Jerusalem Temple Research Articles

Who Gave You a Decree? Anonymity as a Narrative Technique in Ezra 5:3, 9 in Light of Persian-Period Decrees and Administrative Sources

The question that Tattenai, the governor, poses to those attempting to rebuild the Jerusalem temple in Ezra 5 appears twice in the chapter, though scholarship has paid little attention to it. This study lays out the relevant surviving documentary data (Persian-period decrees and administrative documents) and uses them as a sociohistorical lens through which the importance of Tattenai’s question might be seen. The data suggest that, for ideological reasons, the narrative conceals the name of the person responsible for rebuilding Jerusalem’s Second Temple as well as provides insights into the compositional history of the chapter.

Historical Books: Joshua–2 Kings

Historical BooksJoshua–2 Kings Christopher T. Begg, Fred W. Guyette, J. Edward Owens, John M. Halligan, Rhiannon Graybill, Jeremy Corley, and Thomas Hieke 404. [Dtr] Sang-wan Lee, "Der Umgang mit der Kulteinheitforderung in sekundären Einschreibungen im Deuteronomistichen Geschichtswerk," Eigensinn und Entstehung, 331-38 [see #789]. In Dtr, the requirements for worship of Yhwh alone (Kultreinheit) and worship of Yhwh at a single designated sanctuary (Kulteinheit) are repeatedly alluded to. Some scholars posit that the two requirements derive from different Deuteronomistic hands, but L., following E. Blum, argues that both requirements were elements of the original Deuteronomist's presentation of the history of Israel and Judah. At the same time, there are, L. further argues, a variety of secondary elements within Dtr containing allusions to the above double requirement, these including mentions of cultic places and cultic activities that take place outside of and/or prior to the Jerusalem Temple. A particularly noteworthy case in point is the account of Elijah's altar on Mount Carmel in 1 Kgs 18:30ff., which postdates the construction of the Temple but which nonetheless is (apparently) legitimated by the presence of a Yhwh prophet and Yhwh's own sending fire to consume the sacrifice on Elijah's altar. According to L., all the secondary texts identified by him, while they do derive from secondary Deuteronomistic hands, do not stand in contradiction with the primary Deuteronomist's combined requirement of worship of Yhwh and worship of him at one central sanctuary; in fact, the focus of many of these secondary texts is on concerns other than Dtr's double cultic requirement (e.g., in Josh 24:26, the center of attention is not on the "great stone" erected by Joshua at Shechem, but rather on the "book of the law" that he is said to have deposited there).—C.T.B. 405. [Dtr; Jeroboam I; "High Places"] Kristin Weingart, "Jerobeam und seine Kulthöhen. Geschichte als Argument in religiösen Diskurs der Perserzeit," Eigensinn und Entstehung, 315-30 [see #789]. The Deuteronomistic History (Dtr) features recurrent references to the "sins of Jeroboam" which resulted in the eventual overthrow of the Northern Kingdom. What were those "sins" exactly? In the extant text of 1 Kgs 12:26-32, one finds juxtaposed two categories of such sins: Jeroboam's erection of the bull-images in Bethel and Dan on the one hand and his establishment of "houses" for worship on the high places and the inauguration of a non-Levitical priesthood to service these sites on the other. In her article, W. identifies the latter set of "sins of Jeroboam" as deriving from a Persian-period redaction of Dtr, found in 1 Kgs 12:31-32; 13:31-33; 2 Kgs 17:24-30; and 23:16-20, which, in contrast to the original Dtr stratum, in 1 Kgs 12:26-30, as well as the story of the "man of God at Bethel of 1 Kgs 13:1-30 (for which 1 Kgs 12:31-32 and 13:31-32 function as a redactional frame), is directed not against the Bethel cult and its bull image but rather against the cult of the Samaritans of the Persian era with its central Yahwistic sanctuary on Mount Gerizim, which, from the Judean perspective, was viewed as an offense against the sole legitimacy of the Jerusalem sanctuary.—C.T.B. [End Page 135] 406. [Joshua–Judges; Divine and Human Kingship] Sarah Dalrymple, "Ephraim or Judah? Divine Sovereignty and the Potential for Kingship in Joshua–Judges," The Seed of Promise, 50-74 [see #797]. From which of the twelve tribes would God's promised messiah come? One place where we might begin to look is in the story of Joseph (Genesis 37–50). The narrative of Joseph and his brothers is suffused with themes of divine sovereignty, wise leadership, and royal power. Or we might follow a thread that runs through the story of Joshua, from the tribe of Ephraim. Joshua was the warrior and shepherd-leader chosen to follow Moses. How about Caleb, who was from the tribe of Judah? Joshua and Caleb were eager to settle in the Promised...

