Today we are concluding our comments on the Temple.
In the front, on the east, was a porch the width of the house. On the porch were two pillars of brass, each about six feet in diameter and 35 feet high, one on either side. Against the wall of the Temple, on the north, south, and west sides, were three stories of side chambers for the priests.
In front of the Temple was the Brazen Altar of Burnt Offering, believed to have stood on the rock where Abraham offered Isaac--now called the Dome of the Rock, directly under the center of the present Mohammedan Mosque of Omar. Nearby, to the south, stood the great Brazen Laver, set on twelve brazen oxen, to hold water for the priests to wash in. There were also ten smaller portable lavers, five on the north side and five on the south side, for water for the sacrifices.
The Temple was surrounded by two courts--an "inner court" and a "great court." Their size is not known. The great court may have included the palace buildings.
The Temple was built by 30,000 Israelites and 150,000 Canaanites. It took seven years to build. Every part was prepared at a distance from the site and put in place without sound of hammer or any tool.
The glory of Solomon's Temple was short lived. It was plundered within five years after Solomon's death, and destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 b.c.
