The Temple in the Days of our Savior Described, Chapter 10
CHAP. X. The dimenſion; and forme of Solomons Temple, And of that built by the returned out of Captivity.
HAving thus gone through and obſerved the compaſſe of the Mountaine of the Temple, and the wall that did incloſe it in ſo large a ſquare, with the Cloiſters, gates and buildings that were in that wall and affixed to it: before we can come to caſt out the Courts, Partitions, and buildings that were within, and ſpeake of their places and uſes particularly, it will be neceſſary in the firſt place, to take a ſurvey of the meaſure and ſituation of the Temple it ſelfe, that from it, and from this outer wall as from ſtanding markes, we may meaſure all the proportions, fabricks and diſtances, that we are to go through.
The floore of the Mountaine of the Houſe was not even, but riſing from Eaſt to Weſt, ſo much in the whole,[a]Maym. in Beth habbechir. per. 6. that the floore of the porch of the Temple was two and twenty cubits higher then the floore of the Gate Shuſhan, or the Eaſt gate in the outmoſt wall: which in equality was caſt into ſeverall levels one above another; and the outmoſt wall accordingly did ſometime runne levell, and ſometime riſe from levell to levell, even as the evenneſſe or riſings of the floore it ſelf did call for it.
The meaſures of the Temple built by Solomon, are ſaid to have been, by the firſt meaſure, 2 Chron: 3.3. that is, by the ſame cubit, that meaſured the firſt Tabernacle, which is the ſame that we fix upon; and by this meaſure to have beene ſeventy cubits long, 1 Kings 6.2, 2 Chron. 3.3. in theſe ſeverall ſpaces. The moſt holy place twenty cubits, the holy place forty cubits and the Porch ten. And the breadth of all theſe was 20 cubits.
About the height there is ſome obſcurity, for the booke of Kings ſaith it was 30 cubits, but the booke of Chronicles nameth no ſumme at all; onelyonly it ſaith that the Porch was 120 cubits high. Now[b]Kunch. in les. allegat. David Kimchi doth diſpute it, whether this was the height of the Porch onelyonly, or of the whole houſe throughout: and he ſhews how it maybe conſtrued of the whole houſe, namely, that the height of it to the firſt floore was thirty cubits (according to the reckoning of the booke of Kings) and then the chambers over in ſeverall ſtories did riſe to 90 cubits more. Yet both he and[c]Ralbag in 1 Kings 6. Aben. Ez…. in Ezr. 6. R. Levi Gerſhom could well be perſwaded to thinke that the Temple it ſelfe was but 30 cubits high, but are ſomewhat ſwayed by the opinion of ſome of their Rabbins which runneth another way. For from their words it appeareth (ſay they) that there were chambers over the Temple and over the Porch: and this they hold from 1 Chron: 28.11.
The words of that Text are theſe, David gave to Solomon his ſonne the Patterne of the Porch and the houſes thereof, and the Treaſuries thereof, and the upper chambers thereof, and the Parlours thereof and the place of the mercy ſeat: where all theſe particulars are ſo couched together (except the laſt) as if they were all within the Porch: But the holy Ghoſt ſpeaketh of the Porch, as the firſt part in ſight, as you came up, it being the front of all, and the reſt of the parcels mentioned, are to be conceived of not as all crowded in it, but as diſtributed and diſpoſed in other parts of the fabrick, as the Holy Ghoſt relateth and layeth downe elſewhere. And as for the upper chambers here ſpoken of, we need not to confine them ſo, as to ſet them all either over the porch (though there were ſome,) nor over the body of the Temple, but to place them alſo as the Text doth elſewhere, round about the houſe without, in ſeverall ſtories.
The carefull conſidering the meaſures of the Temple built by the Children of the Captivity, will reaſonably help to put us out of doubt about the matter that we have in diſpute. The meaſures they brought along with them out of Perſia in Cyrus his Commiſſion,[d]Ezr. 6.3, 4. The foundations to be ſtrongly laid, the height ſixty cubits, and the breadth ſixty cubits, with three rowes of great ſtones and a row of new timber and the expences to be given out of the Kings houſe.