Who Gave You a Decree? Anonymity as a Narrative Technique in Ezra 5:3, 9 in Light of Persian-Period Decrees and Administrative Sources

The question that Tattenai, the governor, poses to those attempting to rebuild the Jerusalem temple in Ezra 5 appears twice in the chapter, though scholarship has paid little attention to it. This study lays out the relevant surviving documentary data (Persian-period decrees and administrative documents) and uses them as a sociohistorical lens through which the importance of Tattenai's question might be seen. The data suggest that, for ideological reasons, the narrative conceals the name of the person responsible for rebuilding Jerusalem's Second Temple as well as provides insights into the compositional history of the chapter.

Религиозная экумена Империи в воззрениях Юлиана Отступника в контексте проекта восстановления Иерусалимского Храма

Julian the Apostate carried out his religious reforms, relying on the concept of religious piety, which he developed on the basis of the "Chaldean oracles" and contemporary Neoplatonism. His attempt to find a concordat with the Jewish communities fully fits into this concept. Having discovered the "Chaldean" origins of the religion of Abraham, Julian was able to include even the worship of Yahweh in the framework of neo-Platonic theology. The restoration of the Jerusalem temple was for him one of the elements of the renovation of divine-human communication. The lack of information about these events in medieval Jewish literature demonstrates that his attempt to include Judaism in the imperial religious ecumene was based on a misinterpretation of the Abrahamic type of religion.

Park Güell: Reconstructing the Temple of Jerusalem through Light and Aesthetic geometry

Després d’haver constatat que sobre el Parc Güell encara queden qüestions importants per resoldre, aquest article analitza en detall aquesta construcció, identificant un conjunt de pedres que simbolitza una lògia que pretenia fer obres d’art mitjançant la geometria estètica. Amb aquests treballs, els membres d’aquest grup volien fomentar un tipus de societat basada en els valors de les primeres comunitats cristianes. L’estudi de la relació entre la llum del sol i algunes parts del parc, ens permetrà localitzar-hi una representació del Temple de Jerusalem concebuda amb tal geometria. D’aquesta manera, el Parc Güell es revela com el fonament simbòlic a sobre del qual s’hauria d’erigir el Temple de la Sagrada Família.

Antiochus III’s Decree for Jerusalem and the Persian Decrees in Ezra-Nehemiah and LXX 1 Esdras

Abstract The article endorses the view that the royal decrees for the Jerusalem temple inserted in Ezra-Nehemiah (and First Esdras) are not genuine, and explores the historical conditions in which they were composed. It points to similarities between the topical content of Antiochus III’s decree issued in 200/198 BCE (Josephus, Ant. 12.138–144) and that of the Persian decrees, and argues that the latter were based on the former. They were composed in the context of the Maccabean crisis, when it was claimed that Jason cancelled the privileges (political and fiscal) which Antiochus had granted (2 Macc 4:7–15), as a legitimizing precedent to Antiochus’ decree. Moreover, the Persian decrees were used to explore the economic aspect of the relationship between the local community and imperial ruler in Hellenistic times (taxes and euergetism), and to provide a template for he ideal (Hellenistic) imperial king.

