SOLOMON'S TEMPLE - THE DESIGN

A reconstruction of the Temple built by King Solomon

The reconstruction of the Temple of Solomon (above) is only conjecture, and may be largely inaccurate.

For example, the Bible describes the two columns at the entrance of the Temple as being decorated with pomegranates, but it's unlikely they had two enormous pieces of fruit on top, as this reconstruction suggests.

Solomon's Temple may  have looked more like the Egyptian Temple of Dendur (below), currently held in the Metropolitan Museum in New York.

Though the Temple of Dendur is from a much later period (circa 15 BC), it has the same basic layout as Solomon's Temple:

• a formal entrance
• double columns at the entrance
• a cult terrace
• a room for offerings
• a sanctuary at the rear.

The Temple of Dendur

There are of course no physical remains of Solomon's Temple, which was on the highest, northern part of the ridge above the City of David.

This area has been built over several times, and now houses two of the most sacred monuments of Islam, the el-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. It is no longer possible to excavate there.

This means that we can rely only on the biblical text  in 1 Kings 6-7  to reconstruct the Temple.

The detailed description given there of the building of Solomon's Temple was probably written by an author who had first-hand knowledge of the Temple before it was destroyed by the Babylonians in the early 6th century BC.

Even with this information, there are problems. Some archaeologists say that, given the minor importance of Solomon's kingdom and its comparative lack of wealth during his reign (despite what the Bible says), the Temple would have been little more than a rustic shrine in the 10th century BC.

They also say that the Temple of Solomon was not built by him but by a later, wealthier king.

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