What was Herod's temple / the third temple?

The THIRD Temple was that of Herod the Great, the Idumean king, which was forty-six years in building; and whilst, no doubt, it retained some portions of the original structure, it differed from both Solomon's and Ezra's, especially in the arrangement of the courts. From the account given by Josephus, it seems to have been larger than Solomon's, and was built according to his own taste, much being added. There were added the Court of the Gentiles and the Court of the Women, of which the Word of God says nothing. This is the Temple which was in existence when our Lord was upon earth. There is much confusion in the minds of some as to the place where our Lord and His disciples worshipped. They could not enter the Courts of the Priests or draw near to the altar. When we read of the Lord and His disciples going up to the Temple, we are not to suppose that they entered beyond the exterior courts. The Holy Ghost has employed two distinct words in the original Greek of the New Testament in speaking of the Temple: one is Hieron (from hieros, sacred or priestly), which refers to the whole Temple, its courts and other buildings — the external structure. The other word, Naos (from nais to dwell) signifies the inner building, embracing the porch, the holy and most holy places — the sanctuary. It was into the external courts our Lord went, for, not being of the tribe of Levi, He could not enter the inner Temple. "Christ is not entered into holy places made with hands" (Heb. 9:24). Into the holy place the priests entered to trim the lamps in the morning and light them in the evening; to burn incense, morning and evening, on the golden altar; and to arrange, once a week, the shewbread on the tables. Consequently, Zacharias (Luke 1:8-10) was alone in the Temple, while the people prayed without, at time of incense.

When the Idumean king came to the kingdom, he found the Temple erected in Ezra's time after the fashion and on the site of Solomon's Temple, but inferior in splendour and glory. This did not meet his taste. He took it down, and on its site erected another Temple, which was forty-six years in building. This was the Temple which was in existence at the time of our Lord. It was made after his own design; and while, no doubt, he retained some parts of the original structure, as a whole it was entirely different from the Temple of Solomon. If we are to accept the testimony of Josephus and other writers, the Temple of Herod seems to have been built on a much larger scale and higher than the original. The stones of which it was built were white and wonderfully great: some say twenty-five cubits by twelve cubits. Whether we may take this as correct or not, it is certain, from the expression used by the disciples in Mark 13:1, that the stones used were conspicuous for their size.

THE TEMPLE BY HEROD. The Jews said it was forty-six years in building. John 2:20. Josephus gives almost the only account we have of it. It was apparently built over the old one, so as not to hinder the temple service: the priests themselves built the holy places. It was all on a magnificent scale. In the Gospels we read that the disciples exclaimed, "What stones! and what buildings!" and pointed out how it was "adorned with goodly stones and gifts." Herod was not God's man to build Him a house, nor were the leaders of the Jews fit men to carry on His worship. To the disciples the Lord declared that one stone should not be left upon another. Mark 13:1-2; Luke 21:5-6. Though Josephus gives many details as to this temple, they are not distinct enough to enable a plan to be made of it. In the N.T. the word ναός refers to the house itself, and ἱερόν to the buildings and courts in general. Apparently the Lord never entered the house itself. Doubtless this temple stood upon some part of mount Moriah, at the south-east corner of Jerusalem (q.v.), but on what part of the enclosure is not known.

A FUTURE TEMPLE. Scripture speaks in many places of the return of the Jews to their own land, but in unbelief as to the Lord Jesus being their Messiah. They will apparently build a temple, but this must not be confounded with the one described by Ezekiel, though the Jews may attempt to build it as there described. God cannot bless them until His anointed One is owned, and therefore this temple will be destroyed. Ps. 74; Isa. 66:1-6.

Four centuries later, Herod, to win the support of the Jews and foster his own vanity, built a new temple which took 46 years to erect. The building did not follow the pattern of the original. It was intended to eclipse its grandeur and magnitude. The front, composed of white polished marble, was specially beautiful. The enclosure, over 200 yards square, was surrounded by a wall of huge stones on the verge of a precipice over a valley 600 ft. deep. At the top of the precipice were wonderful galleries supported by marble pillars. Solomon's porch, called 'Beautiful,' was at the East Gate. The gates were 50 ft, by 25 ft. The roof, covered with gold, had a glorious appearance in the sunshine. That was the temple when the Lord came in lowly grace. It existed less than 70 years, serving as a fort in the famous siege by the Romans, when to the great sorrow of Titus, the Roman general and contrary to his command, it was accidentally burned by one of his own soldiers. Two subsequent attempts to rebuild the temple ended disastrously. These were in defiance of the words of the One greater than the temple Who said, 'there shall not be left here one stone upon another.' Could anyone gainsay that dictum? A Moslem mosque now occupies the position of the former Holy Place!

