III. TEMPLE OF HEROD.—Herod, wishing to ingratiate himself with the church and state party, and being fond of architectural display, undertook not merely to repair the second temple, but to raise a perfectly new structure. As, however, the temple of Zerubbabel was not actually destroyed, but only removed after the preparations for the new temple were completed, there has arisen somc debate whether the temple of Herod could properly be called the third temple.
The reason why the temple of Zerubbabel was not at once taken down, in order to make room for the more splendid structure of IIerod, is explained by Josephus as follows (Joseph. Antiq. xv. 2). The Jews were afraid that Herod would pull down the whole edifice, and not be able to carry his in tentions as to its rebuilding into effect ; and this danger appeared to them to be very great, and the vastness of the undertaking to be such as could hardly be accomplished. But while they were in this disposition, the king encouraged them, and told them he would not pull down their temple till all things were gotten ready for building it up entirely.
And as Herod promised them this beforehand, so he did not break his word with them, but got ready a thousand waggons, that were to bring stones for this building, and chose out ten thousand of the most skilful workmen, and bought a thou sand sacerdotal garments for as many of the priests, and had some of them taught the arts of stone cutters, and others of carpenters, and then began to build ; but this not till everything was well pre pared for the work.
The work was commenced in the eighteenth year of the reign of Herod ; that is, about the year 734 735 from the building of Rome, or about twenty or twenty-one years before the Christian era. Priests and Levites finished the temple itself in one year and a half. The out-buildings and courts required eight years. However, some building operations were constantly in progress under the successors of Herod, and it is in reference to this we are informed that the temple was finished only under Albinus, the last procurator but one, not long before the commencement of the Jewish war in which the temple was again destroyed. It is in reference also to these protracted building operations that the Jews said to Jesus, 'Forty and six years was this temple in building' (John ii. 2o). The temple is described by Josephus (Antly. xv. t, and De Bell. "mi. v. 5). With this should be compared the Talmudic tmct (Mishna, v. 10), which has becn edited and commented upon by C. l'Em perenr de Oppyck, Lugduni Bat. 1630, 4to. Comp.
also vols. viii. and ix. of Antiquitates Hebraica, by Ugolino, which contains, in addition to other dis sertations, Mosis Maimonidis Constihttiones a'e domo electa ; Abraham ben David, De Templo. Comp. also E. A. Schulze, De variis 7ua'aorum erroribus in descriptione templi secundi, prefixed to his edi tion of Reland, De spills templi Ilierosolymitani.
The whole of the structures belonging to the temple were a stadium square, and consequently four stadia (or half a Roman mile) in circumference. The temple was situated on the highest point, not quite in the centre, but rather to the north-western corner of this square, and was surrounded by various courts, the innermost of which was higher than the next outward, which descended in ter races. The temple, consequently, was visible from the town, notwithstanding its various high en closures. The outer court was called rnm -In, the mountain of the house, Td Spos roOlepor, (1 Maccab. xiii. 52). According to liliddoth (i. 3) this moun tain of the house had five gates, two towards the south and one towards each of the other quarters. The principal gate was that towards the east : it was called the gate Susan, and a representation of the toxvn of Susa, sculptured in relief, was affixed to it. This had been preserved from the days of Zerubbabel, when the Jews were anxious to express by all means their loyal submission to the Persian power. Most interpreters consider it the same which in Acts iii. 2 and 10 is called irian (;)pctice, the beautifill gate. lt seems, however, that besides these five principal gates there were some other entrances, because Josephus speaks of four gates an the west and several on the south. Annexed to the outer wall were halls which surrounded the temple, and were thirty cubits wide, except on the south side, where the placriXish Trod, the royal hall, seems to have been threefold, or three times wider than the other halls. The roofs of these halls were of cedar-wood, and were supported by marble columns twenty-five cubits high. The Levites re sided in these halls. There was also a synagogue where the Talmudic doctors might be asked ques tions, and where their decisions might be heard (Luke ii. 46). These halls seemed likewise to have formed a kind of lounge for religionists ; they ap pear to have been spacious enough to afford op portunities for religious teachers to address knots of hearers. Thus we find that Jesus had there vari ous' opportunities for addressing the people and refuting cavillers.