[STACK 
 
 ANNTEX 
 
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 HE TEMPLE AT JERUSALEM. 
 
 1 
 
 BY 
 
 MARCUS N. ABLER, ESQ., M.A., 
 
 Fellow of University College, London. 
 
 A Paper Read before the Jews' College Literary Society, 
 JANUARY STH, 1887, 
 
 WITH A REPORT OF THE REMARKS OF 
 
 MAJOR-GENERAL SIR CHARLES WARREN, G.C.M.G., F.R.S., &c., 
 
 WHO PRESIDED ON THE OCCASION. 
 
 ilifornia 
 ional 
 
 ility 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 "JEWISH CHRONICLE" OFFICE, 
 2, FINSBURY SQUARE, E.G. 
 
 1887.
 
 THE TEMPLE AT JERUSALEM. 
 
 BY 
 
 MARCUS N. ABLER, ESQ., M.A., 
 
 Fellow of University College, London. 
 
 A Paper Read before the Jews' College Literary 'Society, 
 JANUARY STH, 1887, 
 
 WITH A REPORT OF THE REMARKS OF 
 
 MAJOR-GENERAL SIR CHARLES WARREN, G.C.M.G., F.R.S., &c., 
 
 WHO PRESIDED ON THE OCCASION. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 "JEWISH CHRONICLE" OFFICE, 
 2, FINSBURY SQUARE, E.C 
 
 1887.
 
 THE TEMPLE AT JERUSALEM. 
 
 BY MARCUS N. ABLER, M.A. 
 
 I propose to give this evening a short account of the Temple at Jerusalem, 
 erected on what is now termed the Harain esh'Sherif , and to trace the origin of 
 some of the legends still current, connected with a site, which, to a large extent, 
 was in the past, as it will, we believe, be in the future, the House of Prayer for all 
 nations. 
 
 Another object I have in view this evening is to arouse your attention, and 
 through you, I hope, the attention of the community at large to the extraordinary 
 efforts which have been made of late years by our Christian friends, not only in this 
 country, but also abroad, in the direction of an accurate and systematic enquiry into 
 the Archeology, and also into the G-eology and the Natural History of the Holy 
 Land. 
 
 The Palestine Exploration Society has within the twenty-one years of its 
 existence spent and it may be truly said well spent no less than 66,000 in 
 carrying out these researches. The Ordnance Survey of Western Palestine, on a 
 scale of one inch to the mile, and for some districts on a scale of 10f t. to the mile, is in 
 itself a work for which we Jews ought to be profoundly grateful. To attain the 
 end they had in view the Society had the good fortune to enlist the services of men 
 of singular ability, who were endowed with that peculiar tact and perseverance, 
 which enabled them to carry on their explorations in the face of prejudice, and in 
 cpite of innumerable difficulties. 
 
 All those who have made themselves acquainted with the part which Sir 
 Charles Warren has taken in this work must agree with the view, expressed by such 
 well-known authors as Wilson and Ebers, that these excavations are, for their 
 extent, for the boldness with which they were conceived, and for the skill with 
 which they were carried out, unparalleled in the history of archseological 
 exploration. 
 
 Sir Charles Warren has kindly consented to explain the result of his excavations 
 at Jerusalem, and part of what I shall now proceed to say, I beg of you to look upon 
 as an introduction to his disquisition. Jerusalem lies on a ridge of hills, which 
 traverse Judaea from North to South, and which here attain a height of 2.400 to 
 2,500 feet. The City is encompassed by two ravines, the valley of Kidron and the 
 valley of Hinnom. These ravines rise within a short distance from each other, on 
 what may be called the watershed between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. 
 The Ordnance Survey has established the fact that the Dead Sea is no less than 
 1,300 feet balow the level of the ocean, and forms by far the deepest depression 
 known in the world. I need not say that this depression exercises a most extraor- 
 dinary influence upon the climate and vegetation of the district. 
 
 The Kidron or black valley, also called the Valley of Jehoshaphat, on the East of the 
 city skirts Mount Moriah, the present Haram area^which it separates from the Mount 
 
 209
 
 THE TEMPLE AT JERUSALEM. 
 
 of Olives, whilst the valley of Hinnom lies to the West of the city. These valleys 
 unite south of Jerusalem, after a fall of about 650 feet, at what is now called Job's 
 Well. Thence the Kidron river runs through the Wady en Nar (Valley of fire) to 
 the Dead Sea. A third valley, called the Tyropason or Cheesemaker's valley, divide 
 Mount Moriah on the West from the rest of the city. It meets the Kidron Valley 
 at the Siloam Well, where a few years ago, a remarkable inscription, in old Hebrew 
 letters, dating from the time of Hezekiah, was found. Several smaller valleys seem 
 to have pierced the city iu days gone by, but they are now more or less obliterated, 
 through the accumulation of rubbish. The fact of these ravinps having intersected 
 the city makes passages in our Midrashim quite intelligible, which speak of 
 Jerusalem as standing like Rome on seven hills. (Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer, c. 10; 
 Tanchuma Vayikrah) . 
 
 In th ) Kidron ravine, almost 200 feet below the Golden Gate on the Eastern 
 Temple wall, there is a spring called the Fountain of the Virgin possibly the En- 
 Rogel of Scripture which is found to have an intermittent flow : at present after a 
 dry winter it flows but once in three or four days. This peculiarity is no doub't 
 accounted for by natural syphon action. I mention it because it throws a light 
 On the old legend of the Sambation river, which it was said ceased to flow, or rested 
 on the Sabbath day. In olden times there must have been on the temple mount a 
 spring of running water fons perennis aquse, as Tacitus calls it (Hist. v. 12), and 
 thus we reid in Psalms (Ixxxvii. 7) "All my springs shall be in thee. 1 ' Again 
 (xlvi. 4) " There is a river the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the 
 Holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High." I infer from the fact of our pro- 
 phets sptaking of living waters issuing forth in the latter days, that this spring 
 must have ceased to flow or have been stopped by the enemy at eome time or other. 
 Thus, Zechariah (xiv. 8) proclaims : " And it shall be in that day, that living waters 
 shall go out from Jerusalem ; half of them towards the eastern sea andhxlf towards 
 the western sea ; in summer and in winter s'nall it be." Similarly, Ezekiel (chapter 
 xlvii. 1-12), gives a vivid description of the living waters that icsue forth from 
 tinder the threshold of the Temple at the South side of the altar ; they will pour 
 into the Dead Sea, and the waters shall be healed. 
 
 Sir Charles Warren will no doubt tell you what remains can now be found of 
 ancient wells and aqueducts in the Haram area and in the city. 
 
 Whatever doubt may beset the identification of the exact site of the Temple 
 and of the Zion of old, as to which I trust our Chairman will give explanations, no 
 doubt exists that on the Mount Moriah or in the Haram grounds stood our several 
 temples. In the centre of this area is an irregular four-sided paved 
 platform, rising some 16 feet above ihe level of the ground, and above the centie 
 of this platform what is called the Sakhra rock rises up. Over this rock is 
 builc the magnificent structure known as the Dome of the Rock, 
 commonly called the Mosque of Omar. Never shall I forget the glorious 
 view from Mount Olivet of this stately edifice, surrounded by lesser domes and 
 fountains, by cypresses and palms, with the Holy City lying beyond, and ^the land- 
 scape closed in by the purple mountains of Moab. " The Mountain of His Holiness 
 beautiful for situation, tha joy of the whole earth, Mount Zion, the sides on the 
 North, the City of the G eat King "(Ps. xlviii. 2-3). 
 