Reconstructing the Temple: The Royal Rhetoric of Temple Renovation in the Ancient Near East and Israel

Reconstructing the Temple: The Royal Rhetoric of Temple Renovation in the Ancient Near East and Israel

The Fate of the Jerusalem Temple in Luke–Acts: An Intertextual Approach to Jesus' Laments Over Jerusalem and Stephen's Speech

The Fate of the Jerusalem Temple in Luke–Acts: An Intertextual Approach to Jesus' Laments Over Jerusalem and Stephen's Speech

Jesus As a Philosopher: At the interface between Ethics, Economics, Politics, and Civics over 2000 years ago

Over 2000 years ago, Jesus faced nearly the same kind of economic, institutional, political, and social problems that confronted Socrates over 400 years earlier in Athens, Greece. A certain segment of the upper income class in Jerusalem, called Sadducees, who were allied with Israel’s aristocrats, were engaging in practices that were damaging the economic and social health of Israel. Jesus was a teacher of ethics and moral philosophy in Israel. Ethics dealt with the self (starting with those actions that provided security and safety through prudent behavior for the individual) while moral behavior concentrated on the interactions between one’s self and other selves (benevolence). Jesus’s main philosophical concern was teaching, applying, and living virtue ethics. Jesus’s main teaching tool was the parable, which was usually a short, fictitious story that made a clear cut ethical or moral point. Jesus’s version of virtue ethics was very concise, brief, and to the point. Jesus taught that there were only two laws or rules, not many laws or rules that had to be practiced in order to obtain salvation. These two laws were to a)love your God and b) love your neighbor as yourself or as you love yourself. Either law implies the other either directly or indirectly. If you love yourself as you love your neighbor, then you are also loving God. If you love your God, then you will love others as you love yourself. The crucial word here, that is reflected in all of his teachings, is Jesus Christ’s emphasis on the word love, although sometimes what is required is “tough love”. Christian love is benevolence from those who have to those who do not have, where we are dealing with needs, not wants. Needs must be fulfilled or the person in need will be unable to have a fulfilling life. Jesus‘s emphasis on only two laws also put him in direct conflict intellectually with the Pharisees, who accepted the standard conclusion that there were 619 laws that were directly descendant from Moses. The Pharisees, like Jesus, understood that the Sadducees were misusing the Temple in Jerusalem to amass great wealth. The definition of a good Jew for a Pharisee meant that one knew all the laws, as well as their correct interpretation, or always was carrying or had available for immediate personal use documents containing the written laws that one could then consult and implement as needed. Jesus and the Pharisees split over this issue of knowing precisely and exactly what the written law entailed as well as knowing how to correctly interpret the law.

예루살렘 성전에 대한 역공으로 읽는 마가복음의 바알세불 논쟁(3:22-30)

본 논문은 서사비평의 꼼꼼이 읽기를 활용하여 마가복음 3:22-30의 바알세불 논쟁에 나타나는 내레이터 마가의 서술 전략을 분석한다. 이 논쟁은 마가복음 서사의 주요 플롯이라 할 수 있는 예수와 적대자들 사이의 갈등을 전개하는 핵심 에피소드이다. 또한 이 본문은 서기관이 명시적으로 예루살렘 성전 체체의 대변인으로서 등장하는 첫 장면이기 때문에 특히 중요하다.BR 3:22에서 서기관들은 억압과 착취의 구조 속에서 심리적 정신적 고통을 겪는 약자들을 회복시켜 삶의 터전으로 돌려보내는 예수의 활동을 비난한다. 마가의 예수는 그들의 비방에 맞서서 제국의 지배에서 포로들을 해방시키는 이스라엘의 주님 야웨의 능력이 축귀를 통해 일어나는 것이라고 주장하면서 예수 운동의 핵심 활동을 방어한다(23-27절). 최종적으로 예수는 민중을 억압으로부터 해방시키는 야웨의 능력을 귀신의 활동으로 음해하는 적대자들이야말로 절대 용서받지 못할 죄와 모독을 저지른 자들이라고 정죄한다(28-29절)BR 내레이터 마가는 자신의 축귀 사역을 방어하는 데서 출발하여 저들을 공격하는 논리로 발전시킨다. 마가 서사를 구전으로 반복해서 들었던 청중들은 바로 이 장면에서 예수가 사형언도를 받은 죄목(‘신성 모독’)이 적대자들을 향하는 공격의 말이 되는 놀라운 반전을 절대 놓치지 않았을 것이다. 그리고 이 반전은 마가의 청중들로 하여금 성전과 사제에 의존하지 않고 하나님의 거룩한 능력을 직접 향유하는 삶의 방식을 지속하도록 용기를 주었을 것이다.

Philip Church. Hebrews and the Temple: Attitudes to the Temple in Second Temple Judaism and in Hebrews. Supplements to Novum Testamentum 171. Leiden: Brill, 2017. 615 pp.