Where wee may obſerve,[e]Aben Ezr. in loc. 1 That the length is not mentioned, becauſe that was to be of the former meaſure. 2 That the breadth, doubled the breadth of Solomons building, the ſide chambers and all taken in. And 3 That the height was double to the height of Solomons as it is expreſſed in the booke of Kings, and as indeed the height of the Temple was, though the porch were higher. For it ſeemeth utterly againſt reaſon, that Cyrus ſhould offer to build the houſe as broad again as it was before, and yet not ſo high as it was before by halfe. It is no doubt but Cyrus had conſultation with ſome of the Jews about the building, and that either they counſelling him, ſhould adviſe the abatement of ſo much of the height, or he inlarging the breadth and the houſe one way, ſhould cut it ſhort of the height and leſſen it the other way, is exceeding improbable; the length could not be doubled, becauſe that would have leſſened the meaſure of the Courts before it, which might not be indured, but the two other waies of dimenſion which could be allowed, he allowed double to what they were before.
Therefore the two Texts in Kings and Chronicles, are to be taken properly as they there lie before us, namely, that the Porch was 120 cubits high, and that the reſt of the Temple was but 30; and the form of the whole houſe was thus. It ſtood Eaſt and Weſt, the moſt Holy place Weſtward, and the Porch or entrie Eaſtward, and the length of all from Eaſt to Weſt was 70 cubits, the breadth 20 cubits, beſides the breadth of the ſide chambers; The height of the holy and moſt holy place 30 cubits, and the porch ſtood at the Eaſt end like one of our high ſteeples 120 cubits high: And indeed Solomons Temple did very truely reſemble one of our Churches, but onelyonly that it differed in this, that the Steeple of it (which was the porch) ſtood at the Eaſt end.
Now round about the ſides thereof, North and South, and the Weſt end, Solomon built chambers of three ſtories high and five cubits was the height of every ſtory, the whole being 15 cubits high in all, and they joined to the wall of the houſe without. The higheſt ſtory was a cubit wider then the middle, and the middle a cubit wider then the loweſt, and yet the outmoſt wall of them was even and ſtraight, and jutted not over at one ſtory or other, any whit at all. But the reaſon of this different breadth of the Stories was this, the wall of the Temple for five cubits from the ground upward, was thicker by a cubit then it was from thence above. At the height therefore of thoſe five cubits there was a bench of the wall of a cubit breadth left outerly round about the houſe, on which they laid one end of the beams and timber, which was the roofe of the loweſt roomes, or the floore of the ſecond Story. And then againe for five cubits above that, the wall was thicker by a cubit, then it was above; and at the height of thoſe five cubits there was ſuch another bench left again, and on that they laid the beams for the roofe of the ſecond ſtory, which was the floore of the third. And ſo likewiſe for five cubits above that, the wall was yet thicker by a cubit, then it was above, and there the like bench was left againe, and there were laid the beams of the roofe of the third ſtory and of the whole building.
And this is the meaning of that verſe 1 Kings 6.6. The neather moſt chamber was five cubits broad, the middlemoſt ſixe cubits broad, and the third was ſeven cubits broad, for he made abatings to the houſe on the outſide round about: that the beames ſhould not have hold of the very walls of the houſe.
And thus did theſe chambers take up halfe the height of the houſe, being as the lower leads of our Churches to the higher: the uſe of the chambers we ſhall obſerve hereafter.
Now above theſe chambers in the wall of the Temple, and in the outer wall of theſe chambers themſelves there were windowes to let in light, which the Text ſaith were foreign open and ſhut, or broad and narrow, which[f]Chald par. in 1 Kings 6.4. the Chaldee Paraphraſt and[g]Vid. Nobil. in LXX in loc. Theodoret have well interpreted, wide within and narrow without: namely, narrow without to receive the light, and wide within to diſperſe and dilate it. Though there[h]Vid. R. Sol. & Kimch. in loc. be ſome Jewes, that conſtrue it the cleane contrary way, viz. broad without and narrow within, different from all other windowes foreign for God, ſay they, had no need of ſuch light.
