ophel - the location of king solomon's temple

Ophel - The Location of King Solomon's Temple

by Eulalio Eguia Jr.

https://www.facebook.com/holygrailtemplars432

http://shugborough.info/blogs_read.php?blogid=28&blogpage=1&secid=-1#top1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJRlZC2Ini0









https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xG4RZKPwVZI









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The most popular opinion is that it is located where the Dome of the Rock in the Temple Mount currently stands. Other theories place the location elsewhere inside the Temple Mount, while others place them outside: The different theories on where the Temple is located are the following:

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1. North of the Dome of the Rock 2. Dome of the Rock 3. Between the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque 4. Al-Aqsa Mosque 5. Ophel, also known as the Jerusalem Archaeological Park (which is also my theory) 6. City of David.




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That plea to God, is recited three times a day in Jewish prayers. But how does one go about rebuilding the Temple of God, if its divinely appointed location is not known? Over the years, since the Temple’s destruction in 70 A.D. by Roman legions under General Titus, many have speculated as to where exactly the Temple is to be found.

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“May it be Thy will that the Temple be speedily rebuilt in our days . . .” "May it be Thy will that the Temple be speedily rebuilt in our days . . .” "May it be Thy will that the Temple be speedily rebuilt in our days . . .”








































































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I have a reason to believe that the Temple is not located inside the Temple Mount (which is surrounded by walls of equal height in the North, South, West, and East), and this is because it is known that the Eastern wall of the Temple is lower than the rest of its walls.

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Middot 2.4 “All the walls there were high, save only the eastern wall, because the [High] priest that burns the [Red] heifer and stands on top of the Mount of Olives should be able to look directly into the entrance of the Sanctuary when the blood is sprinkled.”

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In contrast the ancient walls of the Ophel region/Jerusalem archaeological park are lower than the walls surrounding the Temple Mount.








































































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Now why do I believe that the Temple is located at the Ophel region, which is also known as the Jerusalem archaeological park? The reason is, the Ophel region is due West of the summit of the Mount of Olives. Now why is this important?

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According to the following passages of the Middot, the Eastern gate of the Temple is where the High Priest went forth to the summit of the Mount of Olives, to sacrifice the Red Heifer.

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Middot 1.3 There were five gates to the Temple Mount: the two Huldah Gates on the south, that served for coming in and for going out; the Kiponus Gate on the west, that served for coming in and for going out; the Tadi Gate on the north which was not used at all; the Eastern Gate on which was portrayed the Palace of Shushan. Through this the High Priest that burned the [Red] Heifer, and the heifer, and all that aided him went forth to [the top of] the Mount of Olives.

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The highest point on the Mount of Olives is Altur, at 818 m (2,684 ft). However, the Bible specifically says that the sacrifice of the red heifer should happen in a “clean place”:

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Numbers 19:9 And a man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay them up outside the camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for a water of separation: it is a purification for sin.





































































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Now what would a “clean place” in the Mount of Olives be like, where an altar can be built? If we are to base God’s selection of where he wanted His altar to be built, then there is no doubt that it will be on a threshing floor:

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2 Samuel 24:18 On that day Gad went to David and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” 25 David built an altar to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the Lord answered his prayer in behalf of the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped. 2 Chronicles 3:1 Then Solomon began to build the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to his father David. It was on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, the place provided by David.

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Why a threshing floor? Because a threshing floor is a place clean enough for farmers to thresh their grains.

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Outdoor threshing floors are usually located near a farm or farmhouse, or in places easily accessible from growing areas. They are usually paved with material that may be of various kinds, for example round stone cobbles about the size of a fist; slate; tile; or sometimes the underlying bedrock itself is exposed.

