Second Temple
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A stone (2.43x1 m) with Hebrew inscription "To the Trumpeting Place" excavated by B. Mazar at the southern foot of the Temple Mount is believed to be a part of the Second Temple. |
The
Second Temple was the reconstructed
Temple in Jerusalem which stood between
515 BCE and
70 CE. During this time, it was the center of
Jewish worship, which focused on the sacrifices known as the
korbanot.
Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple, was destroyed in
586 BCE when the
Jews were
exiled into the
Babylonian Captivity. The Romans
destroyed Jerusalem and its Second Temple circa
70 CE, ending the
Great Jewish Revolt that began in
66 CE.
After the return from captivity, under
Zerubbabel and the high priest
Jeshua, arrangements were almost immediately made to reorganize the desolated
Kingdom of Judah after its demise seventy years earlier. The body of pilgrims, forming a band of 42,360 including children, having completed the long and dreary journey of some four months, from the banks of the
Euphrates to
Jerusalem, were animated in all their proceedings by a strong religious impulse, and therefore one of their first concerns was to restore their ancient house of worship by rebuilding their destroyed temple and reinstituting the sacrificial rituals known as the
korbanot ("sacrifices" in
Hebrew).
On the invitation of Zerubbabel, the governor, who showed them a remarkable example of liberality by contributing personally 1,000 golden darics, besides other gifts, the people poured their gifts into the sacred treasury with great enthusiasm (
Ezra 2). First they erected and dedicated the altar of God on the exact spot where it had formerly stood, and they then cleared away the charred heaps of debris which occupied the site of the old temple; and in the second month of the second year (
535 BCE), amid great public excitement and rejoicing (befitting
Psalms 116; 117; 118), the foundations of the second temple were laid. A wide interest was felt in this great movement, although it was regarded with mingled feelings by the spectators (
Haggai 2:3;
Zechariah 4:10).
Samaritans offer
The
Samaritans made proposals for co-operation in the work. Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the elders, however, declined all such cooperation, feeling that
Judea must build the temple without help. Immediately evil reports were spread regarding the Jews. According to Ezra 4:5, the Samaritans sought to "frustrate their purpose" and sent messengers to
Ecbatana and Susa, with the result that the work was suspended.
Monarchs
Seven years after this
Cyrus the Great, who ordered and declared the rebuilding of the temple, died (2 Chronicles 36: 22-23). He was succeeded by his son
Cambyses, on whose death the "false
Smerdis," an imposter, occupied the throne for some seven or eight months, and then
Darius I of Persia became king (
522 BCE). In the second year of this monarch the work of rebuilding the temple was resumed and carried forward to its completion (Ezra 5: 6-17; 6:1-15), under the stimulus of the earnest counsels and admonitions of the prophets
Haggai and
Zechariah. It was ready for consecration in the spring of
515 BCE, more than twenty years after the return from captivity.
This second temple was missing the
Ark of the Covenant, the
Urim and Thummim, the holy oil, the sacred fire, the
Ten Commandments, the pot of
manna, and
Aaron's rod. As in the
Tabernacle, there was in it only one
golden lamp for the holy place, one table of showbread, and the incense altar, with golden censers, and many of the vessels of gold that had belonged to
Solomon's Temple that had been carried to
Babylon but restored by Cyrus (Ezra 1:7-11).
This second temple also differed from the first in that, while in the latter there were numerous "trees planted in the courts of the Lord," there were none in the former. The second temple also had for the first time a space, being a part of the outer court, provided for
proselytes who were worshippers of God, although not subject to the laws of Judaism.
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Artist's impression of the Second Temple Destroyed |
The temple, when completed, was consecrated and the sacrificial observances known as the
korbanot were commenced once again, amid great rejoicings on the part of all the people (Ezra 6:16), although it was evident that the Jews were no longer an independent people, but were subject to a foreign power. The Book of Haggai records a prediction (2:9) that the glory of the second temple would be greater than that of the first. This temple, during the different periods of its existence, is often regarded by believers as but one house, the one only house of God.
Christian views
Many Christians argue that the glory here predicted is spiritual glory and not material splendor, in that
Jesus would be present during his life at the second temple.
Other Christians read the prophecy quite differently. In Haggai 2:3, the "former glory" of the house is clearly referring to the temple that Solomon had built. Thus, since the former glory of the place identified as "this house" in verse 9 is not the glory of the second temple but of the first one, there is no reason to necessarily say that the latter glory of it is a reference to the glory of the second temple either, but that it could be referring to the glory of the third temple, the one that Ezekiel prophesied. As such, this prophecy is seen as referring to the future temple to be built during the Messianic Kingdom. This explanation is common among those who hold to the
dispensationalist and other
premillennial models, but those who hold to
amillennialism and
postmillennialism repudiate it.
Around 19 BCE,
Herod the Great began a massive renovation and expansion of the Second Temple. The resulting structure is sometimes referred to as
Herod's Temple.
In 66 CE, the Jewish population rebelled against the Roman Empire. Four years later, in 70 CE, Roman legions under
Titus reconquered and subsequently destroyed all of Jerusalem, including the Second Temple.
*
Destruction of Jerusalem*
Herod's Temple*
Shekinah*
Temple in Jerusalem*
The Third Temple*
Jewish Encyclopedia: Temple, The Second