The people that returned out of captivity, were[i]Joh. 2.20. forty and ſix years in building their Temple before they could compleat it, and bring it to perfection, and yet when all was done, it proved ſo far inferiour in beauty and ſtatelineſſe to that of Solomons, as that to thoſe that had ſeen both,[k]Hag. 2.3. it was as nothing: the dimenſions made not the difference, for it was two wayes, as large again as his, (even as his was every way as large again as Moſes Tabernacle) but this wanted that ſumptuouſneſſe and bravery of building that his had. And it wanted thoſe five things which were the glory and excellency of the former, namely,[l]R: Sol: in Hag. 1.18. The Arke, Ʋrim and Thummim, Fire from Heaven, The Cloud of glory upon the Mercy ſeat, and The ſpirit of Propheſie; The[m]Ezr. 3.10. weeping therefore of thoſe perſons that had ſeen the former houſe, at the laying of the foundation of this was not as if they ſaw any leſſening of the houſe in compariſon of the former, in compaſſe and meaſure, (for the foundations promiſed a larger) but it was upon remembring the glory of the former, both in its magnificence, and in theſe five excellencies, and to thinke of the burning of that, and it was alſo in comparing their preſent ſervile and poore condition, with the liberty, ſtate, and gallantry of the Nation when the other ſtood.
Their meaſures were preſcribed by Cyrus, not becauſe he would curb the building, but inlarge it, for whereas Solomons Temple was but 30 cubits broad, chambers and all, hee gave liberty of 60 cubits bredth; and whereas Solomons was but 30 cubits high all the body of the houſe, he doubled the meaſure to 60.
And therefore thoſe words of Joſephus are cautelouſly to be underſtood when he ſaith that[n]Ioſeph. Antiq. lib. 8. c. 2. they brought up the roof of Solomons fabrick, of white ſtone, the height 60 cubits, the length as much, and the breadth twenty. In which account of the height of it, he differs both from Scripture and from all other of his owne Nation, and by what meaſure or counters he reckons it is hard to underſtand: And ſo is it alſo to conſtrue that which followes: foreign: which I engliſh thus, And by this there was another peece raiſed of equall meaſures.: ſo that the whole height of the Temple was an hundred and twenty cubits: By which peece I conceive he meanes the Porch, and his owne words cleare it; but how to apprehend that it was of equall meaſure with what he had ſpoken of before, I acknowledge I do not underſtand. And whereas he ſaith that the whole height of the Temple was 120 cubits, his owne context ſhews that he cannot mean, that it was ſo high throughout, but it is to be conſtrued of the porch of which he is ſpeaking, namely, that the Temple in ſome part of it roſe to an hundred and twenty cubits high.
And ſo are thoſe words of Herod to be underſtood in the Oration that he made to the people, when he tels them of his reſolution to build the Temple.[o]Id. ib. lib. 15. cap. 14. Our fathers (ſaith he) built this Temple to the great God after their coming up again from Babylon, foreign, But it wanted as to the greatneſſe of it, ſixty cubits in height: for ſo much did the former Temple which Solomon had built exceed it. Which is not to be underſtood of the whole houſe, but of the Porch only: for the children of the captivity either built no porch at all, (and then their Temple was a perfect Cube, length and height and breadth exactly equall) or if they did, yet did not the height of it exceed the reſt of the houſe, as Solomons did, but onelyonly equall it, the whole being ſixty cubits high, all alike according to the dimenſions that Cyrus had preſcribed.
Now in his patent for the building of the Temple, there are theſe words, which are of no ſmall difficulty to be underſtood foreign Ezr. 6.4. Joſephus renders this paſſage thus, foreign [p]Ioſeph. Antiq. lib. 11. c. 1. & 4.Three houſes of hewen ſtone, and one houſe of wood within: By the three houſes, ſeeming to meane the three parts of the Temple, Porch, holy, and moſt holy Place; and by the one woodden houſe, the ſeiling of the houſe within. And in this ſenſe Rabbi Solomon ſeemeth alſo to underſtand it, who renders the words to this ſenſe,[q]R: Sol: in Ezr. 6. The walls were of Marble, and there was a wall of wood within, like the building of the houſe which Solomon built. The Septuagint have tranſlated foreign houſes, and Joſephus followed them in ſo rendering it: But the Chaldee Paraphraſt doth uſe the word, to ſigniſie Rankes or Rowes of ſtone or timber, as Hag. 2.15. Before a ſtone was laid upon a ſtone; he utters it foreign and ſo he renders foreign by the word foreign Ezek. 46.23. &c. And in this ſenſe doth Aben Ezra underſtand the word, and ſo hath our Engliſh tranſlated it, Three rowes of great ſtones, and a row of new timber.