 The first mention we have in the Bible of Mount Moriah is in connection with. 
 Abraham offering Isaac. We next find Mount Moriah spoken of as the site of 
 the threshing floor of Araunah where David built an altar and where the Lord was 
 intreated for the land (ii. Sam. c. xxiv., 25). On this Mount Solomon built the 
 Temple an! his own palace. The Bible dwells with minuteness upon the foims 
 and furniture of the First Temple.
 
 TEE TEMPLE AT JERUSALEM. 
 
 Many writers, amongst them the architect, James Fergusson in his work " The 
 Temple of the Jews," fully discuss this subject. Fergusson's restoration of Solomon's 
 Temple is in any case more faithful to ths original than Hererra's Palace of the 
 Escurial was meant to be. 
 
 Bearing in mind that from Solomon in the year 1000, B.C., to Saladin 1187, A.C. 
 Jerusalem had to stand nineteen sieges, and was repeatedly destroyed, we must not 
 wonder that comparatively little now remains of Solomon's Temple. Cyrus allowed 
 the Jews to return to their land, and their first care was to erect the altar on its old 
 site. This site, the Talmud (Sevachin, 62a) states, was pointed out to them by one 
 of the three Prophets who returned from the captivity. The Temple itself was 
 erected later on in a comparatively humble style under the auspices of Ezra and 
 Zerubabel. Part of its furniture was carried away by Antiochus, the Syrian King. 
 The Maccabees rebuilt the altar which he had desecrated, carefully storing up the 
 polluted stones, and restored the Temple. They also cut down Akra, probably Zion 
 of oW, because it dominated the Temple. Pompey and Crassus likewise pillaged the 
 Sanctuary, but it rose to a magnificence which outrivalled Solomon's structure 
 under the fostering care of the splendour-loving King Herod. 
 
 Josephus gives us very full accounts of this edifice, bat although he spoke from 
 personal knowledge, we must remember that he wrote his works when in Rome. 
 His measurements are often wrong, and his descriptions lack precision. The Tal- 
 mud, especially the Mishnah Middoth, of which translations will be found in the 
 publications of the Palestine Exploration Society, is a trustier guide. Herod entirely 
 rebuilt the Temple, and in order to comply with the rigid Laws of Purification, the 
 whole of the Temole area was arched over, so that the entire pile stood on vaults or 
 causeways. Thus we read in the Mishnah of Parah which contains the Laws respecting 
 the Red Heifer (iii. 3). " The Temple Mount and the courts or platforms were hollow 
 underneath, oa account of possible graves below." Again (iii. 6) "They made a 
 bridge from the Temple mount to the Mount of Olives on arches (PS'3 "O3 ?JJ pB*3) 
 the piers of each arch resting on the centre of the arch below." I recommend that 
 a translation of the third chapter of Mishnah Parah should be given in the Quarterly 
 Reports of the Exploration Society, for it is full of matters of archseological interest 
 which should not be lost sight of when investigating the excavations. 
 The traces of arches found below Robinson's Arch are thus readily explained. 
 
 The provision that the Temple should rest upon artificially raised platforms did 
 not, however, apply to the a'tar of burnt sacrifices. In Exodus, xx., 24, 25, it 
 is enacted that " an altar of earth shalt thou make unto me . . . and if thou wilt 
 make me an altar of stone, thou shale not build it of hewn stone." Accordingly, 
 in the words of Maimonides the altar must rest on the virgin soil itself, and not on 
 arches or vaults. The word JVTJ in Chap, i., 13 of HVrQH JV3 JlD?n, is evidently 
 out of place, and does not occur in the MSS. of the Text at the British Museum. 
 The stones which were required to make the altar to the requisite square height 
 and shape were not permitted to be brought in contact with iron, for in the words 
 of the Mishnah Middoth iii. 4, iron is to shorten life, the altar to prolong it. 
 
 It is my opinion that the site occupied by this altar is identical with 
 the sacred or Sakhra rock in the centre of the Mosqae of Omar. In support 
 of this view I adduce the following considerations. The altar in Herod's Temple 
 was of the same dimensions as laid down byEzekiel (xliii. 13-17), 32 cubits square, 
 and 10 cubits high, and a sloping ascent to the south was32 cubits long by 16 cubits 
 wide. Taking the cubit at 21 inches, or even less, we shall be justified in assuming 
 as the site of the altar the Sakrah rock, the dimensions of which are from North to 
 South 56 feet, from East to West 42 feet, and which protrudes about 4 feet 10 inches 
 above the marble pavement of the Mo?qoe. 
 
 B2
 
 THE TEMPLE AT JERUSALEM. 
 
 It must not be forgotten that the eite of the altar was a threshing 
 floor, and threshing floors in Palestine are so placed on the ridges of hilla 
 that they shall be exposed to every breath of wind. In this manner the well- 
 trodden ears are tossed in the air and the corn is separated from the chaff, 
 as is so graphically expressed in the book of Daniel, " Like the chaff of the Bnmmer 
 threshing floors, the wind carries them away, and no place is found for them." 
 Moreuver, it is the practice in Palestine to provide these threshing floors with 
 excavations or caves wherein corn and wine are stored. Now this is found to be 
 exactly the case with the Sakhra rock. It occupies the highest part of the mountain. 
 On the South of the rock there is foond to be a cave, in the centre of which is a slab 
 of marble, which on being struck emits a hollow sound, showing that there is an ex- 
 cavation or passage underneath. This to my mind would he the drain spoken of in 
 the Mishnah Middoth iii. 3, which was accessible below the pavement of the altar, 
 and was oppned by means of a marble tablet which had a ring attached to it. 
 Through this canal the drainage of the altar found its way into the Kidron brook. 
 
 A further argument may be based upon the passage in the Gemarah Jomah (12a) 
 that the boundary between the tribes of Judah and Benjamin actually interacted 
 the altar. The Courts and Chambers belonged to Judab, but the Sanctuary was in 
 Benjamin's portion (cf. Joshua xv. 8, 9 and xviii. 15, 16), and this, siy our Sages, 
 was the import of the Blessing Moses gave before his death to the Tribe of Ben- 
 jamin. " The Lord shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between 
 his shoulders " (Deut. xxxiii. 12). 
 
 I will now very briefly describe to you the salient features of Herod's Temple, 
 for which purpose I have had prepared an enla'ged plan according to Fergusson's 
 interpretation of the text of the Mishnah. I am far from as.-erting that this plaa 
 is correct, but the dimensions, in respect to which the diagrams attached to modern 
 editions of the Mishnah Middoth are sadly deficient, are fairly well given by 
 FerguEson. 
 
 The whole of the Temple area was enclosed by magnificent colon- 
 nades, which, on the South side, were quadruple. On the East, 
 facing the Mount of Olives, was the Gate Shushan, on which the city 
 of Snsa was pourtrayed, in grateful remembrance of the Persians, who 
 allowed the Jews to restore the Temple. The two Huldah Gates were on the 
 South of the Temple Mount, Kipaunus on the West, and Tadi on the North. The 
 " Chel," leading to the Court of the Women, was separated from the Court of the 
 Gentiles by la'tice work, called Soreg, and notices were placed all around, 
 prohibiting strangers from entering the inner Court. A notice of this kind, 
 engraved on stone in Greek letters, threatening death to all intruders, hag 
 lanely been discovered among the ruins by M. Clermont-Ganneau. Abarbanel in 
 his Commentary on Ezekiel essays to prove that a Gallery was set apart in the inner 
 Court for strangers, having regard to the passage in Solomon's Prayer, where God's 
 blessing is invoked " on the stranger who cometh out of a far country " to pray in 
 the Temple. 
 