Herod also ingratiated himself with the Jews by his costly enterprise of rebuilding the temple. To allay their suspicions, he procured the material before he demolished any part. The new edifice was a stately one of white marble.

HEROD THE GREAT. We read of four Herods in Scripture. We propose to mention them one after another, so that the reader may have them clearly distinguished in mind. Herod the Great was the son of Antipater, an Idumean. Antipater was a man of mean origin, who ingratiated himself into favour with the Emperor, and was appointed procurator of Judea. His son, Herod, was born B.C. 62. He began his career very early for he was made procurator of Galilee when only fifteen years old. Josephus tells us this was no impediment to him, for he possessed great ability, courage and ambition. In B.C. 40 he was appointed King of the Jews. In the 18th year of his reign he undertook to rebuild the Temple at Jerusalem, not at the urge of piety, for he was a very wicked man, guilty of the murder of his own wife, and sons, and of many others also. His motive was to ingratiate himself with the Jews, and to get the glory of such an ambitious undertaking. Both the Bible and Josephus tells us of the rebuilding of the Temple.

At first the Jews stood in doubt of his intentions for it seemed sacrilegious that an Idumean, a heathen king, should rebuild the sacred Temple. But Herod soon showed he was in earnest, for he got together ten thousand wagons to transport the stones required for such an undertaking, and requisitioned ten thousand skilled workmen for the prosecution of the task. So gigantic were the efforts made that in a year and six months the Temple was opened with great rejoicings on the part of the Jews. Additions were added to it from time to time, which account for the remarks of the Jews when they said, “Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt Thou rear it in three days? But He [the Lord] spake of temple of His body” (John 2:20-21).

Dr. Edersheim described this Temple: “But alone and isolated in its grandeur rose the Temple Mount. Terrace upon terrace its courts rose, till high above the city, within the enclosure of marble cloisters, cedar-roofed and highly ornamented, the Temple itself stood out, a mass of snowy marble and gold, glittering in the sunlight, against the half-encircling green of Olivet. In all his wanderings the Jew had not seen a city like his own Jerusalem. Not Antioch in Asia, not even imperial Rome itself, excelled it in architectural splendour.’’

Later, when Israel was established in their land, God gave orders for King Solomon to build the temple where He would dwell in their midst (I Ki.5:5). Because of their disobedience to God, this temple was destroyed by the Babylonians (2 Chr.36:19), and in the days of Ezra another was built in its place (Ezra 6:5). Later Herod added to this temple, taking 46 years to do so (Jn.2:20). It was this temple that the Lord Jesus called, "My Father's house" (Jn.2:16).

This house existed until the time of Herod the Great, who rebuilded it (though we have no account of this in the Scriptures) on a scale of surpassing grandeur and magnificence, and it was this temple to which Joseph and Mary carried the infant Saviour when they presented Him before the Lord. And it is a most noteworthy fact that, built as this temple was by an alien king — for while he professed the Jewish faith he was probably of Idumean descent — the Lord Himself recognized it as His Father's house. Surrounded, and even filled, as it was with corruptions He yet owned it (Matt. 21:12-13; John 2:13-16, etc.); and not until His rejection by His people had been made manifest did He abandon it. Then He pronounced the sentence, "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate" (Matt. 23:38); and thereon He departed and went out of the temple. In patience and long-suffering God bore with His people, and with the corruptions of His house, until there was no remedy, and then He abandoned it, as He had done before with Solomon's temple. On His part there had been judgment mingled with grace and mercy again and again expressed; on His people's part sin and corruption, which reached their climax in the rejection and crucifixion of their Messiah-Jehovah indeed, who had condescended through so many centuries to have His habitation in their midst.

Herod's Temple

Little needs to be said about this temple. It was larger than Solomon's temple and very ornate. Even the disciples were impressed by the great stones in the buildings (See Matt. 24:1; Mark 13:1). But again it was without the presence of the glory that filled the Holy place in the first temple. It may be of interest to quote from, "The Temple and it's Ministry at the time of Jesus Christ," by Dr. Edersheim:

But His disciples are held by other and very different thoughts. Herod's magnificent temple, not even yet complete, though now nearly fifty years building, and growing thus continually under their eyes, the glory of Israel, spite of the murderous hands that built it ― the temple drew them yet. "What manner of stones and what buildings are here!" they urge, as if in intercession for that house which He was leaving desolate. But He answers at once, "See ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down." For Herod's temple as such there can be no regret, with one who looks on more than the outside.