The Temple in the Days of our Savior Described, Chapter 21
CHAP. XXI. Of the Gates and Buildings in the Court wall on the Eaſt and South ſides.
AND now are we come within the Court, where having very many things to ſurvey and take notice of, let us firſt begin with viewing the gates and buildings that were in the wall which did incloſe it, and firſt of all let us obſerve the Eaſt quarter of the wall, in which the gate of Nicanor was, which wee have newly ſurveyed and at which wee entred: There was never a gate but this in all this Eaſt quarter, nor were there any buildings in the wall in this quarter, but only two, which ſtood on either ſide of the gate one, and neer to the gate, on your right hand and on your left as you entred in.
[a]Mid. per. 1.That on your right hand was called foreign The chamber of Phineh as the wardrobe man: of whom there is mention in the Treatiſe Shekalim, among the chiefe Officers in the Temple, Theſe are the chief Officers in the Sanctuary, ([b]Talm. in Shekali, per. 5. ſaith the Talmud there) Jochanan the ſonne of Phinehas over the Seales: Ahijah over the Drinke-offerings: Mathia the ſonne of Samuel over the Lots: Pethahiah over the Birds (for Sacrifice) this Pethahiah was Mordecai, &c. Phinehas over the Wardrobe, &c. Now the gloſſe upon that place ſaith that theſe men named, were the eminenteſt and worthieſt men that ever were in theſe ſeverall Offices, and that they were not all in one but in ſeverall generations: Bartenora conceiveth that the Office of this Phinebas was,[c]Barteniu. Mid. to array the Prieſts, when they were to goe into ſerve, and to diſarray them again when they had done, and to keep their cloathes. Which wee are not to underſtand of his helping them on and off with their veſtments every day, when they went to and came from the ſervice, for they put them on and off themſelves, but he provided veſtments for them at their firſt entring into the ſervice, and when they were old he tooke them into his cuſtody againe and provided new.[d]Maym. in Kele Mikd. per. 7. Now this proviſion was at the publick charge, hee only took care for it, and the garments being overworn, they were returned again, for the Publick uſe, for we have obſerved elſewhere, that they were ravell'd into wick-yerne for the Lampes and for the great lights at the feaſt of Tabernacles, at the Rejoycing for the powring out of water.
On the left hand of the gate was foreign The chamber of the Paſtry man, for ſo let us call him, a man that took care for the providing and preparing of the High-Prieſts dayly Meat-offering which in the Talmud language is commonly called foreign eMenochoth. fol. 96.The two cakes of the High-Prieſt, of which wee have ſpoken in due place, and this his dayly offering was one thing,[f]Maym. in Biath Mikd. per. 4. whereby he was differenced from an ordinary Prieſt.
There is much diverſity of opinion among the Jews, yea even in the Talmud it ſelf about the number of the gates into this Court: In ſome places it reckons[g]Mid. per. 1. & Ioma fol. 19. ſeven, which indeed was the right number, but in ſome other places there is mention of[h]Mid. per. 2. & Shekalim per. 6. thirteen: Nay ([i]Gloſſ. in Tamid. per. 1. ſaith the gloſſe upon one place) ſome there are that reckon ſeven, ſome five, ſome three, ſome thirteen, but the generality hold for ſeven. Now the reaſon of this difference is in regard that ſome of them reckon only the gates of moſt conſtant and frequent paſſage which were, eſpecially three, namely the Gate of Nicanor on the Eaſt, and one on the North and one on the South, of which wee ſhall ſpeak ere it be long: others reckon onelyonly the gates which were guarded; which were only five: ſome it ſeems count what doores went out of the Court, into buildings by it, as well as gates to paſſe through, and ſo they raiſe the number thirteen: But the number that wee fix upon is ſeven, as moſt generally and moſt properly intertained, both by the Talmudicks and by Joſephus, in the ſecond Temple And how many were in the firſt Temple, wee ſhall ſay ſomething to before wee have done with the Court.[k]Mid. per. 5. & Maym. in beth habbech. per. 5. On the South ſides were theſe three gates. 1. foreign The watergate, which was moſt Eaſt of all the three. 2. foreign The gate of the Firſtlings, called alſo ſometimes foreign The gate of offering, this was in the middle. And 3. foreign The gate of kindling which was moſt Weſt.
