Presented by Paul J Hughes on an unknown date
There are no authentic archaeological remains of King Solomon's Temple. The building on the site at this time is the Dome of the Book, sometimes called the Mosque of Omar. This is a sacred place for Moslems as well as Christians and Jews.
In 638 A. D. Caliph Omar took Jerusalem from the Persians. He found the area covered with rubbish and ordered it cleared and a simple wooden building was erected to mark the place and preserve it.
About 688 A.D. Sultan Adl-el-Malik built the present magnificant mosque and much of what is to be seen today is this original building which has lasted more than 1300 years. At one time crusaders stabled their horses in the mosque.
The rock on which it is built is believed to have been the site for human sacrifice by ancient Cananites. It is here that tradition says Abraham came to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, but was deterred at the last minute when a ram, caught by the horns in a thicket was substituted. (Gen. XXIII)
The Bible tells us the rock was in an area which belonged to the Jebasite, Araunah (AR-A-Naw) or (Oman) which David purchased to erect an altar to appease God's anger for the offense of numbering the people. (I Chron. 21:1 and II Chron. 3:1)
On this site where David erected his altar, Solomon built his temple. In later years Zerubabel would return from exile to rebuild the second temple which was pulled down by Herod to build for himself one even more lavish. This latter building stood until 70 A.D. when the Roman general, Titus razed it.
In 621, B.C.E., during the reign of Josiah extensive repairs were made to Solomon's Temple. A priest named Hilkiah (HIL-KI-A) found a scroll. This is believed to have been a copy of the book of Deuteronomy. (II Chron. 34:14-21) The Irish Royal Arch system which differs from both the English and American systems is based on this occurrence.
Some of the earliest archaeological excavations at the site of the Temple were made by Sir Charles Warren in the 1860's and 1870's. He uncovered, among other things, the great subterranean quarry, commonly called the Quarry of Solomon. It is generally thought to be the source of the stone used in the Temple. In fact much of the old portion of the city of Jerusalem is built with stone from the giant cavern. Josephus called this the "Royal Caverns."
Warren also discovered an opening about 200 yards north of the Damascus Gate which leads to what is now called Solomon's Quarries. Tradition tells us that it was here that the stone was quarried, dressed and shaped.
I Kings 7:9-12 and 8:15 tells us "Costly stones, great stones of ten cubits" were used in Solomon's buildings and in the walls of Jerusalem. Partly cut stones were found near the entrance shaft under Mount Moriah. It can be seen how they were quarried. With long-handled picks they made incisions above, below and at the sides. Small holes were drilled in rows into which wooden wedges were driven. The wedges were then soaked with water. As the wedges swelled they split the stone. Little holes were cut in the rock to hold candles to furnish light to work.
In I Kings, V chapter, Solomon's labor conscripts were called "hewers in the mountain." Mention is made of Giblim, which is Hebrew means "stone Squarers."
Probably Warren's most noted archaeological excavation was a portion of a great stone wall which reaches down to a foundation set on solid rock. It rises 77 feet and Warren sank a shaft to the native rock. Its corner stone is 14 feet long and four feet high. Most of this has been excavated and exposed. Sir Charles considered this to a wall of Solomon's Temple.
There are a number of painted marks on the foundation stone of this south east corner. These were assumed to be Phoenician characters and to have been put there by one of King Hiram's workmen. While they greatly resemble Phoenician or old Hebrew characters, no one has succeeded in making a translation of them.
While there are a few specialists today who believe that Warren uncovered fragments of Solomon's Temple, this is now generally accepted as the retaining wall of Herod's Temple.
From 135 A.D. Jews were forbidden to visit the site of the Temple (Temples), first by the Romans and later by the Moslems who controlled the country and the city. They were permitted only as far as the remains of the Herodian west wall where they prayed for a return to favor in the sight of God and wept for the lost glory of Israel. It became known as the Wailing Wall or the wall of tears. Pious Jews today still pray at the wall.
Strange to say but the wall now presents a problem of theological, philosophical and scientific differences. Little plants have started to grow on the wall, putting down roots into the seams and cracks of the stone. It is feared that in time this will cause the rock to crumble. Israeli scientists advocate removing the plants or killing them with an herbicide. Pious orthodox Jews believe the wall must be left to nature.
Brother Alex Home, a noted Masonic scholar believes that the foundation of Herod's Temple was used as the foundation of the Temple of Zerubabel and thus the Wailing Wall is actually much older than generally supposed. He cites as authority, Josephus, who lived and wrote 37-100 A.D. and lived while Herod's Temple was still in existence. The following is quoted from Josephus "Antiquities of the Jews."