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The floors usually have a slight slope, to avoid water standing on them after rain. Threshing floors are often in a high place, to take advantage of soft and steady winds to facilitate the work of winnowing, or separating the grain from the chaff, once the threshing had been completed.


































































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Now there is an area in the Mount of Olives that is made up of oceanic sedimentary rock from the Late Cretaceous that contains a soft chalk and a hard flint. This material, together with the mountain’s slope, and soft and steady winds due to its high elevation, makes this part of the Mount of Olives ideal threshing floors. Now Altur, the highest point in the Mount of Olives, is located at the fertile soil area of the Mount of Olives (this makes Altur ineligible to be used as a threshing floor):

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So in order to find the “clean place” where the red heifer is sacrificed in the Mount of Olives, we have to look for the highest elevation of the mountain inside its sedimentary rock area. Now Google Earth can be used to know the elevation of a point, and I was able to identify the highest elevation inside the sedimentary rock area of the Mount of Olives this way. Now notice the following, the highest point in the sedimentary rock area is closest to Altur, which is the highest peak of the Mount of Olives (and this should be expected). Secondly, it is very close to the fertile area of the mountain, which makes it very accessible to the farmers who want to thresh their grains. And finally, the highest point in the sedimentary rock area, is directly in the line of sight of Ophel, where I believe the Temple is located.




























































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Now here is a close-up picture of the Ophel region also known as the Jerusalem archaeological park, which I believe to be where Herod’s temple is located:

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It is argued by others that Herod's temple occupied a square area of 600 feet. So I used Google earth to measure the ground distance of Ophel’s southern wall, and found out it was approximately 600 ft.

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I then measured 600 ft. of Ophel’s western wall starting from its southern wall to define what I believe to be Herod’s 600 ft. x 600 ft. temple area:




































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After this I made a floor plan of what I believe Herod’s temple looked like using this 600 ft. x 600 ft. area.

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The green lines represent the original walls surrounding Solomon's temple. The red lines are the walls made by Herod to extend the area of Solomon’s temple, where he added walled areas for the court of gentiles, the inner court, and the court of women. The blue lines are the walls made by Herod for the Fort Antonia.






























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Several remains of Herod's stately temple have by recent explorations been brought to light. It had two courts, one intended for the Israelites only, and the other, a large outer court, called "the court of the Gentiles," intended for the use of strangers of all nations. These two courts were separated by a low wall, as the historian Josephus states, some 4 1/2 feet high, with thirteen openings. Along the top of this dividing wall, at regular intervals, were placed pillars bearing in Greek an inscription to the effect that no stranger was, on the pain of death, to pass from the court of the Gentiles into that of the Jews. Within this partition wall stood the temple proper, consisting of, (1) the court of the women, 8 feet higher than the outer court; (2) 10 feet higher than this court was the court of Israel; (3) the court of the priests, again 3 feet higher; and lastly (4) the temple floor, 8 feet above that; thus in all 29 feet above the level of the outer court.

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Consistent with my belief that Ophel is the location of Solomon’s temple, several excavations have unearthed amazing structures related to the second temple including ritual baths, cisterns, and even a large pool used for purification of the visitors before entering the temple.



























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A 3000 year old first temple water reservoir was discovered in the Jerusalem archaeological park, underneath Robinson's arch on the southwest corner of the Temple Mount and below the drainage channel recently uncovered in the same area. It was dug sometime between the time of Solomon and the Babylonian captivity and shows the expanding city's need for water.

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The enormous water reservoir can hold more than 66,000 gallons or 250 cubic meters of water.

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The so-called excavated Ophel treasure includes thirty-six gold coins, as well as jewelry and other precious goods. The Byzantine coins date from the fourth to the early seventh centuries.
























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The Ophel inscription is a 3,000 year old inscription on a fragment of a ceramic jar found near Jerusalem's Temple Mount by archeologist Eilat Mazar. It is the earliest alphabetical inscription found in Jerusalem. Eilat Mazar has dated the pottery to the 10th century BC.

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The fragment comes from a pithos, a large neckless ceramic jar, discovered together with pieces of 6 other large jars which the archaeologists excavating the site identify as contemporary with the biblical period of David and Solomon, in the 10th century BCE.

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In my next document I will be discussing more about the highest point in the Mount of Olives where the sacrifice of the Red Heifer takes place, and where I believe Calvary or Golgotha is also located.





















ophel - the location of king solomon's temple

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