 In the four corners of the Court of Women were four roofless chambers, 
 respectively intended for Xazarites, for the Lepers when undergoing purification, for 
 the wood of the altar, and for the oil and wine for sacrificial purposes. In the 
 Chamber of the Nazarites, according to the Mishnah Kelim (vi. 2), the Virgin rock 
 protruded and here the Nazarites prepared their offerings. At the Western 
 side of the Court of Women there was a broad flight of fifteen steps 
 (corresponding to the 15 Songs of Degrees in the Book of Psalms), and then a beauti- 
 ful gate the Gate of Nicanor was reached, which led to the Court of the men of 
 Israel ; all the gates were gilt, except this, which was cast of bronze in
 
 THE TEMPLE AT JERUSALEM. 
 
 Alexandria. The Talmud (Jomah, 38a.) relates that when these gates were 
 conveyed to Acco, a storm arose, and one of the gates had to be thrown 
 into the sea and floated, but was recovered, jnst as was Cleopatra's Needle 
 on its way to England. The court of Israel contaiced a number of chambers ; 
 among them was the Gazith Chamber where the great Sanhedrin sat. The Court 
 of the Priests contained the altar and its appurtenance?, as well as the Laver. The 
 Temple edifice proper contained over 38 chambers in three stories ; access to it was 
 gained through the Porch having a magnificent Propylon ornamented with a golden 
 vine and other votive offerings. 
 
 In the centre of the pile was the Holy Place, the tJHlp. There 
 stood the altar for the incense, the table with shewbreid, and the golden candlestick. 
 In the background was the Holy of Holies, separated from the Holy Place by the Veil 
 or Cuitain. In the Second Temple both the Cherubim and the Ark were wanting. 
 It is generally supposed that the Ark, with other holy objects, was concealed by King 
 Josiah in one of the passages which abound on the Temple Mount (Cf. II, 
 Chronicles xxxv. 3 ; Jomah 53, 54). The Talmud relates a curious incident, 
 how a priest one day found some Btones loose in the pavement, and on 
 examination saw that there was an opening, which he concluded, 
 would lead to the place where the Ark was deposited. He went to inform his 
 brethren of his discovery, but fell down and expired before he could reveal the secret. 
 Above the Holy of Holies there must have been an upper room. It was, as far as 
 we know, only used when repairs were carried on. In Solomon's Temple, the hang- 
 ings and the fittings of the Tabernacle of the Wilderness, for which there was no 
 further nse, were stored in the upper chamber. The Sanctuary was built by the 
 Priests, other buildings were completed by Herod in nine years, but the entire work, 
 which was on a scale of unexampled magnificence, wasnot finished until a few years 
 before its destruction by Titus in the year 69 A.c. 
 
 Hadrian, after quelling the revolt of the Jews under Bar Cochba, 
 erected on the site of the Temple a shrine dedicated to Jnpiter Capitolinus. 
 It contained a statue of Jupiter and of himself. Subsequently, Constan- 
 tine, after having embraced Christianity, erected a church in the Haram area, but 
 soon afterwards the Emperor Julian gave orders to the Jews to restore their Temple. 
 I can only find some passing allusion to tbis in our Jewish writings, but I have 
 little doubt that then, if not before, Hadrian's Temple to Jupiter was demolished, 
 and by a strange irony of fate the very head of his statue which was once meant to 
 be worshipped was seen by one of the early pilgrims built into one of the walls and 
 has recently been re-discovered. 
 
 There is a great difference of opinion as to the structure which Justinian erected 
 on the Temple mount. Sepp, the German architect, seeks to prove that Justinian 
 built what is now called the Mosque of Omar, with the object of placing there the 
 Temple vessels which Beiisarius had recovered from the Vandals, who had, after the 
 pillage of Rome, taken them to Carthage. He further makes the statement, which 
 however, is disputed that Chosroes, who in the year 614 plundered Jerusalem, 
 transported the Temple vessels to a monastery in Armenia. It may interest some 
 of you to know what the Talmud says became of the Temple vessels. In 
 Aboth de Rabbi Nathan, it is stated that the mortar for pounding the incense, the 
 table, the candlestick and the cuitain were deposited in Rome. It would s^em that 
 these were the very objects which we find represented on the Arch of Titus at Rome. 
 Again we read in the Jerusalem Talmud (Meilah, 17b) that Rabbi Eliezer, who 
 when at Rome was asked to heal the Emperor's daughter, and went over the 
 treasury to find a certain medicament, there saw deposited the various vessels from 
 the Temple. In another passage of this Talmud (Jomah 57a) it is said that the plate 
 on the High Priest's mitre with its inscription was seen at Rome, as also the veil,
 
 THE TEMPLE AT JERUSALEM. 
 
 on which were to be noticed spots of blood. There is a spurious Midrash pub- 
 lished by Jellinek which gives details as regards the Temple vessels seized by the 
 Romans, which clearly bears the stamp of exaggeracion. 
 
 Indeed, beyond the measurements of the Temple, and the traditions handed 
 down from father to son by those who saw the Temple in its pristine glory, there 
 is no genuine but only hearsay information as to what became of the Temple, to be 
 derived from Jewish sources, because the Jews since the destruction of -the Temple 
 have never sought the privilege of viewing the spot, as they shrink from the 
 possibility of committing the sin of approaching the Holy of Holies. Whilst 
 the Jews eschew treadiog on the Haram ana, they have always felt an irresistible 
 attraction ti the outside of the walls, more especially to the well-known Wailing 
 Place on the Western wall. It is a spot well calculated to rouse the deepest emo- 
 tions, and one can here fully realize the rapt devotioa of that sweet singer in 
 Israel, Jehuda Halevi, who, it is stated, when kisting the ground, was trodden to 
 death by an Arab rider. The passage in Psalms cii. v. 15, is applied to this Western 
 wall. "For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favour the dust thereof." 
 Here may he s^en the grand stones of the venerable pile, some nearly 30 feet long 
 and 4 feet high. The spot has been frequently illustrated and described, but no 
 notice seems to have been taken of the numerous iron nails in the interstices 
 between the stones. What is the object of these nails 1 
 
 I learn from enquiry that when a messenger is sent by the Jerusalem com- 
 munity abroad it has been the custom from time immemorial for him, before his 
 departure, to drive a nail into the wall. The custom may have taken its origin, 
 from the passage in Isaiah, (_chap. xxii. v. 23) "And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure 
 place." This passage is at the close of the magnificent chapter about Jerusalem, 
 which, in consequence of the late topographical discovery tbat the Holy City for- 
 merly extended right down to Siloaoo, gains remarkably in vividness. 
 
 It is the fashion now-a- J ays to decry these messengers from the Holy City, but 
 I maintain that we owe not a little to these trusty men who in days, when posts 
 and railroads were unknown, braved perils of which we can now form no 
 conception, and brought to their brethren in outlying countries, tidings of the Holy 
 City and a knowledge of the word of God. The conversion of the heathen nation 
 of the Chozars, a thousand years ago, and the knowledge of their religion by the 
 black Jews in India, may be traced to the ministrations of these messengers. 
 
 I have been led into this digression through speaking of the Western wall, 
 and of the holy awe which restrainei the Jews from treading the Temple after its 
 destruction. Therefore, such statements as that of the Bordeaux pilgrim in the 
 year 333, that the Jews every year visit the "lapis pertusus "(the "pierced 
 stone "), and anoint it and bewail themselves with groans, and tear their garments 
 can only apply to the stones outside the Temple, perhaps to the western wall. Again 
 the statement of an Arabian writer, that Omar and his successors employed Jews 
 to keep clean certain parts of his Mosque must be called in question. 
 