"Herod took the old foundations (i.e. Zerubabel's Temple) and laid others and erected the temple upon them, being in length 100 cubits and in height 20 additional cubits. . . . . "The Jewish Encyclopedia states that the foundation dimensions of Zerubabel and Herod's temples were the same.
In 933 to 916 B.C.E. Rehoboan, son of Solomon was king of Judah and the magnificant kingdom of Solomon was split. Ten tribes formed the kingdom of Israel while two became the kingdom of Judah. Shishak (SHI-SHAK) king of Egypt and strange to say, one of King Solomon's many fathers-in-law invaded the southern kingdom and sacked Jerusalem. (I Kings 14:25-26). He carried away much of the precious metal from the temple. (See also II Chron. 12: 2-9). In II Chronicles we are told that he had 1200 chariots and three score thousand horsemen and, "He took the fenced cities which pertained to Judah and came to Jerusalem."
There are three archaeological discoveries which document this first raid on the Temple of Solomon besides the biblical references.
First, Shishak, upon his return to Egypt had a record of his conquest inscribed on the south wall of the Temple of Amon at Karnak where it is still evident today. He presented 156 cities of Judah to his god, Amon.
A layer of ashes in the architectural ruins of Kireath-sepher dating from this time indicates the devastation there. In an excavation at Megiddo, one of Solomon's forts, archaeologists have found a fragment of stone monument which Shishak erected there to commemorate his victory.
In 1939 archaeologists found Shishak's mummy at Tanis in Egypt. It was encased in a silver sarcophagus overlaid in solid gold-probably the gold from Solomon's Temple which he carried away.
Over many years various terra cotta tablets of the Babylonian chronicle have been uncovered and translated. The chronicles tell the story of Nebuchadnezzar's capture and devastation of Judah and Jerusalem. This is the only known account of this event outside the Bible. The Chronicles completely corroborate the description of the destruction of the Temple in 597 B.C.E. It apparently was as complete and ruthless as the Book of Lamenations suggests that it was. It tells of Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, being blinded and led away in chains along with the people of Judah to Babylon as prisoners.
Dr. G. Ernest Wright (Biblical Archaeology) found indications of the destruction at Tel ed-Duweir (Lachish) in his excavations there. This was a frontier fortress which guarded the approaches to Jerusalem. He uncovered archaeological evidence of the ruin of the city at the time of Nebuchadnezzar's invasion. Similar evidence was obtained by Dr. Wright at Tel Beit Mirsim, eight miles away.
J.A. Thompson who also did excavations of Tel el-Duweir says ". . . so fierce was the fire which destroyed the city that the limestone of the buildings turned to slaked lime." The most important items found in the town of Lackish were the collection of potsherds known as the Lackish Letters. They were letters written in haste on clay tablets by the commander of the fort just before Nebuchadnezzar launched his final attack.
The first of them were located by the Wellcome Archaeological Expedition in 1935. There were 21 tablets. Later in 1956 more were discovered. They were in a deposit of ash and charcoal on the floor of the guard room.
These two extra-biblical sources-Babylonian Chronicle and Lackish Letters- give us archaeological proof of the destruction of the Temple of Solomon as described in the Bible. However, by this time it had already been stripped of much of its magnificent decoration and was not the splendid edifice it had been in the days of Solomon, King of Israel, Hiram, King of Tyre and Hiram Abif.
Archaeological excavations have not turned up specific and unquestionable evidence of the Temple of Solomon. The same is true of other building activity of Solomon in the city of Jerusalem which was built in part by him and occupied by him many years. This is explained by the completeness of the destruction and that much of its glory, its valuable material had been stripped to pay tribute or had been carried away by Nebuchadnezzar on other raids as well as by other military adventurers.
Story, legend, Masonic ritual and scripture tell of the riches and magnificence of the Temple. It is, however, a fact that this was only a small portion of the building done by Solomon. His own palace was larger, more extravagantly furnished and ornamental as was the palace he built for his favorite wife, daughter of the ruler of Egypt. He also built and furnished a series of frontier out posts and forts. Each was a city in itself. The best known was Megiddo.
Megiddo is situated ten miles south west of Nazareth at a pass in the Carmel Mountain range. It was on a principal caravan route between Asia and Africa and has for ages been a meeting place for armies of the East and West. Thothmes III, the Pharaoh who made Egypt a world empire in 1525 B.C.E. said, "Megiddo is worth a thousand cities." In World War I, the British general Allenby broke the power of the Turks here. It is said to be the site of the battlefield of Armageddon. (Rev. 16:16).
