Kestoratiou of Herod's Temple (oblique view of the front of the central building), according to Fergusson.
TEMPLE
264
te:\iple
seiihns {War, v, 5, 4), were 55 cnbits high and 16 broad ; jbut. accordiiii; lo the .Mishiia (Mhidoth, iv, 1), '20 iiibitt^ high and 1" biDad— a diflcieiice which LighlfDut ivcim- I'iles by siippDsiiig that J()^eph^l8 iiichides the decDialions (cornice, enlablatiue, etc.)- The Tahnndisls nWt> .-pealv t)f a iloiible dix.r ai tliif passage, which the thickness ol the walls renders prcil)able. Tlie sanctuary stood open, or was closed only by a screen ol" embroidered Babylonian tapestry of bysstis. See Vail. As furniture of the holy place Josephus mentions only the seven-armed candela- hrnm, the table of shew-bread, and the altar of incense. Tlie porch had a doorway 70 cul)its high and 25 broad (Mishna, 40 high and '.'O broad, Mitiiiuth, iii, 7 : probably to be reconciled as above). The porch contained two ta- bles, one of marble, the other of gold, on which the priests daily set respectively the old and the fresh shew-bread taken from and cariied into the Temple (Mishua, Uliekal.
vi. 4). , . ,
In front of the porch, within the priests' court, stood m close proximity |luU somewhat to the south, Midchitli, iii, (!) the laver (li'S) ; and there {ti cubits from the porch) stood the great altar [see Buunt-oi-kkbcnoJ, the iulerveu-
1706], Green [ibid. 1737], and Iluldrich [Zur. 17S'2]). Her- od, in imitation of the Cjreeks and Komans, suspended iu ihe porch several of the rich sjjoils and trophies which he had taken fjom the Arabs antl othui' barbarous tribes of ilie E.ist. Tills was a coinmou custom amoiiir the hea- then nations; Virgil introduces .(Eneas lioasting of hav- ing suspended the spoils which he loi)k from the Greeks on Ihe portals of a Grecian temple (-/>'«. iii). See Gam- ;dAiiiM.
IX. The Apocalyptic Temple. — In the vision of John on I'atmos he expressly tolls us respecting the New Jerusalem, " I saw no temple therein, fur the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are tiie temple thereof" (Rev. xxi, 22). The celestial city itself, in other words, is to be one vast temple tilled with the perpetual Shechinah. We here give I'aiiie's sketch of the ideal city on the. mountain, the length of which was equal to its breadth, and this again was equal to the height of the city above the plain (ver. 16;.
The Celestial Cily (after Paine),
ing space being regarded as especially holy (Mishna, Che- lim, i, 9). North of this were 6 rows of rings (in the pave- ment), to which the animals to be slaughtered were fast- ened ; a little beyond were S low ])illars with cedar beams across them, from which the sacritices were suspended: and between these pillars stood marble tables (m^nba 'C''S 5'iJ), on which their flesh and entrails were laid (.VriMoAA, iii, 5 ; v, 2; V'aniM?, iii, 5; Shekalim, v\, i). West of the altar stood two tables ; one of marlile, on which the fat of the victims was deposited ; the other of silver (?), upon which were kept the implements for this service. See Saorifioial Offeking.
3. Maqnificence of the Central Hvilding. — The vast sums which ilerod I;iid out in adorning this structure gave it the most magiiitireut and imposing appearance. "Its appearance," says Josephus, " had everything that could strike the mind and astonish the sight. For it was on every side covered with solid plates of gold, so that when the sun rose upon it, it reflected such a strong and daz- zling efTulL'ence that the eye of the beholder was obliged to turn away from it, being no more able to sustaiirits radiance than the splendor of the sun" ( War, v, 5, 4). To strangers w-ho approached the capital, it appeared, at a distance, like a huge mountain covered with snow. For where it was not decorated with plates of gold, it was ex- tremely white and <.'listeiiing. The historian, indeed, says that the Temple of Herod was the most astonishing struct- ure he had ever seen or heard of, as well on acconnt of its architecture as its magnitude, and likewise the rich- ness and magnificence of its various parts, and the fame and reputation of its sacred appurtenances. Tacitus calls it imvienxrp npuleiitiri' templum (HiKt. v, 12). Its exter- nal i.'lory, indeed, consisted not only in the opulence and magnificence of the building, but al.so in Ihe rich gifts with which it was adorned, and which excited the admiration of those who beheld them (Luke xxi, 5). In the portico the various votive offerings made both bv Jews and for- eigners were deposited (see Richter, 'AiStiMara TemjM Hi- erofuil. [Lips. 1764]). Amoni; these treasures (2 Mace, iii, 2: ix.16: Josephus, yljir xiv, 16, 4 : xviii,3,5- xix 6 1- H'd/, ii. 17, 3; V, 13,6; ^;))V;m. ii, 2: Philo, O/*;). ii, 560, .5!)1) we find specially mentioned a larL'e golden table, present- ed by Pompey the Great, and several golden vines of ex- quisite workmanship and immense size; for Josephus assures MS that some of the clusters of golden grapes were as tall as a man [War, v, 5, 4). One such golden vine (3nT b-ii ',35, Micldoth, iii, S) especially seems to have been trained up over the entire front of the building (Jo- sephus, Ant. XV, 11, 3; comp. Tacit, fhxt. v, 5). See the iiiouographs Le Vite Aurea in Templo by Jauus [Lips.