 Sepp's contention, that the mosque had been constructel by Justinian, is supported 
 by the fact that the Mihrab or Prayer Niche, whicb is always scrupulously placed 
 in the direction of Mecca, occupies quits as anomalous a position in this mosque as 
 it does in that of Saint Sophia at Constantinople, also built by Justinian. Those who 
 have visited this mosque must have been struck with its one-sided appearance, in 
 consequence of the worshippers not facing the apse of the building but worshipping 
 at a slight angle in order to face Mecca. This at once shows that the building 
 was not constructed by the Moslems. I shall not dwell upon Fergusson 's theory 
 that the Mosque was built by Constantine. The view generally adopted is that the 
 KhaUf Abd-El-Melek by the aid of Byzantine workmen built the Dome of the Rock 
 about fifty years after the capture of Jerusalem by Omar.
 
 THE TEMPLE AT JERUSALEM. 
 
 About four hundred years after wards,in the year 1099, the Crusaders wrested Jerusa- 
 lem from the Arabs, and the Dome of the Rock was then converted into a church, but 
 retained the name of Templum Domini. The Aksa Mosque occupying the South 
 of the Temple Mount was then termed the Palatinm Solomonis, and the excavated 
 vaults beneath were called the Stables of Solomon. Here the Knights Templars 
 established themselves. 
 
 After the battle of Hattin, some sixty years afterwards, (in 1157) Jerusalem 
 capitulated to Saladin, who said to Richard Cosur de Lion : " Jerusa'em is as holy to 
 us as to you, nay, more so, for there our prophet made his ascent to heaven, and 
 there the angels assembled." (Bohaeddin Vita Sal. chap, cxxv .) Some years after 
 another Crusade took place, and for a time the Christians succeeded in again 
 holding Jerusalem, but eventually the Cross had to give way to the Crescent. The 
 Knights Templars departed from Syria, and raised in Europe many a church on the 
 model of the Dome, among them the Temple Church at Temple Bar. 
 
 I shall now trace the origin of some of the Moslem legends, with regard to the 
 sacred site, and I think I shall be able to show you that most of them are derived 
 from Jewish sources, more particularly from the Haggadah, the great storehouse of 
 old Jewish Folk-lore. 
 
 There is great truth in the words of Deutoch in his essay on the Talmud, where 
 he says : " Not only an entire world of pious, biblical legends which Islam has said 
 and sung in its many tongues to the delight of the wise and simple for twelve cen- 
 turies are to be found either in embryo or fully developed in the Haggadah, but 
 much that is familiar among ourselves in the mediaeval Sagas, in Dante, in 
 Cervantes, in Milton and Bunyan has consciously or unconsciously flowed out of 
 this wondrous realm, the Haggadah/' 
 
 These legends, generally associated with some passage in Scripture, are often 
 of a transcendental, generally of a symbolical, character, and are mostly clothed in 
 a fantastic garb. Many of the : r ideas are derived from foreign, mostly Iranian and 
 Chaldaean sources, with which the Jews became first acquainted in the Babylonian 
 captivity. Mahomet and his followers, by means of the Arab Jews with whom 
 they came in contict, became familiar with this literature, but many of the legends 
 are wilfully altered to fit into Islam theology, and others have become naturally 
 distorted after passing through so many channels. 
 
 Let us begin with some of the legends relating to Solomon. These, 
 although embodied in Jewish literature are, I think, adaptations from Prr- 
 eian tales about Dschemschid and other heroes. Sir Charles Warren 
 will, no doubt, speak of the enormous stones, some hundred tons in weight, 
 which are still found in their places and constitute the lower part of the 
 Temple wall. The stones are so beautifully dressed and joined together that they 
 have been a source of wonder through all ages. Now we re id in I. Kiags r chap. vi. 
 v. 7) that " there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the 
 house while it was building." How, then, were these stones hewn and chiselled? 
 The Mahommedan legend is as follows : When Solomon wished to build the Temple 
 he called not only men to his aid, but also the living creatures of the earth. All came, 
 except the magpie, which he turned into stone, and which the guardian at the 
 Ha'am shows at the present day. Solomon also assembled the Jins and the might- 
 iest of demon?, and appointel one division to build, another to cut the blocks and 
 columns from the marble quarries. To an Afrite, who ruled in the ocean depths, 
 Solomon sent a letter sealed with his magical signet ring, and bade him bring 
 adamant to cut the stones. The Afrite set out and found a nest wherein were young 
 eaglets. He covered the nest with a thick iron cage. The eagle returning, found the 
 iron cage and tried in vain to break or push it away, in order to get at her young. 
 At last she flew away and returned with a piece of adamant wherewith to pierce
 
 10 TEE TEMPLE AT JERUSALEM. 
 
 the cage. Then the Af rite frightened the bird so that she dropped the adamant, 
 which he took to Solomon and by its help the stones were cut. 
 
 This legend is really iden*ica1 with that given in Talmud Git tin 
 (fol. 68), which rurs thus : When Solomon was about to build the Temple 
 without the use of iron, he bethought himself of the expedient which 
 Moses resorted to in cutting the stones of the High Priest's breastplate for 
 the Urim and Thnmmim. So he sent his general Benaiah armed with his 
 signet ring to Asmodeus, the king of the demons, with orders to bring unto him 
 Shamir, that wondrous little worm that could cut the hardest of flinta. Shamir, 
 Asmodeus tells him, was the property of the prince of the sea, and he only entrusts 
 the worm to a bird called the Xaggar Tura, or mountain carver, who had taken the 
 oath of fidelity to the prince. This bird was wont to take Shamir to the mountain, and 
 used it to split the hard rock so as to place into the crevices seeds for clothing the 
 mountain sides with vegetation. Benaiah finds the nest of the bird and covers it 
 with a piece of crystal. When the bird came home and could not get at her young, 
 she flew away and fetched Shamir and laid it on the crystal. Then Benaiah shouted 
 and seized the wondrous worm, but the poor hen in her distress ilew herself." This 
 legend recurs in the mediaeval literature of most countries ia some shape or other 
 it is either a bird, a worm, or a plant, such as the saxifrage, which eats into the rock. 
 We recognise Shamir again in the Greek word a^vpi^ in the German Smirgel 
 and in the English emery . 
 
 On the Eastern side of the Haram, close to the Golden Gate, is Solomon's throne, 
 much venerated by the Moslems. They say that Solomon, feeling his eud approach- 
 ing, came to this spot close to the valley of Jehoshaphat, where all mankind will be 
 judged, and leaned on his staff in order to conceal his death from the demons In the 
 course of time, the staff became worm-eaten, and the body fell to the earth, much to 
 the delight of the evil spirits who now knew that they were free. The only foun- 
 dation, I can find, for this legend in the Talmud, is in Smhedrin (fol. 20), 
 where the passage occurs, " At first Solomon ruled over the spirits, and in the end 
 he had but his staff to support him." 
 