Now beſides theſe three gates on the Southſide, there were alſo three other buildings in the wall which bare theſe names. 1. foreign The room-Ga…ith. 2. foreign The room of the draw-well. And 3. foreign The room of the wood. And ſo we have the materialls or ſubject of our Survey on this South ſide before us: let us now fall to work, and obſerve the ſituation and uſe of theſe ſeverall places.
And firſt[o]Antiq. lib. 15. cap. 14. Joſephus as he giveth teſtimony to this number that we fix upon, when hee ſaith that foreign this inward bound had three gates, North, and South, ſo doth hee alſo give us good light for the ſituation of them when he ſaith, they were foreign equidiſtant one from another. He had ſaid much the like concerning the gates that were in the outmoſt wall or bound, (namely that that incloſed the mountain of the houſe), that the gates in it on the South ſide [p]Idibid.were foreign that is ſo ſet, as that there was an equall ſpace betwixt gate and gate, and betwixt either gate and the corners of the wall: And ſo doth Symmetrie and the rules of the beſt proportion ingage us to underſtand his expreſſion about theſe gates in the like ſenſe; namely, that they both ſtood at an equall diſta…e one from another, and that the two on…moſt ſtood at the ſame diſtance from thoſe corners towards which they ſtood.
Now the length of the Court (and ſo of this wall) being an hundred eighty ſeven cubits, the ſituation of the gates according to the Symmetrie will fall into theſe proportions … from the Eaſt corner of the wall, 46 courts and three quarters upwards towards the weſt, was the very middle of the water gate. As much forward ſtil, was the middle of the gate of the firſtlings: the ſame meaſure ſtill forward, was the middle of the gate of kindling, and as much yet forward, taught to the Weſt Angle of the wal: And ſo may we beſt and moſt uniformly conceive of the ſituation of the gates. And therefore whereas the Hebrew writers doe moſt ordinarily when they ſpeak of theſe gates, ſay that they were foreign [q]Vid. Maym. ub… & ſupr. & ibid. Mid.Neer the Weſt, it is not to bee ſo taken as if they were all crowded toward the Weſt corner, but it is ſpoken in comprehenſion of both Courts together, the womens and this.
As for the three ſeverall buildings that were alſo on this ſide intermixed with the gates, theſe things may be obſerved towards their poſture and ſituation. 1. That the water gate and the draw-well-roome doe ſeem by their very names to refer one to another, as that it is not proper to part them, and howſoever there was ſomething elſe in the reaſon of the name of the water-gates, beſides its ſtanding ſo neer the draw-well, yet ſhall wee obſerve hereafter that this might bee alſo one reaſon of the name of it, and that thoſe two did indeed ſtand joyning together. 2. The Talmud ſaith the roofes of theſe three peeces of building were even (Mid. per. 5.) by which it ſeemeth that they ſtood not at diſtance one from another but conjoyning, but only that a gate interpoſed between them 3. We ſhall ſee anon out of the Jeruſalem Talmud, that the water-gate of the wood-room ſtood joyning together, 4. The Talmud, Maymony, and other of the Jewiſh writers ſpeaking of, and naming theſe three roomes, doe ever ſet Gazith firſt or laſt, and thereby they ſhew that it ſtood on the outſide one way or other, Eaſt or Weſt, and ſtood not in the middle. 5. If wee ſet it further Weſt, it will then ſtand in the Lot of Benjamin, whereas the great Sanhedrin which ſate in it,[r]Talm. in Ze…achin: fol. 54. are held by the Jews, and that upon good ground, to have ſitten in that part of the Court that was in the Tribe of Judah, Gen. 49.10. Therefore in moſt propriety (theſe things conſidered) muſt it bee concluded that Gazith did ſtand below the draw-well, the draw-well below the water-gate, or more toward the Eaſt corner of the Court; the water-gate below the room of the wood, and all theſe joyning together, as their ſituation will be confirmed in our further progreſſe: wee will firſt begin at the Eaſt corner where was the roome or building Gazith.