Sandrine G.The first temple of Solomon was built during the United Monarchies of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah. The craftsmen, the stones and the cedar timbers were provided by the king Hiram I of Tyre. Some historians also consider Hiram Abiff to have been the architect of the temple. Hiram Abiff is still worshiped nowadays as the ideal craftsman of the masonic lodges.
The temple of Solomon was dedicated to Yahweh and was the home of the sacred artifacts. Some of them are related to Moses and to the exile from Egypt such the Ark of the Covenant, the staff of Moses, the rod of Aaron, the Tablets of stone, and a bowl with the secret manna food. Some others are related to the Ancient Hebraic tradition such the Urim and Thummim, the Holy oil, the Torah, the two columns of Boaz and Jachin, the Molten Sea and the Brasen Altar, “a place of slaughter or sacrifice”. “The first altar recorded in the Hebrew Bible is that erected by Noah (Genesis 8:20). Altars were erected by Abraham (Genesis 12:7; 13:4; 22:9), by Isaac (Genesis 26:25), by Jacob (33:20; 35:1-3), and by Moses (Exodus 17:15, Adonai-nissi).” The tradition of sacrifice started during the exodus from Egypt and it became a ritual inside the walls of the temple.
The first temple has been destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar II, the king of Babylon. The Jews were exiled to Babylon in 586 BCE and after the accession of Cyrus the Great on the throne of Persian in 559 BCE, he decreed the return of the Jewish people to Israel in 516 BCE. “In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, in order that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the Lord stirred up the spirit of King Cyrus of Persia so that he sent a herald throughout all his kingdom, and also in a written edict declared: “Thus says King Cyrus of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of those among you who are of his people—may their God be with them!—are now permitted to go up to Jerusalem in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem; and let all survivors, in whatever place they reside, be assisted by the people of their place with silver and gold, with goods and with animals, besides freewill offerings for the house of God in Jerusalem.”
The second temple of Jerusalem was achieved under the kingdom of Herod I, a Jew who had pledge allegiance to the Roman Empire. King Herod is usually described as a cruel leader who nevertheless, has given to Israel a rich architectural heritage. The temple of Herod was considered as a real beauty and this beauty may have cause the conversion of many Roman Elites into the Hebraic faith. Israel had become a threat that the authority of Rome did not want to sustain so it’s unclear rather the unpopularity of King Herod has grown from Rome or from Israel, but for sure, his history still makes the show. Without Herod, and the second temple of Jerusalem, the Christian myth of Jesus would not have existed.