 Half way between the Golden Gate and the South Eastern extremity of the 
 Temple wall a pillar juts out. From this column the Moslems assert that the 
 bridge Al Sirat, only a hair's breadth in width, will be stretched across the valley 
 of Jehoshaphat to the Mount of Olives on the dread day, when the last judgment 
 will be announced by the blast of trumpet?, and when all the children of men will 
 have to cross this bridge over Tophet. This legend in its main features has its foun- 
 dation on passages occurring in Scripture, although these do not refer to the 
 latt judgment. The prophet Joel (ch. iv. 2 & 12) speaks of the gathering of all 
 nations. "Let the nations be awakened and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; 
 for there shall I sit to judge all the nations round about." Isaiah (ch. xxvii. 13) and 
 Zepbaniah (ch. i.) speak of a day of judgment when the great trumpet shall be 
 Bounded. 
 
 I have mentioned before that the valley of Hinnom was West and 
 South West of Jerusalem. This valley was the scene of the Moloch worship, and 
 other abominations (II Chronicles, ch. xxxiii. 6). Here Jeremiah (ch. xix) thunders 
 forth his denunciations of these enormities, and he says. "This place shall no more 
 be called Tophet nor the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter." 
 It was but natural that the name should in course of time be transferred to the 
 Kidron or the Black Valley, which had from time immemorial been used as a 
 burial place. Accordingly, this Black Valley, the Valley of Jehoshaphat, came to be 
 called Ge-Hinnom, the Gehenna of the Xew Testament. It is possible that this dark 
 val'ey bore marks of volcanic action like those we fiud in Virgil's cave near Xaples, 
 which was considered in olden times as an entrance to the infernal region*, for we find
 
 \ 
 
 
 THE TEMPLE AT JERUSALEM. 11 
 
 in the Gemarah Sukkah (32 t>.) a passage as follows: " There were two Palm trees in the 
 Valley of Hinnom, between which smoke issued forth, and this is the portal of 
 Gehenna." A further illustration of the Mahommedan legend is a passage in the 
 Yalkut on Isaiah, ''When the nations are assembled in the Valley of Jehoshaphat for 
 judgment, the Lord will quicken the dead and will cause them to pass over the 
 bridge, which will shrink to the width of a thread ; the idol worshippers in crossing 
 will fall into the Gehenna belove, and Israel will stand by and quake." 
 
 According to the Haggadah the distance between Gehenna and Paradise is but a 
 hand breadth, and in the literal manner in whieh Mahomet interpreted the Midrash 
 we have not far to seek for the gate of Paradise which we know the Moslem place below 
 the sacred rock. "Below the Sakhra," writes Jalal-Addin, the well-known Mahomme- 
 dan author, " is the gate of Paradise full of fertilising breezes and sweet waters, from 
 which flow the four rivers." Altogether the Mahommedans invest the Sacred Bock 
 with a sanctity second only to the Kaaba of Mecca. On the South West corner of 
 the Rock is shown the footprint of Mahomet, when, in his nocturnal flight, he sped 
 to heave a on his steed Bourak lightning and the Angel Gabriel's handprint is 
 shown where he held the rock back which was ready to follow the prophet. I 
 forbear io give you all the particulars of this celebrated night journey. Mahomet's 
 passing through the seven heavens, in each of which was a saint waiting to 
 welcome him, calh to mind analogous passages in the Midrash. These seven 
 heavens are in reality but the seven Hebrew equivalents for heaven which occur 
 in Scripture. The seven patriarchs are no doubt the seven shepherds spoken of 
 by the Prophet Micah (v. 4). 
 
 The Mahommedans regard the Sacred Rock as the centre of the earth ; it 
 is guarded by armies of angels who watch there day and night in prayer. The 
 canvas covering suspended over the rock was that used by Adam and Eve when 
 they met again after one hundred years' separation consequent upon their expulsion 
 from Paradise. The stairs, which lead into the cave below, contain a stone called the 
 Tongue, because it announced to Omar that this was the rock where Jacob had his 
 dream. In the cave below and elsewhere are shown the places where Adam, Shem, 
 Melchizedek, Abraham, and other saints prayed, and here it is believed by the 
 faithful that every prayer offered up is heard. The rock is suspended on a palm 
 tree, perhaps in allusion to the passage in Psalms (xcii., 13-14). "The righteous 
 shall flourish like the palm tree, . . . that is planted in the House of the Lord, 
 and shall flourish in the courts of our God." 
 
 In describing this spot Dean Stanley says, tha 1 ; the Mahommedans believe that 
 in the well below the palm tree, the souls of the departed rest betwixt death and 
 resurrection. The belief was, that the living could at the mouth of the well hold 
 converse with those souls about any disputed matter which lay in the power of the 
 dead to solve. It was closed, because a mother, going to speak to her dead son, was 
 BO much agitated at the sound of his voice from below, that she threw herself into 
 the well to join him and disappeared. 
 
 Now npon what are these fantastic legends based ? Upon a single passage in the 
 Mishnah Jomah, which describes the services of the Holy Priest on the Day of Atone- 
 ment. When speaking of his entry into the Holy of Holies, during the time that the 
 second temple was standing, the Mishnah says (chap, v, 2) " When the ark had been re- 
 moved, a stone became visible which had been there from the time of the first prophets, 
 and it was called Shetijah, rVDtJ', the foundation stone. It was three finger breadth 
 high above the ground, and upon it the High Priest placed the censer." The 
 Gemarah, commenting on this passage, adduces a number of quotations from Scrip- 
 ture to support the theory that this stone was the germ, whence the whole world
 
 12 THE TEMPLE AT JERUSALEM. 
 
 was created. There are many Midrashim, which enlarge upon this theme. I will 
 only quote one from the Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer (35), which refers to Jacob's dream. 
 We read (Genesis, ch. xxviii. v. 11), that Jacob "Cook of the stones of that place and 
 put them for his pillows." Further (v. 18, 22) Jacob took the stone that he had put for 
 his pillow, and set it up for a pillar, and poure 1 oil upon it and vowed a vow, saying 
 this stone which I have set for a pillar shall be God's House." The Midrash says, as to 
 this text, that the many stones overnight became solidified into one, and that the 
 oil came from heaven for Jacob to pour on the stone, and God fixed it in the 
 foundations of the earth, whence it was called the stone Shetijab, which became 
 the navel of the earth, and upon this the Temple was erected. The halo of 
 sanctity, which surrounded this stone of the Holy of Holies of three finger breadth 
 in height, was transferred by the Moslems to the rock which I have already shown 
 to you was probably the site of the altar. The Christian Church fathers cliim that 
 the rock in the Holy Sepulchre is the centre of the earth. 
 
 The connection of Adam with the stone of the Sanctuary is deduced from 
 Bereshith Rabbah (ch. 13). "Man," D1X, it says " was created dust from the 
 earth : he was formed from the very altar of earth, HD1X, which was eventually 
 to atone for him." Another beautiful Midrash [speaks of Adam, after his fall, 
 dwelling on Mount Moriah, close to the Gate of Paradise, and narrates that he 
 worked to provide himself and his helpmate with raiment. 
 
 Shem and Melchizedek are both introduced in the Moslem legend, but in the 
 Jewish Haggadah they are considered identic 1. The Midrash says that Abraham 
 called the Mount of the Lord Jireh ; Shem called it Salem ; the Lord proclaims, I 
 will call my City by the two-fold name Jerusalem. 
 
 The Mahommedan names which the Gates of the Haram area bear at the pre- 
 sent day are mostly associated with legends. The Koran mentions a double gate 
 leading from the Tower of David to the Temple, called the Ga'e of Mercy. Proba- 
 bly this double Gate is identical with the two Gates referred to in the following 
 passage from Tract Soferim. " Two gates did Solomon construct devoted to acts of 
 mercy. Through one gate the bridegrooms were wont to pass ; through the other 
 passed the mourners and those who were excommunicated, and it was the custom that 
 the people on the Sabbath day resorted to the Temple Mount to rejoice with the 
 bridegrooms and console those who were afflicted." The custom of condoling on the 
 Sabbath day with the mourners still obtains in the Synagogue. On the Friday eve- 
 ning as the Sabbath is ushered in, the Rabbi and Reader proceed to the entrance of 
 the Synagogue to welcome the mourners with the words, " May the Lord comfort 
 you with the other mournera for Zion and Jerusalem." 
 
