Fig. 1. The Great Solomonic or First Temple in Jerusalem

1. Artist’s Conception: Steve Miller Fig. 1. The Great Solomonic or First Temple in Jerusalem A Biblical artist’s conception of the great Temple to the Lord, planned by King David in 1000 B.C. It was destined to be built by his son, King Solomon. It occupied the top of Mt. Zion, where Abraham had taken Isaac for sacrifice according to the Lord’s direction. It occupied the same site on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount as today’s Moslem Dome of the Rock. This enormous construction project came about fully 500 years before Rome’s great building program. In a highly institutionalized manner, the First Temple brought into the city the rituals and feasts that earlier were centered in the mobile wilderness tabernacle as the Israelites had moved it about in the desert for centuries Through time the Temple in Jerusalem became the religious and political focus of all Israeli thought and culture. 34a From “The Bible…Basically”

2. Photo Credit: John Fryman Fig. 2. The Western Wall in Today’s Jerusalem In modern Jerusalem, the Western Wall (a retaining wall for the upper 45-acre pavement) is the only remaining section of Solomon’s First Temple and King Herod’s Second Temple, extant during Jesus’ earthly ministry. To the Jews this site is the holiest on Earth because it links them directly to their ancient Israelite heritage. Directly above this plaza, local Moslems control the top of the Temple Mount which houses the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque, both among Islam’s holiest sites. Through the centuries the wall’s stones have been stolen, borrowed, returned, rebuilt and rearranged. The photo above displays many stones from the Israelite period which can still be seen at the very lowest levels of the wall, some as long as 27 feet in an unbroken form. Today’s faithful Jews insert written prayers in spaces between the stones. Jewish young people from all over the world come to celebrate their coming of age. 34b The Quick Chronology