The Bible Book

122 THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON

Solomon builds the Temple, which,

with pillars and courtyards, reflects

the style familiar to the Phoenician

craftsmen who worked on it, next

to the royal palace to allow access

between the two most important

buildings in Jerusalem. This

proximity symbolizes the king’s

status as God’s appointed ruler.

Specifications

Although ornate and beautiful,

the Temple itself is not particularly

large. The specifications given in

the Bible are expressed in cubits,

an ancient unit of length, estimated

at about 18 inches (45 cm). The

Temple building is described as

being 60 cubits long, 20 cubits

wide, and 30 high, or three stories

high, with a towering porch

120 cubits high. Modern estimates

give the dimensions as 120–150

feet (35–40m) long by 45–60 feet

(15–20m) wide. At the entrance

are two bronze pillars known as

Jachin and Boaz, symbolizing

God’s greatness.

The complex consists of three

main areas: the great court (1 Kings

7:9), where people assemble to

worship, the inner court or court of

the priests (2 Chronicles 4:9), with a

large sacrificial altar, and the inner

sanctuary (1 Kings 6:5), comprising

the Holy Place (hekal), in which

there are ten gold menorah, a table

of showbread (for offerings), and a

golden incense altar (1 Chronicles

28:18). Around the inner sanctuary

are chambers for the priests.

Behind the incense altar lies

the Holy of Holies, the resting place

of the Ark of the Covenant and the

tablets of the Ten Commandments.

These are guarded by two huge

statues of olive-wood cherubim

overlaid with gold. One of the most

striking features is the “bronze

sea,” a huge bronze basin that

provides water for the priests

to purify themselves, with ten

wheeled basins for carrying water.

No expense is spared for either

the construction or the furnishing

of the Temple. Solomon conscripts

30,000 Israelites to build it, with

a further 80,000 to quarry stone,

70,000 to carry stone, and 3,300

managers to oversee the work

(1 Kings 5:13 and 2 Chronicles 2:2).

Large, expensive stones are cut

for the foundations, and the finest

materials, including gold, silver,

bronze, cedarwood, and precious

stones, are used throughout. The

used by the Israelites in the

wilderness. Many detailed plans

and preparations have already been

drawn up by King David, who had

wanted to undertake the project

himself. God had told David (through

the prophet Nathan) that he could

not build the Temple because he

was a warrior and had shed blood.

The responsibility and plans

for building the Temple therefore

pass to Solomon. David tells his

son that these are divinely inspired,

“All this ... I have in writing as a

result of the Lord’s hand on me”

(1 Chronicles 28:19).

The Queen of Sheba A visit to Jerusalem by the Queen

of Sheba is mentioned in the

Hebrew Bible, the Qur’an, and

the Ethiopian holy book, the

Kebra Nagast. The Bible passage

is brief but ambiguous. It states

that the unnamed queen hears of

Solomon’s fame and wishes to test

his wisdom. Traveling from the

land of Sheba (believed to be

modern-day Yemen or possibly

Ethiopia), she arrives with gifts of

gold, precious stones, spices, and

incense. Solomon answers all her

questions and she is impressed,

praising God for placing Solomon

on the throne. She leaves after

Solomon gives her “all she

desired and asked for” (1 Kings

10:13). Open to interpretation,

this phrase could simply mean

that she is satisfied with

Solomon’s answers or that she is

carrying his child. Ethiopians

believe that the Sheban queen

bore Solomon a son, Menelik I,

from whom all Ethiopian kings

are descended. They also

believe that when Menelik

later traveled to Jerusalem to

visit his father, he smuggled

the Ark of the Covenant back

to Axum in northern Ethiopia,

where it still resides.

During Solomon’s

lifetime Judah and Israel ...

lived in safety, everyone

under their own vine

and ... own fig tree.

1 Kings 4:25

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123

Solomon’s

Temple was

similar to the

Tabernacle but

incorporated

Phoenician

elements such

as the two

columns “Jachin”

and “Boaz,”

reflecting the

input of architects

and craftsmen

loaned to Solomon

by King Hiram

of Tyre.

King of Tyre (Phoenicia), Solomon’s

ally and neighbor, supplies cedar

for the paneling as well as labor.

According to 1 Kings 6:7, the stone

is finished at the quarry before

being transported to the Temple, so

that “no hammer, chisel or any other

iron tool was heard at the Temple

site while it was being built.”

The priests move in

Once the Temple has been

completed, the priests move God’s

ceremonial equipment from the

tabernacle to the Temple and a

feast is held for 14 days. From then

on, a daily sacrifice of lamb is made

in the morning, with a second

lamb and cereal sacrificed by the

high priest Zadok on the Sabbath.

Singing and prayers are part of

worship. Only the high priest is

permitted to enter the Holy of

Holies, and then only on the

Day of Atonement (see pp. 86–87).

Jerusalem is now established

as a holy city. Zadok and his

descendants control the Temple until

the Babylonian Exile in 597 bce.

It is difficult to pinpoint when

Solomon’s Temple was completed.

The Bible says construction started

THE HISTORICAL BOOKS

in the fourth year of Solomon’s

reign and that it took seven years,

which puts completion at around

964 bce. Rabbinic sources say

the Temple stood for 410 years,

yet records show that it was

destroyed by the Babylonians in

around 587 bce, 30 years earlier

than those dates indicate. The

most likely site is Temple Mount,

now occupied by the Dome of the

Rock, an Islamic shrine, where

the Prophet Muhammad is said

to have ascended to heaven. ■

Jachin

Boaz

ARK

COURT

BRONZE

ALTAR

Bronze

sea

HOLY OF HOLIES HOLY PLACE

INNER COURT

GREAT COURT

N

WHEELED BRONZE BASINS

CHAMBERS

Veil

Altar of

incense

Folding Doors

When the Queen of

Sheba heard about the

fame of Solomon and his

relationship to the Lord,

she came to test Solomon

with hard questions.

1 Kings 10:1

Raising funds for

the First Temple

According to 1 Chronicles

22:14, King David sets aside

funds and materials for the

Temple before he dies. They

included “a hundred thousand

talents of gold, a million talents

of silver, quantities of bronze

and iron too great to be

weighed, and wood and stone.”

In modern terms, this equates

to 3,750 tons of gold and

37,000 tons of silver.

King David also appeals

for donations. Gold, silver, iron,

bronze, and precious stones

are given by families, leaders

of the 12 tribes, commanders,

and those in charge of the

works. Huge quantities of

wood, especially cedar, are

imported from Tyre. David

promises King Hiram of

Tyre to pay his craftsmen

whatever wages Hiram

requires; by the end of the

project Solomon is greatly

in debt and is forced to give

20 towns in Galilee to Hiram

as payment (1 Kings 9:11).

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