 By this time I have, I think, established my argument as to the sources of the 
 Moslem traditions. I will give one more legend connected with the Dome of the 
 Chain, a beautiful little mosque adjoining the Dome of the Rock, and I give it to 
 yon because I am unable to trace in this legend all the links which would connect it 
 with the Hebrew Midrash. Perhaps one of the many Talmudists present this evening 
 can supply this. Jalal-Addin says, that the children of Israel had an immense hole dug 
 in the Temple Mount, wherein was placed a chain which God had given to 
 David. The people approached with their offerings, and whatever was graciously re- 
 ceived was taken up by the chain ; whatever was not ac epted remained on the 
 ground. By the aid of this chain which, to quote another legend, was suspended 
 from heaven and reached earth at the spot where the Chain Mosque now stands, 
 David was able to judge all hard cases. Whoever spoke the truth was touched by 
 the chain, but from him who spoke falsely the chain recoiled. 
 
 Now the legend goes onto tell of two men, of whom one confided to the other 
 one hundred deuars, which sum he afterwards reclaimed. The other denied that he had
 
 
 THE TEMPLE AT JERUSALEM. 13 
 
 received it ; but he was a crafty man and had concealed the gold in the hollow of hia 
 etick. They came to David. He said, Go ye to the chain. Then going up to the chain 
 the crafty man gives the stick to the owner of the denars and takes an oath that he 
 had returned the gold. The chain touches him. Then the rightful owner of the gold 
 restores the stick, and swears that he had never received the money. The chain 
 touches him too. Then the people marvel, and David wonders how the chain 
 could show that they were both right. However the Lord revealed to him the truth, 
 but after that the chain Wis removed. New the identical story as to the denars 
 is told in the Midrash Kabbah (Vajikrah, vi.) as having happened to Bar Talmeon 
 (Bartholomew), but I confess I fail to trace anything in Jewish literature as 
 to the clainthat aided David in judgment. 
 
 As I do not wish to interpose longer between you ani Sir Charles Warren I 
 must conclude, but I have only given you an outline of the weird and suggestive 
 legends which cluster round that spot of matchless interest, " the glorious high 
 throne from the beginning, the place of our Sanctuary." 
 
 MAJOR-GENEBAL SIR CHARLES WARREN, G.C.M.G., who presided, said: 
 LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I am sure you will all agree with me in feeling 
 grateful to the lecturer for the most interesting and learned lecture which he has 
 given to us this evening, throwing so much light on the ancient customs and tra- 
 ditions of Jerusalem, and showing how the Moslems, to a very great extent, are, 
 indebted to the Jews for their legendary lore. I cannot attempt to follow the lec- 
 turer into all or even into many of the points wh ich he has discussed this evening 
 and I intend to confine my remarks to a few subjects only. I may say in starting 
 that there is one point in which I do not concur with Mr. Marcus Adler, namely, 
 when he said that it was his Christian brethren only who had carried out the work 
 of exploration in Palestine and Jerusalem. That is not so. We are indebted to a 
 considerable extent to our Jewish brethren. We have several Jews on the Palestine 
 Exploration Fund Committee, and at various times we have experienced great 
 assistance from the Jews not only in this country, but in Palestine. Speaking for 
 myself, I may say here, that I have received very great assistance both from Ashke- 
 nazim and Sephardim Jews in Palestine. Dr.Hirsch. son of the late Dr. Hirschel, 
 formerly Chief Rabbi of London, is a very old friend of mine, and I was sometimes 
 able to give him a good turn for all his kindness to me. The Ashkenazim when they 
 have been away from Russia for a year, and from some parts of Prussia fora certain 
 period, are cast off by these nations and become Reyahs. Then they are taken up by 
 the English, and the British Consul looks after their interests. Some of the Sephar- 
 dim are Rayahs also, and at times the venerable Dr. Hirsch has come to me and asked 
 me to exercise my influence in a legitimate way in their behalf ; and Lhave always 
 been glad to do what I could, for from the Jews I at times got very much valuable 
 assistance. In speaking of the remains of the Temple, it must be 
 borne in mind that the Temple of Herod was much larger than the Temple of 
 Solomon.and that the outer portions were not built in the same manner as the interior. 
 We learn that the Temple was built by the Jews, while the outside walls of the 
 Court of the Gentiles were built by Herod, and so there may have been two dis- 
 tinct kinds of architecture used the one differing greatly from the other. The 
 outside architecture was probably Roman, but what the inside was it is very diffi- 
 cult to ascertain exactly. Almost all the books of reference on the subject show 
 great differences of design, and I do not think that we have at present arrived at 
 any distinct idea of what the original design of the second Temple was like. 
 
 I have shown here a ground plan of the Templs of Herod so far as I could gather it
 
 14 THE TEMPLE AT JERUSALEM. 
 
 from Josephus and other historians ; and with regard to measurements, the only 
 questions at the present time remaining are of a few feet. We have now a distinct 
 idea of the general position of the Temple which must have been situated at the 
 top of the rock that has been described to you. I a Palestine the threshing floor 
 is situated in such a position that the wind will be able to blow the chaff from the 
 corn, and therefore it is quice improbable that the threshing floor could have been 
 at the bottom of the valley between two ste^p hills where the wind could 
 only blow at certain periods. Besides, we have collateral evidence that the thresh- 
 ing floor was near the brow of the hill ; it was near the brow of the hill that 
 David saw the angel standing over the threshing floor ; and it is near the brow 
 of the hill that the Mcsque of Omar now stands. I agree with what has been said 
 as to the probable origin of the cave for storing corn. It was in a cave that Araunah 
 hid himself when he was afraid, and here is a cave in which he could have done 
 so. These caves for collecting corn exist all over Palestine. Tae walls of the 
 Temple as they exist at the present time are of a stupendous size, and there is 
 little doubt that originally they were some 300 feet in height ; even now they are in 
 many places from 150 to 200 feet in height, and their dimensions are very great. If 
 you were to put the whole length of the Crystal Palace including the transepts in 
 one line, you would get about the length of the south end of the Temple that is 
 the outside Court of the Gentiles. 
 
 The Btones are very stupendous. I measured a stone in the South 
 West end which was 38 feet 6 inches in length, and weighed 100 t3ns. In 
 the South East wall there is another stone which is not quite BO long, but 
 higher, and weighing over 100 tons. The question has often been asked and dis- 
 cussed how such enormous stones were placed where we now find them ? There are 
 a great many theories on the subject, for in those very early days the 
 mechanical appliances were very limited. The question has now, I think, 
 been set at rest by the discovery of the quarry from which the stones 
 were probably taken. This quarry is above the level of the wall of which these 
 stones form part, so that when the blocks were hewn all that had to be done was to 
 lower them by means of rollers down an inclined plane the only difficulty in the way 
 of doing this was to prevent the stone, when in transit, running down too fast. 
 Although the stones of the outer wall of the Temple were of this stupendous 
 size, in the inner wall they may have been much larger. But this is not an isolated 
 case in the East, for in the Temple of Baalbec there are stones weighing 800 tons, 
 standing 15 to 16 feet high, and from 70 to 80 feet in length. There also we know how 
 the stones were got into their places, for we have discovered the quarry from whence 
 they were hewn,and in the quarry there is one stone remaining, which, apparently was 
 not wanted by the builders, who left it there. 
 
