Zechariah in the Temple

The Temple of the first century is a fascinating place! The Temple itself was the center of activity, serving thousands of people each day. The plaza around the Temple was a meeting place of pilgrims who came from long distances to bring an offering and merchants who were selling the offering to the pilgrims. It was a place of contention for Sadducees, Pharisees, Essenes, Herodians, Zealots, and others who came to argue politics and religion. It was also a place for locals, who came to watch the commotion.

The Robinson Arch entrance to the Temple

The Temple itself was a modern building, having been totally reconstructed by King Herod the Great. The magnificent Sanctuary was a hundred cubits square and a hundred cubits in height. The Temple Mount measured five hundred cubits by five hundred cubits. Its largest open space was to the south, the next largest to the east, the third largest to the north, and its smallest was to the west. The King had erected the monstrous edifice in order to claim bragging rights (it was a third larger than Solomon’s Temple) and hopefully to appease the Jews who could be a rebellious and obstinate people.

Jerusalem at the time of Jesus

Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist and the subject of this week’s readings in Advent Journeys, was of the generation of priests who had served in both the old Temple and the new facility. The priests enjoyed the spaciousness and modernalities of the new superstructure. The priests enjoyed the tables of marble upon which the sacrifices were prepared. They talked about parading down the colonnades on the east and west of the Temple itself early in the morning. They bragged about the wooden device which Ben Katin had made for the laver. They knew that no expense had been spared in the construction of the new Temple.

Underground tour shows large stones of Temple Mount

The magnificence and wonder of the construction can still be seen on the underground tour of the Western Walls. If you would like to see and touch the stone structure, please accept this as an invitation to join our family on a June 2018 tour of the Holy Land. More information can be found on our website.

Marker for location closest to Holy of Holies

Around the Temple were service buildings constructed to facilitate every portion of the work. There were six chambers in the Temple Court, three to the north and three to the south. Those to the north were the Salt Chamber, the Parwah Chamber, and the Rinsing Chamber. To the south were the Wood Chamber, the Golah Chamber, and the Chamber of Hewn Stone. There were seven gates to the Temple Court: three to the north, three to the south, and one to the east. Those to the south were the Kindling Gate, next to it the Gate of the Firstlings, and the third was the Water Gate. The one to the east was the Nicanor Gate, beside which were two Chambers, one to the right and one to the left; the one was the Chamber of Phineas, the keeper of the vestments, and the other the chamber of them that made the Baken Cakes.

Archaeological finds south of original Temple Mount

The new Temple was in every way a stark contrast to the Temple built under the leadership of Ezra, Joshua, Zerubbabel and Nehemiah. Zechariah approached the Temple with a sense of awe each week of his service.