The history of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem

The First Temple was built in the 10th century B.C.E. by King Solomon, according to the Hebrew Bible (1 Kings 5-9). But the sanctity of the site goes back hundreds and possibly thousands of years before that.

The land on which Solomon built the temple had been acquired by King David, Solomon's father, who thought to build a grand temple himself. But the Lord, according to the biblical story, rejected David's ambition because of the king's sins and the job passed to the son.

The land David chose, a threshing floor, was associated with Moriah, where the patriarch Abraham brought his son Isaac for sacrifice (Genesis 22:14). (In the Bible, the mount is also referred to as “Zion,” a name that eventually came to encompass the entire Land of Israel.) That too is a tradition shared by the three great monotheistic religions. Other than that, and a few other minor references to the site in the Bible, however, there is no obvious explanation why Solomon built his temple here.

What is clear is that the Temple was meant to be a permanent residence for the Ark of the Covenant (Aron Habrit), which held the stone tablets of the law Moses received on Mt. Sinai, and [which traveled with the Israelites during their journey through the desert.

Read complete article at – http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/jewish-world-features/.premium-1.606550

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