 With regard to the Sacred Rock, over which the dome of the 
 Mosque of Omar is built, there are many theories. Some suppose it is the 
 ancient site of the Altar of the Sanctum Sanctorum. For many years I 
 had the idea that this rock was near the Gate Nitzotz, near the place where the blood 
 and the entrails of the slaughtered animals were put down and carried away ; and 
 the reason for this is that in the Talmud or the Mishnah there is an account of a 
 passage into which one could get by means of a winding staircase at the Gate Tadai. 
 And there is an account of a pas-age by which the Priest went down to the 
 House of Baptism, and then entered another passage which led to the Gate Tadai. 
 Below the space where the rock stands is a place where the passages converge, and 
 there is the Gate. These probably are the actual passages spoken of in the Mish- 
 nah, but the question remains how far did they extend to the South, whether this 
 particular place was the Gate Nitzotz, or the actual Altar of the Temple ? There 
 are reasons based on legends for believing that this was the place of the Altar, but 
 there is some difficulty with regard to the Moslem traditions, for they have taken
 
 TEE TEMPLE AT JERUSALEM. 15 
 
 them from a variety of places and clustered them all around the sacred 
 rock, over which they have built their monument. This Moslem habit of 
 clustering their legends, accounts for the fact that they attributed to a rock 
 under the dome of the Mosque, traditions, which belong to the Sanctum 
 Sanctorum of the Temple. There is one tradition, which says that this rock is the 
 very centre of the whole earth, and that it is 16 or 69 miles (they are not very 
 particular) nearer to Heaven than any other part of the world's surface. 
 All their traditions seem to have been derived from some prior traditions, or taken 
 from some previous book. Some of them are derived fiom Arab sources, but the 
 great majority of them are similar to the Jewish traditions ; or are similar to those 
 recorded in the books of the Prophets. The tradition, which the lecturer has 
 given you with regard to the well underneath (in the rock) is not quite the same 
 as the one which I heard, which is as follows : There was an opening under the rock, 
 and for a long time a passage was kept open for the purpose of allowing the 
 departed spirits of Moslems to converse with the living. It however, happened, 
 that some of the living who went there to converse were not seriously minded and 
 talked of indifferent matters. So in the course of time it came about 
 that many scandalous stories about the people in Jerusalem got into 
 circulation. This became so bad that it was at last thought fit to close the aper- 
 ture, which was done, so that no more scandal was able to come out. I 
 have no doubt but that the idea of Mohamed's going to heaven comes from Jacob'8 
 dream. I have also no doubt but that they brought the stone which Jacob used for his 
 pillow from Bethel and put it in the sacred area, where there is a stone which they 
 call the " little Sakhra," which is the stone supposed to have been brought from 
 Bethel. 
 
 When I first went to Jerusalem I had a firman, in which I was forbidden 
 to excavate in all the particular spots I was enjoined to explore. Fortunately, 
 the Mahomedans, who were most anxious to prevent my doing anything in the 
 way of exploration at this spot, had confused together the names of Hebron and 
 Jerusalem in the firman. Tney said that no one not a Mahomedan was permitted to 
 go to the sacred places at Hebron and Jerusalem. That was true with regard to Hebron, 
 but not true with regard to Jerusalem, where any one could go over the ruins of the 
 Temple on paying a ce tain price. I pointed this out to the military Pasha when 
 I called on him, and as there was a mistake clearly, the firman had to be revised, and 
 when the revised firman arrived, I had completed my explorations in this direction 
 on such terms as I was able to make with the Pasha. The military 
 Pasha, when I went to him, told me that I need not go to all the trouble of explor- 
 ing for he could tell me all the history of the Temple. He proceeded to tell me all 
 about it. He told me that the Sacred Rock was placed on the top leaves of a palm 
 tree, from the roots of which sprang all the rivers of the earth. This wag doubt- 
 less borrowed from Ezekiel's statement that water should come out of the thresh- 
 hold of the Temple, go down the Kedron Valley and cleanse the waters of the Dead 
 Sea. This tradition simply points out the fact there must have been water (there must 
 be water now) under this sacred stone. In early days no doubt there was considers ble 
 water in Jerusalem. The Palestine Exploration Fund proved this to have been so, 
 and it is not improbable that water may again run through these old aqueducts. 
 
 There is one reason why the aqueducts do not run as in former days. Titus, as you 
 remember, had to exert all his effort? to establish himself in Jerusalem, and he con- 
 fesses that if the Jews had only engaged themselves in defending the city instead 
 of fighting amongst themselves, he would not have been successful. The Jews were 
 divided into three parties, and would engage themselves in fighting each other 
 instead of fighting against him. and so Titus was able to penetrate further and fur- 
 ther into the city until he reached the Temple. In order to carry out his siege 
 operations he had to collect wood for battering rams, and in course of time the
 
 16 THE TEMPLE AT JERUSALEM. 
 
 country became depleted of wood. There is now no wood around Jerusalem fof 
 miles and miles the houses are built of stone with stone roofs. Ground 
 which was formerly covered wit 1 ! fruit trees is now entirely bare, ar.d there 
 is in consequence of this denudation of trees a much smaller rain-fall than in 
 former days. 
 
 With regard to this splendid wall of Herod, we have opened up the 
 whole of it as well as the gates spoken of in olden times as the Huldah Gates, which 
 can be seen by any one now going to Jerusalem. The Huldah Gates are thus double 
 gates immediately to the South of the Sacred Rock ; so there were two gates to 
 the south side of the Temple. To the West there are three gates and R -binson's 
 Arch which led from the royal cloister. Dr. Robinson, an American gentleman, 
 was the first who pointed out the arch which has been called after him. 
 This arch was broken down when Titus took the Temple. Titus desired 
 to save the Templ-j ; he gave orders not to destroy it, but the suldiere, exas- 
 perated by the gallant defence, burnt the Temple. A great number of Jews peiished 
 in the flames in the cloisters, but some got away, and destroyed the bridge by which 
 they escaped, and it was Robinson who pointed out the remains of the arch 
 standing out from the wall. One of our first works in Jerusalem was to ascertain 
 if there were any remains of the arch below. Tnere wa3 no absjlute proof that there 
 was a gate there.so we excavated the earth and lighted on the pier itself 50 feet long and 
 12 feet broad. There was a stone pavement between the pier and the temple wall, 
 and on the top of the pavement we found the old stones of the arch huddled toge- 
 ther. Then we sunk through this pavement, which waa of marble, and at the depth 
 of 20 feet we got to an older arch destroyed in the time of Pompey, which covered 
 an old aqueduct. The aqueduct was arched over with masonry and extends to the 
 West of the Jews' Wailing Place several hundred feet. There were cisterns cut 
 showing that these aqueducts were not constructed for sewage but for water. There 
 were passages going upwards which were explored and we found that they extended to 
 the marble pavement which stretches to the western wall as dt scribed by Josephus. 
 We found a stone roller similar to those used in the Lebanon for rolling the roofs 
 of houses, showing that the houses were flat roofed, covered with timber, just as we 
 learn that they were in the ancient books of Holy Writ. Going further to the West 
 we found another gata at a lower level, and we excavated that woich was found by 
 Mr. Barc'ay, also an American, and we found that it goes into the sacred area. Further 
 North is Wilson's arch of about the sam-? size as Robinsoa's Arch, but of a later period. 
 This was called after Sir Charles Wilson, who showed that it was an ancient passage 
 We worked alonap theciuseway going from the Upper City, which is fo>med by arch 
 upon arch as described by the lecturer, and this connects the causeway with the 
 temple, which is mentioned in several of the old books', and further North we found 
 a third gate, and we found an old cistern and the remains of an old gate similar 
 to that of Barclay, s ) that there are four gates on the west side. The Golden Gate 
 is closed at the present time ; the Mahomedans, borrowing from Ezekiel, entertain 
 the belief that some great prince will enter the city by the Golden Gate and take it 
 from them. They believe too that the entry will be made on a Friday, and so they 
 have the gates of the city closed on that day. 
 