In 1924 the Oriental Institute of Chicago University began excavations here. Since that time archaeologists have been systematically removing layer after layer, recording and preserving everything of historical value.
This was Solomon's first great building undertaking. Besides the fort and the city there was a great stable complex. Solomon's love and concern for horses is well documented. (I Kings, 10:26-29). The first important excavation was the stables. There are dressed limestone pillars standing in rows. Each is perforated at an angle as a tying post. Between each is a feeding trough or manger hewn of limestone. It can be seen how the horses stood in double rows with heads inward to the troughs. The posts also served as roof supports.
Adjacent the stalls are foundations and lower courses of walls of other buildings which housed the chariots and were barracks for the grooms and soldiers. There is an open parade ground. Ruins of similar stables have been uncovered near Megiddo at Taanach and Eglon on the Judean border.
Various features of the construction bear witness to the help the Phoenician architects whom Solomon engaged from Hiram of Tyre. .. ."
From II Chron. 36:23 we read, "Thus saith Cyrus, king of Persia. All the kingdoms of the earth hath the Lord God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The Lord his God be with him and let him go up."
This, according to scripture was Cyrus' decree to restore the Temple at Jerusalem. Then began several expeditions of the Jews, returning from Babylonian exile. The first attempt was made in 538 B.C.E. by Sheshbazzar (SHESH-BA-ZAR) which failed. The second principal attempt was made by Zerubabel in 536 B.C.E. (Ezra 2:1-2 and Nehemiah 12:1).
Cyrus established the Persian Empire, now known as Iran and which at that time had its capital in the heart of the Fertile Crescent of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Archaeological excavations there have uncovered numerous finds of Masonic interest.
First was the Cyrus Cylinder. It is made of baked clay and inscribed with a story of Cyrus' feats which come to us as a page of ancient history. It is written in the first person, as though Cyrus himself were speaking.
It reads, in part, "I am Cyrus, king of the world, the mighty king of Sumer and Akkad, king of the four quarters of the world." It tells how Cyrus urged the Jews to return to rebuild their capital in Judea and "restored their gods to them."
In the first book of Esdras in Apocrypha-"Thus saith Cyrus, King of the Persians; the Lord God of Israel, the most high Lord, hath made me king of the whole world and commanded me to build him a house in Jerusalem in Jewry."
On a second, but broken clay cylinder of Cyrus, archaeologists have translated, as though Cyrus were speaking, "I brought the gods back into their sanctuaries."
So we have archaeological evidence in the form of ancient writing preserved on clay tablets which corroborate the biblical account of the return from exile and rebuilding of the Temple which forms the basis for the legend of the Royal Arch.
In 1947 in the Judean wilderness near the north-west corner of the Dead Sea an Arab who was trying to catch one of his goats came upon a cave. Muhammed-ad-Dhib (Mohammed the Wolf) threw a rock at the goat, missed, and the stone broke a stoneware jar in the cave. Examination disclosed there were more than two hundred such jars in the cave and in each jar was an ancient scroll.
Stories of the illicit business of peddling the scrolls reads like a work of fiction. Finally legitimate authorities who first obtained portions of them on the black market learned the location of this treasure trove. More precise exploration led to discovery of other caves and many more such ancient manuscripts which we know as the Dead Sea Scrolls. They are still being examined and translated.
These ancient scrolls provide us with Biblical writing which are the oldest original such manuscripts known to exist. Most were probably written by members of the Khirbet Quamran Hebrew sect who had a monastery or community near the caves. This has been excavated to show living quarters, kitchens, work rooms, etc. where the writing was done. There are also potters kilns where the jars were made. Carbon 14 dating of the scrolls indicates their age from 168 B.C.E. to 233 A.D.
The scroll which is of interest to Masons is commonly called The Temple Scroll. It is one of the older and is in very poor condition. It was tightly rolled and has flaked away badly at the top but the lower portion has been translated with some difficulty. The text has been photographed.
Some of the text deals with a moral battle and is a parable in which the forces of Yahweh prevail over the forces of evil, a description of the observations of Hebrew feasts such as Soccoth and Passover and techniques for sacrifice and religious laws.
About half the scroll contains detailed instructions for building and furnishing the Temple. Dr. Charles Pfeifer believes that the writer was attempting to supply a missing religious law concerning Temple construction. In I Chron. 28:19 we read that David gave his son Solomon directions for building the Temple which were made clear". . . by the writing from the hand of the Lord concerning it and all the work to be done according to the plan."
