Solomons Temple Was Constructed Around 966 BC, At Mount Moria, Out Of

Solomon's temple was constructed around 966 BC, at Mount Moria, out of the finest wood and metals. The temple remained there for almost four hundred years when it was destroyed by the army of Nabuchodonozor in 586 BC. In Hebrew, it is called Bet Yehovah, meaning house of Jehovah, the New Testament calls it oikos, meaning the house, and in Latin it was called cella, meaning the most holy place of the temple. The temple was constructed on the highest point in the land, surrounded by courts and royal palaces. The story of the temple begins with King Solomon's father, King David. He commanded that all of his people should be counted. One day, he saw an angel, sent by God, to strike down all of the people as a punishment for David's pride. King David repented and bought the land where he saw the angel. He gathered treasures from foreign lands and his people to build a great temple to God, but his son Solomon did the actual construction. He went to Hiram, King Tyre in Phoenicia to hire workers since the Jews were not skilled in the arts. He hired experts in masonry, brass working and carpentry. The measurement used to construct the temple was the cubit. Even though there are many different translations of exactly how long a cubit is, my research shows that it was roughly one foot, five and three fourth inches. Construction of the temple was finally completed seven and a half years after it started with a dedication from King Solomon. The interior of the temple had two chambers, which were not equal in length. The height of both chambers was twenty cubits, however the first chamber was longer by twenty cubits. The first one was called the hekal, which means Holy Place. Inside this room was a golden table that priests would place the loaves of proposition on every Sunday. There were also five candles on both sides of the room. These candles were made of pure gold and were each fueled by seven oil lamps. To the East was a pentagonal door six cubits wide, which entered into the second chamber called the debir, which means Holy of Holies. This room contained the sacred, Ark of the Covenant. Inside the ark was a vessel of mana, the rod of Aaron and the two tablets, which had the ten laws given to Moses by God in the desert, written on them. The walls of both chambers were lined with cedar wood, coated with gold. The floor was made of fur wood, covered with gold chains. Above these chambers was another area, ten cubits high, but no record says what this was used for. The flat roof was made of beams and planks of cedar wood. Some archaeologists believe that it may have been arched since such a surface would have easily leaked, but records say that it was flat. Both chambers had windows, but they were not made to let light into the rooms, rather, they were made to bring fresh air in and take smoke from the burning incense out. The entire temple sat on a large stone platform, which stuck out five cubits around the base. At the front of the building were ten steps that led up to the door. On both sides of the stairs were two large brass pillars. The pillar to the right was called Jachin, meaning, he will establish, and the pillar on the left was called Booz, meaning, in strength. The pillars did not support the temple but were for decoration. Outside the temple was a courtyard called the court of the priests. On each side of the temple, the courtyards were twenty cubits wide and in front, the courtyard was one hundred cubits square. The grounds of the courtyards were made of large stone slabs. In the front courtyard, right before the steps entering the temple was the altar of holocausts. This was a layered structure used to burn goats and other animals for sacrifice. The courtyard also had something called the sea of molten. It was a large basin used by priests for ritualistically washing themselves before they performed sacrifices. When Solomon constructed the temple, there wasn't any wall to