Reviewed by: Hebrews and the Temple: Attitudes to the Temple in Second Temple Judaism and in Hebrews by Philip Church Daniel L. Smith Philip Church. Hebrews and the Temple: Attitudes to the Temple in Second Temple Judaism and in Hebrews. Supplements to Novum Testamentum 171. Leiden: Brill, 2017. 615 pp. doi:10.1017/S0364009420000185 The Epistle to the Hebrews might seem an odd focus for a monograph on "attitudes to the Temple." After all, there is no explicit mention of the Jerusalem Temple in all of Hebrews, and the one mention of Jerusalem is modified by the descriptor "heavenly" (12:22). While the wilderness tabernacle appears, along with Moses (e.g., in 8:5), the author of Hebrews nowhere refers to Solomon, Zerubbabel, or Herod. Undaunted, Philip Church sets out to address the "temple symbolism" in Hebrews; he is convinced that the Jerusalem Temple "lies just beneath the surface" of the text at hand (16). Like the author of Hebrews, however, Church fixes his attention on things heavenly. His main claim hinges on the exegesis of a controversial verse, Hebrews 8:5, which many scholars have understood to describe the wilderness tabernacle as a mere "copy and shadow" of the heavenly sanctuary. Instead, Church proposes that the wilderness tabernacle, Solomon's Temple, and the Second Temple—which he believes was still standing at the time when Hebrews was composed—all "prefigured the heavenly temple, which is to be understood as the eschatological dwelling of God with his people" (433). It is the "heavenly temple" that constitutes the ultimate telos of Church's investigation, which will canvas ancient views of sanctuaries both terrestrial and celestial. [End Page 422] This important contribution is a "revised and abbreviated" version of the author's dissertation (ix), written at the University of Otago under the supervision of James Harding and Chris Marshall. The introductory chapter starts off on a worrisome note, when Church announces that this treatment of "temple symbolism" will "use the terms 'symbol/symbolism' and 'metaphor' more or less interchangeably, depending on the context" (5 n. 14). Such a carefree approach to terms so foundational to the study does little to inspire confidence in the reader; fortunately, Church proves to be much more responsible and careful in the chapters that follow. Church divides his work into two parts. Part 1 surveys "Attitudes to the Temple in the Literature of Second Temple Judaism," classifying this literature into four categories. Texts that manifest a positive view of the Temple, from Sirach to the Letter of Aristeas to 2 Enoch, are gathered in the second chapter, entitled "Temple Affirmed." Chapter 3 collects relevant passages from the Dead Sea Scrolls under the heading "Temple Rejected," and the fourth chapter, "Temple Contested," characterizes 1 Enoch, Jubilees, the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, and the Testament of Moses as texts reflecting "dissatisfaction" with the Temple. Chapter 5 rounds out the first part with a treatment of texts that respond to the destruction of the Second Temple, including 4 Ezra, the Sibylline Oracles (books 4 and 5), and Josephus. In these chapters, Church has compiled a valuable resource for scholars of Second Temple Judaism, as he assembles not only direct references to the Jerusalem Temple, but also a wider range of texts that include related imagery and language —hence, the broad label of "temple symbolism." Categorizing, though a useful task, often flattens out ambiguities and complexities that are worth preserving. This project is no exception. For example, Church acknowledges that 1 Enoch is a "composite document" (145), yet he files the whole text under the label "Temple Contested." The Animal Apocalypse (1 Enoch 85–90) supports this classification, as it describes the rebuilding of a temple (or "high tower") that is furnished with unclean bread and that stands among those who are "blinded" (1 Enoch 89:73–74). However, the Book of Watchers (1–36) is likewise said to "imply some critique of the temple and its priesthood" (146), even though the heavenly visions and cosmic travels of the antediluvian Enoch appear to be more concerned with a heavenly sanctuary than with the Jerusalem Temple. Should silence be so easily equated with critique? If these two texts were not transmitted...

Was a Sacred Curtain (Parokhet) Depicted on Portable Shrines in the Ancient Near East?

The Parokhet, or sacred curtain, was an important item of cultic paraphernalia in the ancient Near East. It is known from the Sumerian and Akkadian texts, the biblical tradition, the Second Temple in Jerusalem, Greek temples, and synagogues of the Roman and Byzantine eras, and is still in use today. We suggest that such a sacred curtain is depicted on several of the miniature clay objects known as portable shrines. In Egypt, thanks to the dry climate, a miniature curtain of this kind has indeed been preserved in association with a portable shrine. Depictions of shrines on Egyptian sacred barks also include life-size curtains.

The Meeting of the Three Temples: Co-celebrating with the Angels in Early Christian Liturgies

A new inspection of the ancient liturgical pattern of praying with the angels unveils that Jewish materials limited it to the priestly class and such legendary figures as Enoch, Abraham, Moses, or Elijah. The classical Christian anaphoras of the third and fourth centuries will extend this pattern to the entire congregation based on the early Christian generalization of the priestly status to all the members of the ecclesia. While shifting the focus of discussion to the concepts of “temple” and “priest,” the study finds that these Christian anaphoras include both the Jerusalem Temple feature of serving in front of God’s descended glory and the Second Temple apocalyptic idea of celebrating in the heavenly sanctuary. The earthly and heavenly temples, therefore, become one liturgical space which also intersects a third temple, that of the human being, within which God also descends, sanctifies it, and receives due worship.

Shir Ha-Elohim : A Prolegomenon to Biblical Aesthetics

Abstract: This article discusses the thought of a series of biblical writers on human art. I analyze the account of the tabernacle by the Priestly writer of the Pentateuch; the stories about David as a poet and musician in the Deuteronomistic History; and the Chronicler’s account of the poetry, song, music, and dance appointed by David for the Jerusalem Temple. I argue that the biblical writers have a high view of art, thinking of it as a central part of covenant life.

Wisdom and fear of God in Ben Sira 1:11–21: Second temple perspectives

While Ben Sira’s poem on wisdom and fear of God (Sir 1:11–21) draws on earlier texts from the Hebrew Bible, it transfers the rewards for wisdom (Prov 1–9) and the blessings for Torah obedience (Deut 30:15–16) onto the fear of the Lord. The poem also exhibits parallels to some Dead Sea Scroll texts, including the Qumran Wisdom Admonition (4Q185) and the Treatise on the Two Spirits from the Community Rule (1QS III, 13–IV, 26). Since Sir 1:14 teaches that wisdom has been given in the womb to the faithful Jews, the “eternal foundation” (1:15) may be a reference to the Jerusalem temple.

Pauline Anthropology: Temples and Bodies as God’s Sanctuaries

Paul related the concepts of the temple, the body and the church to each other in many ways. In Corinth, numerous temples, rich in divine statues in human shape, represented the governing ideology. For the Jews, however, their own national narrative of God’s presence to their nation focused on the tabernacle, on the temple in Jerusalem. Based on the considerable significance of the word ‘body’ both for Greco-Roman and Hebrew symbolic worlds, Paul used the word ‘body’ like a common denominator or a link between the concepts of the temple, the individual human body and the community of believers.

Archaeology and History of Eighth-Century Judah

Archaeology and History of Eighth-Century Judah

Значение образа елея, стекающего на бороду Аарона (Пс. 132/133) в традиционной иудейской и христианской экзегезе. Часть I

Псалом 132 по Синодальному тексту (133 - по нумерации масоретского текста), является одной из пятнадцати «песней восхождения», входящих в состав Псалтири (Пс. 119- 133). Данный псалом интересен литургической привязкой к ритуалу Иерусалимского храма, с которым его связывает упоминание о елее, сходящем на бороду Аарона (Пс. 132, 2). Автор использует метафору елея для усиления оттенка радости собратьев по вере, собравшихся в храм для совместной молитвы (ст. 1). Целью настоящего исследования является обзор методов интерпретации образа елея, сходящего на бороду Аарона в ранней еврейской и греческой языковых традициях толкования Св. Писания. Для этих целей в первой части статьи проводится анализ метафоры елея в источниках иудейской экзегезы (Сифрей Бамидбар, Сифра, Талмуд, Мидраш Танхума) и христианской экзегезы (Климент Александрийский, Ориген, Афанасий Александрийский, Василий Кесарийский, Иоанн Златоуст, Феодорит Кирский). Далее, во второй части статьи, на основе историко-филологического метода определяется место «елея» в содержании псалма по современным экзегетическим исследованиям. В результате было выявлено, что в источниках иудейской экзегезы значительное внимание уделяется поиску исторической основы помазания священства благовонным елеем в контексте обрядов Иерусалимского храма. Источники христианской экзегезы тяготеют к мессианской интерпретации гимна, в которой помазание Аарона миром толкуется как прообраз помазания Христа и верующих в Него Святым Духом. Итак, образ елея мог рассматриваться в древних религиозных традициях как отправная точка для актуальных на то время рассуждений о роли Аарона или Христа, а также об этических требованиях к кандидатам на помазание. Psalm 133 according the numeration of the Masoretic text, or 132 according the numeration of the Septuagint, is one of the fifteen «songs of ascents» (Psalms 119-133 - hereinafter numbering according to the Synodal text) that are part of the Book of Psalms. Рsalm 132 is interesting for its liturgical attachment to the ritual of the Jerusalem Temple, with which it is associated with the mention of «precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron» (Ps. 132, 2 ESV). The author uses the «oil» metaphor to enhance the shade of joy of fellow believers gathered in the temple for prayer (v. 1). The purpose of this study is to review methods for interpreting the image of «oil falling on Aaron’s beard» in the early Jewish and Greek exegetical traditions. For these purposes, an analysis of the «oil» metaphor is carried out in the sources of the Jewish exegesis (Sifra Bamidbar, Talmud, Midrash Tanhuma) and the Christian exegesis (Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Athanasius of Alexandria, Basil of Caesarea, John Chrysostom, Theodore of Cyrus). Further, on the basis of the historical-philological method, the place of «oil» in the content of the psalm according to modern exegetical studies is determined. As a result, it was revealed that in the sources of Jewish exegesis was considerable attention to the search for the historical basis of the anointing of the priesthood with «incense oil» in the context of the rites of the Jerusalem temple. Sources of Christian exegesis lean toward a messianic interpretation of the hymn, in which the anointing of Aaron was interpreted as a prototype of the anointing of Christ and those who believe in Him with the Holy Spirit. Thus, the image of the «oil» could be considered as a starting point for discussions about the role of Aaron or Christ, as well as the ethical requirements for anointing candidates.

The New Jerusalem: Wealth, Ancient Building Projects and Revelation 21–22

Scholarly interpretations of the descent and description of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21–22 have tended to evaluate the city against biblical and extra-canonical descriptions of the Jerusalem Temple, apocalyptic accounts of heaven and ancient utopian literature in general. While some have noted the ways in which the New Jerusalem parallels the description of Babylon elsewhere in the Apocalypse, no one has yet considered the ways in which the New Jerusalem mimics, mirrors and adapts the excesses of elite Roman architecture and decor. The argument of this article is that when viewed against the backdrop of literary and archaeological evidence for upper-class living space, the luxury of the New Jerusalem is domesticated and functions to democratise access to wealth in the coming epoch. The ways in which Revelation's New Jerusalem rehearses the conventions of morally problematic displays of luxury can partially explain later patristic discomfort with literalist readings of this passage.

Radiocarbon dating and microarchaeology untangle the history of Jerusalem's Temple Mount: A view from Wilson's Arch.

Radiocarbon dating is rarely applied in Classical and Post-Classical periods in the Eastern Mediterranean, as it is not considered precise enough to solve specific chronological questions, often causing the attribution of historic monuments to be based on circumstantial evidence. This research, applied in Jerusalem, presents a novel approach to solve this problem. Integrating fieldwork, stratigraphy, and microarchaeology analyses with intense radiocarbon dating of charred remains in building materials beneath Wilson's Arch, we absolutely dated monumental structures to very narrow windows of time–even to specific rulers. Wilson’s Arch was initiated by Herod the Great and enlarged during the Roman Procurators, such as Pontius Pilatus, in a range of 70 years, rather than 700 years, as previously discussed by scholars. The theater-like structure is dated to the days of Emperor Hadrian and left unfinished before 132–136 AD. Through this approach, it is possible to solve archaeological riddles in intensely urban environments in the historical periods.