and announce the fullness of times. They were likewise auditoriums for evangelism by apostles who, taking the Scriptures in hand, alleged and proved from prophecy that Jesus was the Christ and that the time for the messianic kingdom had come. But all this is to get ahead of the story of the synagogue.

Bible readers and students leave the holy precinct of Old Testament revelation, pass over 400 years of profane history, enter the sacred grounds of New Testament Scriptures, and suddenly read about Sadducees, Pharisees, Edomite rulers, Roman governors in Palestine, and synagogues. Some undoubtedly, especially those unfamiliar with the history between the covenants, are startled by the presence of synagogues in every part of the Roman empire at the opening of the first century A.D. And yet, those acquainted with that history would be as equally surprised if there were no synagogues in those cities.

When the Old Testament comes to end with the book of Malachi, only a small remnant of Jews have returned to Jerusalem and their Palestinian home. The remainder of the nation in great numbers adapted to the Greek culture that engulfed the world through the influence of Alexander the Great and established homes and businesses in the cities of every province of Rome. Would these Jews of the Diaspora forsake God? Would they reject his law completely? Would they join the pagans in their heathenistic worship, especially after being exiled from their land for adopting the  ways of the Gentiles? After learning in captivity the lessons of apostasy and compiling the sacred writings in both Hebrew and Greek, it is to be expected that some among them would seek to honor God. But where? Certainly not at pagan temples. Isolation from Jerusalem and dispersion among the nations are the circumstances that demand in every city a place to assemble for the reading of Scripture, prayer, teaching, and exhortations to faithfulness. This is the setting for the beginning of Jewish synagogues.

The word “synagogue” does not at first mean a building in which to assemble. The term grows out of the Greek prefix (sun) which means “together” and the Greek verb (ago) “to go, come, bring.” This combination gave Greeks the word sunagoge, which means “a coming or bringing together” of a group — whether people, animals, commodities, or other items. From Thycidides on it might refer to the gathering of a harvest, a union of barbers, the mustering of an army, and a host of similar applications.

Sunagoge is first associated with the Jewish nation in the Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures about 275 to 250 B.C. There it is used some 200 times and translates a dozen or so words. It primarily denotes the “community” or “congregation” of Israel, whether assembled or not. It is likewise employed to describe a collection of revenue, a pile of stones, a swarm of bees, a herd of cattle, and the Babylonian and Assyrian armies and nations. But it principally translates edah and occasionally qahal, Hebrew words that refer to the “assemblies” of Israel and the “community” or nation of Israel itself (see Kittle, VIII: 798-841).

Sunagoge in time followed the history of the English word “church” and came to denote the building in which Jewish worshipers assembled. The origin of buildings and the use of “synagogue” to denote meeting houses is apparently lost to the annals of history. Unsuccessful attempts have been made to trace synagogues to the time of Ezra, Nehemiah, and the Jewish captives of Babylon and Persia. The first documented inscription of a “place” of assembly outside Jerusalem is in Schedia, Egypt at the time of Ptolemy Euergetes who ruled from 247-221 B.C. Even then the building was called a house or “place of prayer” (proseuch ) rather than a synagogue (The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, 10: 120; see Acts 16:13). By the time of Jesus and the apostles, buildings flourished both in Palestine and every corner of the Roman world. Generally, they bore the name “synagogues” and were established in any community where ten Jewish males lived.

Synagogues were places of assembly both for worship and the conduct of community business. There schools were conducted for children, alms were taken up for the poor, sentence was pronounced against criminals, scourgings were administered to the guilty, and convicted citizens were excommunicated from Jewish society (see Matt. 6:2, 5; 10:17; 23:34; Mark 13:9; John 12:42; Acts 22:19). But mainly it was a place of worship on certain week days, on the sabbath, and on feast days and other special occasions.

The synagogue itself was no innovation per se, but an aid to provide a place for the nation to do what Ezra and Nehemiah did when after captivity they tried to rebuild the people as a holy nation and an elect race. While synagogues were generally places of worship, the “main object of these Sabbath day assemblages . . . was not public worship in its stricter sense, i.e., not devotion, but religious instruction.” Philo called them “houses of instruction” (The Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ, Emil Schurer, Division II, II:54; see Acts 15:21). From the teaching of the New Testament and Talmudic compilations the traditional service at the synagogue is reasonably clear. 