With this in mind the writer of the scroll apparently wrote what he believed to be God's word concerning the building of a perfect Temple.
It is noted that his description does not fit to the biblical description of Solomon's Temple, the temple built by Zerubabel after the exile or to Herod's Temple which was still standing when the scroll was written. He was apparently writing directions for a future time when a perfect temple would be erected according to a divinely revealed plan.
The historical Temple of Solomon, like the tabernacle before it, had two courts. The Temple Scroll adds a third and all are arranged concentrically. The inner court is 250 cubits, the middle 500 cubits and the outer court 1600 cubits. Chambers are provided for priests and Levites.
The Bible tells of booths erected near the temple during Soccoth, or the feast of tabernacles. The Scroll indicates that such booths were provided for heads of the Israelite tribes. The twelve tribes are commemorated in the names of the twelve gates, three on each side, which provided access to the middle and outer courts. The Book of Revelations also tells of twelve gates to the holy city, each one bearing the name of one of the tribes. (Rev. 21:12)
We of today read of the thousands of workmen who constructed the Temple of Solomon but never give any thought to the mundane daily problems that must have been presented. Our scroll writer however, seems to have considered all the problems of construction.
Matters of personal and public hygiene, as well as sexual matters are given due consideration. Lepers and disabled people were restricted to specific areas and were not permitted near the temple.
The scroll even prescribes the location of the toilets for workmen, later to be used by temple visitors. The distance from the temple was eight-tenths of a mile by modern measurements. The location was such that prevailing winds would blow away from the temple and they would not be visible from the temple area.
Another of the scrolls which may be of interest to brothers of the Royal Arch is commonly called the Copper Scroll. It was found in the third cave at Quamran. Dr. Charles F. Pfeifer, in his book The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Bible, cites what he terms a "significant quotation" regarding the temple. The scroll says, "In the cistern which is below the rampart on the east side, in a place hollowed out of rock; 600 bars of silver. . . . close by, below the southern corner of the portico at Zadok's tomb and beneath the pilaster in the exedras, a vessel of incense in pine wood and a vessel of incense in cassia wood. ... In a pit near the north, near the grave in a hole opening to the north, there is a copy of this book with explanations, measurements and all the details."
Various scholars have numerous opinions regarding authorship of the scrolls which were written by members of the Quarnran community. The majority classify the group as the Essene sect. The other two principal Jewish groups of the time were Pharisees and Sadducees. Josephus maintains that all the Jews of that day belonged to one of these three groups.
Based partly on the fact that Jesus denounced both the Saducees and the Pharisees, but never mentioned the Essenes, that much of his teaching fitted the Essene philosophy along with many other circumstantial coincidences there is a general belief that he was an Essene, as were most of his followers. Following his death the early Christian Church followed an organizational pattern which was Essene-like in nature.
The evidence for membership of John the Baptist in the group and in a Quamran community is even stronger. Aside from the fact that he is one of the two patron saints of masonry that does not concern us here.
Probably the most unique archaeological discovery as it relates to masonry was at Ezion-geber. Dr. Nelson Gulueck, professor of Biblical Archaeology, Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati, Ohio excavated Tel el-Kheleifeh at the tip of the Gulf of Aqabah in 1938-39. This site is described in I Kings 9:26.
This is the site of Solomon's navy base for trade with Arabia, India and the west coast of Africa. Many of the artifacts discovered were dishes, nails, spearheads and fishhooks which were manufactured and exported in trade for gold and ivory.
A most remarkable discovery was that this was also the site of an iron and copper smelter and forge. There is evidence that metal ores were worked into finished objects. The pottery has dated the installation at the time of Solomon.
The smelter refinery was so well designed that it was a natural blast furnace. The walls were pierced with two rows of flues and interconnected to a system of air channels. It was open to the full force of prevailing desert winds and sand storms which sweep the area blowing from the north. The air was directed through a wind tunnel. Thus the fierce natural winds had the effect of compressed air in this structure which was made by Solomon's workmen.
There is biblical information regarding such metal work for the Temple. Most notable for us are the two great brass pillars. There are ample details of the forging and casting of the molten sea, flesh hooks, cherubim, chains, lavers, candlesticks, pots, shovels, basins and other vessels for the Temple, some of which were cast in pure gold (II Chron. 4:17 and I Kings 7:46).
It appears that archaeologists have discovered here the forge of the master workman of metal who was responsible for the beauty and adornment of the Temple of Solomon, our ancient grandmaster, Hiram Abif.
Non-Biblical References: