Second Temple

Model of Herod's Temple (renovation of the Second Temple ) in the Israel Museum . The Second Temple stood between 516 BCE and 70 CE , during which time it was the center of Jewish sacrificial worship. It was the second temple in Jerusalem , built to replace the First Temple which was destroyed in 586 BCE when the Jewish nation was exiled to Babylon . The accession of Cyrus the Great of Persia in 538 BCE made the re-establishment of the city of Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the Temple possible. According to the Bible, when the Jewish exiles returned to Jerusalem following a decree from Cyrus the Great (Ezra 1:1-4, 2 Chron 36:22-23), construction started at the original site, which had remained a devastated heap during the approximate 70 years of captivity (Dan. 9:1-2). After a relatively brief halt, brought about by peoples who had filled the vacuum during the Jewish captivity (Ezra 4), work resumed circa 521 BCE under the Persian King Darius (Ezra 5) and was completed during the sixth year of his reign (circa 515 BCE), with the temple dedication taking place the following year. Around 20 BCE, Herod the Great renovated the Temple, which became known as Herod's Temple . The Romans destroyed Jerusalem and its Temple in 70 CE under Titus, decidedly ending the Great Jewish Revolt that had began four years earlier. The lower levels of the Western Wall form part of the few surviving remains of Herod's complex. Traditional rabbinic sources state that the Second Temple stood for 420 years and based on the 2nd-century work Seder Olam Rabbah , place construction in 350 BCE (3408 AM ), 166 years later than secular estimates , and destruction in 70 CE (3829 AM ). The Illustrated Guide to the Bible , Oxford University Press US, 1998. pg. 91. History of the Jewish people: the Second Temple era , Mesorah Publications, 1982. Appendix: Year of the Destruction, pg. 213.

Model of Herod's Temple (a renovation of the Second Temple) in the Israel Museum , created in 1966 as part of the Holyland Model of Jerusalem . The model was inspired by the writings of Josephus . The Second Temple was an important Jewish Holy Temple ( , Bet HaMikdash HaSheni ; : Beit al-Quds ) which stood on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem during the Second Temple period , between 516 BCE and 70 CE. It replaced the First Temple which was destroyed in 586 BCE, when the Jews of the Kingdom of Judah went into exile, known as the Babylonian captivity . Jewish eschatology includes a belief that the Second Temple will in turn be replaced by a future Third Temple .

The Second Temple ( בֵּית־הַמִּקְדָּשׁ הַשֵּׁנִי , Beit HaMikdash HaSheni ) was the Jewish holy temple which stood on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem during the Second Temple period , between 516 BCE and 70 CE. It replaced Solomon's Temple (the First Temple), which was destroyed by the Neo-Babylonian Empire in 586 BCE, when Jerusalem was conquered and part of the population of the Kingdom of Judah was taken into exile to Babylon . The Second Temple was originally a rather modest structure constructed by a number of Jewish exile groups returning to the Levant from Babylon under the Achaemenid -appointed governor Zerubbabel . However, during the reign of Herod the Great , the Second Temple was completely refurbished, and the original structure was totally overhauled into the large and magnificent edifices and facades that are more recognizable. Much as the Babylonians destroyed the First Temple, the Romans destroyed the Second Temple and Jerusalem in 70 CE as retaliation for an ongoing Jewish revolt . The second temple lasted for a total of 585 years (516 BCE to 70 CE). Jewish eschatology includes a belief that the Second Temple will be replaced by a future Third Temple . However, Jewish tradition avers that the Second Temple stood for only 420 years, i.e. from 352 BCE – 68 CE. See: Maimonides ' Questions & Responsa, responsum # 389, Jerusalem 1960 (Hebrew)

Temple in Jerusalem (c. 516 BCE–70 CE) The Second Temple ( , Bēṯ hamMīqdāš hašŠēnī , transl. 'Second House of the Sanctum' ), later known as Herod's Temple , was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem between c. 516 BCE and 70 CE. It stood as a pivotal symbol of Jewish faith and identity during the Second Temple period . The Second Temple served as the central place of Jewish worship, ritual sacrifice , and communal gathering for Jews, attracting Jewish pilgrims from distant lands during the three pilgrimage festivals : Passover , Shavuot and Sukkot . The Second Temple replaced Solomon's Temple , which is presumed to have been built at the same location before its destruction by the Babylonians c. 587 BCE . Construction began under the auspices of the Persian King Cyrus the Great and was completed during the reign of Darius I , signifying a period of renewed Jewish hope and religious revival. According to the Bible , the Second Temple was originally a relatively modest structure built by Jews who had returned from exile in Babylon under the authority of Persian-appointed governor Zerubbabel , the grandson of Jeconiah , the penultimate king of Judah . The Second Temple was refurbished and expanded in the first century BCE under the reign of Herod the Great , hence its alternative name, Herod's Temple. The temple's transformation resulted in a grand and imposing structure and courtyard, including the large edifices and façades shown in modern models such as the Holyland Model of Jerusalem . The Temple Mount , the platform upon which the Second Temple stood, was also significantly expanded, doubling in size to become the largest religious sanctuary in the ancient world. In 70 CE, at the height of the First Jewish–Roman War , the Second Temple was destroyed by the Roman army led by Titus during the siege of Jerusalem . The destruction of the Second Temple was a cataclysmic and transformative point in Jewish history, and led to the development of Rabbinic Judaism as the primary form of religious practice among Jews worldwide. Understanding Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism . Until the modern period, the destruction of the Temple was the most cataclysmic moment in the history of the Jewish people. [...] The sage Yochanan ben Zakkai, with permission from Rome, set up the outpost of Yavneh to continue develop of Pharisaic, or rabbinic, Judaism. There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ).

Temple in Jerusalem (c. 516 BCE–70 CE) The Second Temple ( Hebrew : בֵּית־הַמִּקְדָּשׁ‎ הַשֵּׁנִי , romanized : Bēṯ hamMīqdāš hašŠēnī , lit. ' Second House of the Sanctum ' ) was the Temple in Jerusalem that replaced Solomon's Temple , which was destroyed during the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in 587 BCE. It was constructed around 516 BCE and later enhanced by Herod the Great around 18 BCE, consequently also being known as Herod's Temple thereafter. Defining the Second Temple period and standing as a pivotal symbol of Jewish identity , it was the basis and namesake of Second Temple Judaism . The Second Temple served as the chief place of worship, ritual sacrifice ( korban ), and communal gathering for the Jewish people , among whom it regularly attracted pilgrims for the Three Pilgrimage Festivals : Passover , Shavuot , and Sukkot . In 539 BCE, the Persian conquest of Babylon enabled the Achaemenid Empire to expand across the Fertile Crescent by annexing the Neo-Babylonian Empire , including the territory of the former Kingdom of Judah , which had been annexed as the Babylonian province of Yehud during the reign of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II , who concurrently exiled part of Judah's population to Babylon . Following this campaign, the Persian king Cyrus the Great issued the " Edict of Cyrus " (sometimes identified with the Cyrus Cylinder ), which is described in the Hebrew Bible as a royal proclamation that authorized and encouraged the repatriation of displaced populations in the region. This event is called the return to Zion in Ezra–Nehemiah , marking the resurgence of Jewish life in what had become the self-governing Persian province of Yehud . The reign of the Persian king Darius the Great saw the completion of the Second Temple, signifying a period of renewed Jewish hope and religious revival. According to the biblical account, the Second Temple was originally a relatively modest structure built under the authority of the Persian-appointed Jewish governor Zerubbabel , who was the grandson of the penultimate Judahite king Jeconiah . In the 1st century BCE, Herod's efforts to transform the Second Temple resulted in a grand and imposing structure and courtyard, including the large edifices and façades shown in modern models, such as the Holyland Model of Jerusalem in the Israel Museum . The Temple Mount , where both Solomon's Temple and the Second Temple stood, was also significantly expanded, doubling in size to become the ancient world's largest religious sanctuary. The Temple complex was not only a place of worship but also served multiple functions, including being a site for public assemblies. The Sanhedrin , the supreme judicial court, convened in the Temple's Hall of Hewn Stones , and the compound also hosted one of the largest marketplaces in the city. In 70 CE, at the height of the First Jewish–Roman War , the Second Temple was destroyed by the Roman siege of Jerusalem , resulting in a cataclysmic shift in Jewish history . The loss of the Second Temple prompted the development of Rabbinic Judaism , which remains the mainstream form of Jewish religious practices globally. Understanding Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism . Until the modern period, the destruction of the Temple was the most cataclysmic moment in the history of the Jewish people. [...] The sage Yochanan ben Zakkai, with permission from Rome, set up the outpost of Yavneh to continue develop of Pharisaic, or rabbinic, Judaism. There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ).