The Location of Solomon’s Temple

In a lecture at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, archaeologist Leen Ritmeyer said that he has found the location of Solomon's Temple.

The following is an excerpt from Ritmeyer’s lecture as published by Baptist Press:

According to Ritmeyer, the original Temple Mount platform measured 500 cubits by 500 cubits. The "royal cubit" used for the temple was 20.67 inches long. Later, King Herod expanded the platform on the Temple Mount, doubling its size. It is the expanded, Herodian platform that tourists in Jerusalem visit today.

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From information in the Mishnah, he theorized that the temple stood where the Dome of the Rock shrine now stands. If so, the Holy of Holies and the Ark of the Covenant would have rested on the rock inside the Dome of the Rock. Though some archaeologists dispute his claims, Ritmeyer presents a compelling case for his view.

The Mishnah stated that the temple was not located in the center of the 500 cubit by 500 cubit platform but was slightly northwest of center. This gave credence to his view. Ritmeyer then looked for confirmation on the surface of the rock.

The archaeologist saw that the large rock had numerous cuts, lines and indentions on its surface. Many other archaeologists had rejected the rock as a source for clues because of the number of cuts on the surface. Not so with Ritmeyer.

"I look at every stone on the Temple Mount as archaeological evidence," Ritmeyer said.

Ritmeyer searched for marks consistent with the information he knew about the Holy of Holies. Again, he relied on the Bible, historical records and a tape measure to test his theory. He speculated that some of the cuts were made to level the site for the temple's foundation.

Ritmeyer knew the dimensions of the Holy of Holies from 1 Kings 6 -- 20 cubits by 20 cubits. He also knew the thickness of the walls. Ritmeyer discovered that cuts on the rock matched the thickness of the walls and the width of the room. He also found cuts made for the back wall of the Holy of Holies.

Another rectangular mark caught Rimeyer's attention. He believed that this depression was the place the Ark of the Covenant stood in Solomon's Temple. Ritmeyer went to Exodus 25 for the ark's dimensions -- two and a half cubits by a cubit and a half. Using photographs and computers to measure the depression, scholars have found that the cut measures two and a half cubits by two cubits -– ample space to receive the ark.

Ritmeyer has presented a compelling argument for finding the original location of Solomon’s temple. Visit Baptist Press online and read all the evidence Ritmeyer has presented in his search for the location of Solomon’s temple.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary


Tags: Archaeology, Leen Ritmeyer, Solomon, Temple

Herod’s Quarry Unearthed in Jerusalem

Photo: Courtesy of the Israel Antiquity Authority










News Release from the Israel Antiquity Authority:

On Monday the Israel Antiquity Authority said that they believed archeologists may have unearthed a stone quarry used by King Herod—known throughout most of the western world as the Roman king of the Holy Land during Christ’s birth—to build a number of famous structures, including the Jewish Temple and the Western Wall.

The quarry appears to be just one portion of a large system of quarries located inside the ancient city.

Archeologists have indicated that the size of the stones extracted have offered clues as to what kind of construction they were used for. Some of the largest stones chiseled out of the 1,000-square-foot quarry have dimensions of roughly 9 foot by 6 foot by 6 foot—almost identical to the measurements of the massive blocks used to construct the Temple and the Western Wall.

Read the news release in its entirety here.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: King Herod, Quarry, Temple

Preparations for a New Temple in Jerusalem

The Temple Institute in Jerusalem has announced that the making of the High Priest’s headplate, the Tzitz, has been finished and it is ready for use when the new Temple in Jerusalem is rebuilt. The description of the headplate appears in Exodus 28:36-37: “You shall make a frontlet of pure gold and engrave on it the seal inscription: ‘Holy to the Lord.’ Suspend it on a cord of blue, so that it may remain on the headdress; it shall remain on the front of the headdress.”

The headplate should be on the High Priest’s forehead as he ministers before the Lord. According to the Temple Institute, the Tzitz was made of pure gold at a cost of more than $30,000. It was fashioned over the course of more than a year by the craftsmen of the Temple Institute and is ready to be worn by the High Priest after the Temple is rebuilt in Jerusalem.

Read the story by clicking here.