The service opened with a recitation of the Shema, a compilation of verses from Deuteronomy 6:4-9, 11:13-21, and Numbers 15:37-41. Next followed a reading from the Torah (law) and the prophets. The Torah, according to Schurer, was divided into 154 sections and was read in its entirety every three years. This was followed by a prayer, a blessing from one of the priests, and a discourse from a scribe, rabbi, or a selected guest among the visitors. The service ended with the utterance of the Shemmeh Esreh — a prayer repeated by dedicated Jews three times a day. The prayer in part included: praise to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob for his gracious blessings; a request for wisdom and forgiveness; a call for help to do what is right and to endure affliction; a plea for God to reign over them and bring justice to evil-doers; a cry for mercy to the      righteous and restoration of the nation to Jerusalem; an appeal for God to accept their prayers and worship; a final offer of praise and thanksgiving (Schurer 85-87).

The synagogue and its service, according to Jewish authorities, was a revolutionary departure from the Temple service of a special priesthood and sacrifices. The synagogue possessed no inherent sanctity and its service included no sacrificial or sacramental ritual. It required no intermediary services of a priest, but was a democratic fellowship of worshipers who sought God directly in eagerness to learn the law (Jewish Encyclopedia 120).

The exact structure or layout of synagogues cannot be easily determined. Archaeological remains of synagogues — some 150 sites in places as diverse as Galilee, Syria, Babylon, Greece, Asia Minor, Italy, Spain, Egypt, northern Africa — are of post-Christian times and may not necessarily represent the design of synagogues in the time between the covenants and at the beginning of the first century. They were usually located at the highest point of a city and faced either east or toward Jerusalem. Evidence, according to some writers, indicates that the structures may have been patterned after the Temple. But since there were no rabbinic regulations, synagogues may have varied from locality to locality, depending on the size and wealth of the Jewish population. Schurer notes that the design of A.D. 200 and onward, of which there are many examples, did not arise immediately and may well reflect the earlier time of the first century. The most notable examples show two-columned auditoriums with a central nave and two narrower seating aisles on either side. More elaborate synagogues contained galleries that extended over the side aisles with separate entrances from the outside and included a pillared porch or stoop at the main entrance. 

What is known with a good bit of certainty about the furnishings of synagogues is that they had either concrete or wooden benches which were often backless. Some benches, probably at the front of the auditorium facing the assembly, were what the New Testament calls “chief seats” where men of prominence were seated: elders, scribes, rabbis, or wealthy and otherwise important figures of the community (see Matt. 23:6; Mark 12:29; Luke 11:43; 20:46). Also at the front of the synagogue was a raised dais (bema)               where a reading desk stood and a box known as the “ark” (geniza) in which scrolls of the Old Testament Scriptures, wrapped in linen cloths, were housed. Mention is also made of candlelabras for lighting and trombones and trumpets for sounding the time of special events and days.

The personnel in charge of the synagogue and its services were not necessarily priests, scribes, or elders. No doubt in any community where these men resided they took part in the synagogue services at regular intervals. But even young men from the synagogue schools were called on to read the Scriptures and visitors were asked to speak. The ruler of the synagogue and the minister or attendant at the service were not necessarily rabbis or scribes. The ruler of the synagogue was chosen from the community to arrange and set in order the procedure for worship.

Historians and theologians, as noted earlier, often view the rise of the synagogue in the context of the “fullness of times” or “last days” — a time purposed by God, foreseen in Old Testament prophecy, and fulfilled in the life of Jesus and the revelation of the gospel of salvation (see Isa. 2:2; Acts 2:17; Heb. 1:1; 9:26; 1 Pet. 1:20; Gal. 4:4; Eph. 1:11). The public ministry of Jesus opened with the announcement that “the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand” (Mark 1:15). God had set a time within his own authority for the arrival of the kingdom, according to Jesus, who then sent the twelve to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth with the good news of salvation (see Acts 1:6-8).

How convenient were those places of worship in every community in Palestine when God sent forth his Son in the fulness of time to implant his universal rule into the hearts of men through the gospel. There — at those synagogues — Jesus began his public ministry, spake with authority, revealed and demonstrated his identity as the Christ, and announced the arrival of the messianic kingdom (Matt. 4:23; Luke 4:16-30). From synagogues in the rest of the known world the apostles heralded in every nation the will and purpose of God to sum up all things in heaven and earth in Christ Jesus (Eph. 1:10, 11). There the gospel of grace through faith was announced first to the Jews, among whom were God-fearing proselytes. From there the good news radiated outward to the Gentiles of the community and churches were established alongside the synagogues (Acts 13:5, 14, 42; 14:1; 17:1, 10, 17; 18:4, 7, 19, 26; 19:8).

The synagogue, it is evident, was not only an expedient for Jewish worshipers scattered among the nations, but was likewise an aid for disciples of Christ who were dispersed by God’s command into all nations to preach the gospel (Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15,16; Luke 24:47-49).

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