But we are yet to ſeek for the meaning of the clauſe, though wee be ſatisfied with this ſenſe of the word: Three rowes of ſtone, and one of timber? Is this to be underſtood of three rowes of ſtone pillars and one of wood, all ſtanding up, or of three rows of ſtones laid in the walls, and one row of timber lying upon them? And is this meant in the body of the Temple it ſelfe, or in ſome other wals that were about it? If we looke into 1 Kings 6.36. I ſuppoſe ſome reſolution of theſe doubts may ariſe thence, for there it is ſaid parallel to what is ſpoken Ezr. 6.4. That Solomon built the inner Court with tree rowes of hewen ſtone; and one row of Cedar beames: And it is almoſt paſt peradventure, that Cyrus gave his Commiſſion after that pattern, having learned it from ſome Iewes that were about him. Having therefore preſcribed the dimenſions of the Temple it ſelfe, in ver. 3. hee giveth alſo warrant and platform for walling in the Court, even after the faſhion that Solomon had uſed, namely, three rowes of great ſtones to bring up the wall, and a row of Cedar beames, either to creſt it, or to lie between as the wall roſe. And ſo do Levi Gerſhom, and D. Kimchi expound theſe words, in 1 King. 6. The walls were three rowes of hewen ſtones, and one of timber of Cedar upon them.
The Iews upon their return out of Captivity, did firſt build the Altar, before they ſet upon the building of the houſe, Ezr. 3.3. for their neceſſity and occaſions did call upon them to ſacrifice, and the very place did warrant their ſacrificing, though the Temple were not yet built. In the ſecond yeer after their return, in the ſecond month of the year, which was the ſecond year of Cyrus, they lay the foundation of the houſe, but in the next verſe the work is bindred, and ſo continues forlorn till the ſecond year of Darius, Ezra 4.24. On the 24 day of the 6. monethmonth of that year they begin to prepare for the building again, and on the 24 day of the ninth month they ſet to worke; Compare Hog. 1.15. and 2.18.
The faſhion and pattern which they followed in the particular ſtructures and fabricks about the houſe, was[r]Mid. per. 2. & 3. & Kimch. in Ezek. 40. as the Authors of their own nation aſſert, the Temple which Ezekiel hath deſcribed, chap. 40. & 41. &c. The children of the captivity (ſay they) made the building according to the forme that they ſaw in the building of Ezekiel in divers things; which although they could not imitate to the full, eſpecially in the ſpaciouſneſſe of his meaſures and ſumptuouſneſſe of his fabrick, (that pattern of his being as well a figure of a Temple not earthly, and not built with hands, as it was an earneſt and promiſe of an earthly Temple, to be built by them upon their return) yet did they lay that copy before them, and did in very many things imitate that faſhion and forme, and platform their buildings, and Courts thereafter: And ſo did Herod by the counſell of the wiſe men that were in his favour (as Hillel, Shammai, and Menahem, &c.) when he repaired, or rather rebuilt the Temple, though he did in divers things exceed the dimenſions of the childrens of the Captivity, yet did he obſerve their platforme and faſhion as they had done Ezekiels. And ſo (as to the form and compoſure of the things and places themſelves) there is ſo little difference betwixt the buildings of the returned Captives, and the buildings of Herod, that the Talmudicks do ſtill account both but one Temple, and account that that ſtood to the deſtruction of Jeruſalem, to be but foreign The ſecond Temple, to Solomons firſt; and ſo indifferently ſhall we take it up.