Most orthodox Jews and many Christians believe that before the Messiah comes, the Temple in Jerusalem will be rebuilt. The Temple Institute is already making preparations for the rebuilding of the Temple. The biggest obstacle for the rebuilding of the Temple is the existence of the Masjid Al Sakhra also known as The Dome of the Rock and also the Al-Aqsa Mosque located near to the Dome of the Rock.

Only time will tell whether the Jewish Temple will be rebuilt.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: High Priest, Temple, Tzitz

The Priestly Blessing (Numbers 6:24-26) Recited on the Temple Mount

Last week, the Priestly Blessing described in Numbers 6:24-26 was recited on the Temple Mount for the first time since the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans in the first century. The blessing was delivered by a group of Jews who were visiting the Temple Mount to commemorate the anniversary of Maimonides’s visit to the Temple Mount.

Rabbi Chaim Richman, one of the organizers of the trip, said:

This was probably the first time since the destruction of the Temple [1,937 years ago] that the Priestly Blessing was delivered on our holiest site. At times like these, when there is talk of giving away our precious places, and when despair is sometimes in the air, events of this nature serve to remind us that G-d has not forgotten about us, and that He still has big plans for both us and the Holy Temple - and that the Temple will yet become the focal point of the world once again.

Read the news report by clicking here.

Orthodox Jews and many conservative Christians believe that the Jewish Temple will be rebuilt soon. For many, the rebuilding of the Temple is a necessary event that must happen before the coming of the Messiah.

My question is: should Jews and Christians look at this event as a sign that the Temple will be rebuilt?

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Archaeology, Priestly Blessing, Temple , Temple Mount

Traces of the First Temple Found

Israel National News is reporting that traces of the First Temple have been found during the digging of a trench in the Temple Mount. The following is an excerpt from the news report:

The unauthorized dig of a trench this past summer by the Moslem Waqf on the Temple Mount had a thin silver lining: Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) personnel monitoring the trench-digging have, for the first time.

It was assumed that precious findings were destroyed.

The IAA studied an archaeological level dating to the First Temple Period, exposed in the area close to the south-eastern corner of the raised platform surrounding the Dome of the Rock.

Jerusalem District Archaeologist Yuval Baruch uncovered fragments of ceramic table wares, animal bones, and more. The finds date from the 8th to 6th centuries BCE; the First Temple existed between the 9th and 5th centuries BCE, having been built by King Solomon in 832 and destroyed in 422 BCE.

The archaeological team - Baruch of the IAA, Prof. Sy Gitin, Director of the W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem, Prof. Israel Finkelstein of Tel Aviv University and Prof. Ronny Reich of Haifa University - reached the conclusion, after examining the finds, that their characteristics and location may aid scholars in reconstructing the dimensions and boundaries of the Temple Mount during the First Temple Period.

The finds include fragments of bowl rims, bases and body sherds, the base of a juglet used for the ladling of oil, the handle of a small juglet, and the rim of a storage jar. The bowl sherds were decorated with wheel burnishing lines characteristic of the First Temple Period.

The Israel Antiquities Authority is promising to hold a conference to discuss the findings and the reasons it associates these finding with the First Temple.

I hope that this conference is held as soon as possible. There are so many news coming out of this dig in the Temple Mount that the Israel Antiquities Authority should make an official statement of what is fact and what is propaganda.

Claude Mariottini
Profesor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Archaeology, Solomon, Temple , Temple Mount

Temple's Location Found

According to an Israeli archaeologist, the real location of the Temple has been found. Prof. Joseph Patrich, an archaeologist and professor at Hebrew University, used maps created in 1866 by a British explorer and passages from the Jewish Mishnah to pinpoint the exact location of the Temple.

Today, many people believe that the Temple built by King Solomon and rebuilt by the people who returned from exile in Babylon was on the site of the present Muslim Dome of the Rock. However, according to Patrich, the location of the original temple was outside the area where the Dome of the Rock is located.

Although Patrich said his study of the location of the Temple was strictly academic and that no political connotations should be attributed to his research, in this case, it is impossible to separate politics from religion. If the original Temple was located outside the area where the Dome of the Rock is located, then a new Temple could be built without destroying the Muslim holy site.

Read Patrich’s report and view his reconstruction of the Temple area by clicking here.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Joseph Patrich, Temple, Temple Mount