 There is a single gate among the arches to the South Eastern angle. We 
 worked under the arches and we found one of the old ducts, one of those, 
 no doubt, employed in carrying away the blood ani refuse from 
 the temple. There was a passage in which one could walk and sweep the dirt and 
 still keep himself perfectly clean. When there were so many animals slaughtered 
 daily in the temple it must have been necessary, to keep away pestilence, tbat the 
 refuse should be carried effectually away, and this duct and passage shows how it 
 was done.
 
 THE TEMPLE AT JERUSALEM. 17 
 
 Then, with regard to the South Eastern angle, we came upon some in- 
 teresting remains. This enormous wall, which rises to 80 or 90 feet above the present 
 level of the ground, was called the Pinnacle of the temple by the writers of the 
 third and fourth centuries. We went down eighty feet before we reached the solid 
 rock. The Pasha of whom I have spoken would not let us work near the wall. He 
 was under the impression that we could not gtt to it by working horizontally, which 
 we did, until we got to the angle itself. He used to send an inspector, whom I told 
 that we had got to the bottom of the wall. Because I told him so he did not believe it. 
 He went down the shaft and when about midway the man gave the 
 rope a turn which twisted the chair around. When the inspector reached the bot- 
 tom he did not know in which direction he was going, and I said to him, " We are at the 
 bottom of the wall and I will now take you to the angle of Solomon's Temple," I 
 showed him the paint marks on the stones, but he would not believe me. When he 
 saw the Pasha he reported that we were working in an entirely opposite direction, 
 and the Pasha said that we could go on working in that; direction so long as we 
 likei. We worked on and made some valuable discoveries. On the 
 limestone there is a loamy soil (re I earth). There was twelve feet of red 
 earth, an i when they got down to the rock and put in the massive wall they cut 
 down th'ough the red earth and then filled it in, the consequence 
 being that they covered up a portion of the wall which was 
 never seen again until we uncovered it. The paint marks on the stones 
 were exposed as they were whea they came from the quarry. The conjec- 
 ture is that they were " Phoenician" marks, and Deutsch and Petermann 
 were of this opinion . Amongst other things we found a hole cut in the rock, and 
 an earthenware pitcher which was probably put in when the corner stone was laid. 
 We also found some old jar handles, on which were inscribed in Phoenician or 
 Hebrew chaacters words, "To the King," showing, no douDt, that it was royal 
 pottery. Whether thrown out of the King's kitchen or not I cannot say, but there 
 is no doubt that the pottery is 700, 800, or 900 ytar older than the present era. With 
 regard to this angle, there are many interesting points. Josephus describes it, and 
 states that when Herod rebuilt it he doubled its size. 
 
 It is suggested that on the South East are the remains of King 
 Solomon's Palace. Captain Conder has a theory about it, and we do not 
 entirely agree on the subject. The South West angle I think was entirely 
 built by Herod. If you look at the South West angle you will find that it 
 comes over the Kidron Valley, and it cannot be that it formed part of the ancient 
 Temple area, and it was only when the Temple area was much increased that it 
 was continued over the valley. I will just mention two or three other points. First, 
 the peculiar rock-cut passage explains how it was that there was plenty of water in 
 Jerusalem, and none outside. Hezekiah says, " Why should the Assyrian King come 
 here and find water." With reference to an extraordinary passage, which was found 
 cut in the solid rock, what was his object? It was one of the "sealed 
 fountains, "closed up from the outside. From the Virgin's fount to the Pool of 
 Siloam you have roc>, a cut passage of 1,800 feet in length, where, 
 during the siege, the inhabitants could get water. The enemy would 
 find no water, whiltt there would be plenty inside. The discovery of this is one of 
 the results of the exploration. Secondly, we found some remarkable rock-cut 
 passages for water in the Kidron Valley, and no one has conjectured what they 
 are for. I followed them for more than a mile. At every few yards there were 
 passages, as though to supply pure water in the gardens. What they are for is still 
 a matter for speculation. 
 
 There are two other points to which I should like to allude. First, 
 the position of the City of Zion, which is more vexed than that of
 
 18 THE TEMPLE AT JERUSALEM. 
 
 the Temple. Some supfose tbat Zion was a large and populous 
 City, and others suppose it stood where Ophel now stands. There 
 is controversy on this point whioh I hope will increase, for it is desirable that there 
 should be controversy on such matters The success of the Palestine Exploration 
 Fund was maicly due to the vigour with which Mr.Fergusson and Mr. Williams stuck 
 to their theories through thick and thin. Those who think that Zion is Ophel 
 I hope will adduce their strongest arguments so that there may be more controversy. 
 I am rather wedded to the theory that Zion was West of the TeAple, for with the 
 exception of what occurs in Nehemiah, everything conspires to show that Zion 
 was to the West of the Temple itself. It is, as I have said, a very vexed question, 
 and I trust that controversy will continue. It is mainly on account of the keen 
 controversy which has been waged in the pisfc that the explorations have bean car- 
 ried out so far as they have, and it is necessary that the same spirit should continue 
 if we are to get at the truth on points of interest which yet remain unsolved. 
 
 I will conclude with a very interesting conversation I had with a 
 Mahommedan which I have no doubt the lecturer will be able to elucidate, 
 and show that it rests on some tradition. The lecturer has told you of an extraordinary 
 bridge, underneath which there is Tophet, over which every Mos'em will ha^e to 
 pass on the day of judgment. And those who do not pass will tumble into Tophet. 
 One day an old Mahomedan was talking to me, and I said I could not understand 
 how he could suppose that every Moslem wjuld pass over safely however badly he 
 behaved. He told me there was a way to do this. It appeared that on the last day 
 all the Moslems would be assembled in the Temple area. There now stands in the 
 walla column 8 or 9 feet high, and it is an interesting sight, ear'y in the morning, 
 to see the Mahomedans preparingfor the future journey. They go right out on the 
 column, they balance on their toes to see how they will fare on 
 the last day. On the last day the Moslems will be called together. They 
 will start from the column, and the good Moslems will walk across 
 the bridge, which will be only a hair's breadth, and go at ome into Para-Use. Then 
 those who have not behaved quite so well will screw up their courage and start off 
 also and get across with a little assistance. But the question is what is to become 
 of all the others ? The old man told me they first of all would ask Mahomed to 
 assist them, and he would refuse. Then they will see Abraham and ask him for assist- 
 ance, and he will ay " No, it is as much as I can do to look after the Jews." 
 Then they will see Isa, and then Moses, both of whom will refuse assistance. 
 Then they will come back to Mahomed who pities them, and helps them by turning 
 himself into a sheep whilst they become fleas and jump into his wool, and he carries 
 them all tafe into Paradise that way. In conclusion, I propose a most hearty 
 vote of thanks to Mr. Marcus Adler for his interesting lecture.
 
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