Replicas of the Jewish Temple
Encyclopedia
Second Temple
The Jewish Second Temple was an important shrine which stood on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem between 516 BCE and 70 CE. It replaced the First Temple which was destroyed in 586 BCE, when the Jewish nation was exiled to Babylon...
and Herod's Temple in Jerusalem.
Scale models
In the seventeenth century, Rabbi Jacob Judah LeonJudah Leon Templo
Jacob Judah Aryeh Leon Templo was a ḥakam, translator of the Psalms, and expert on heraldry, of Marano descent....
of Amsterdam (1602–1675) built a widely-exhibited model of the Temple based on his understanding of the biblical specifications.
Another notable model was constructed by Gerhard Schott (born in Hamburg 1641, and died 1702). Schott's model is still displayed in the Hamburgmuseum
Hamburgmuseum
The hamburgmuseum , also known as Museum für Hamburgische Geschichte , is a history museum located in the city of Hamburg in northern Germany. The museum was established at its current location in 1922, although its parent organization was started in 1839. The museum was named hamburgmuseum in 2006...
in Hamburg.
Conrad Schick
Conrad Schick
Conrad Schick was a German architect, archaeologist and Protestant missionary who settled in Jerusalem in the mid-nineteenth century.-Biography:...
constructed a series of replicas of the Jewish Temple. His replica of the Biblical Tabernacle
Tabernacle
The Tabernacle , according to the Hebrew Torah/Old Testament, was the portable dwelling place for the divine presence from the time of the Exodus from Egypt through the conquering of the land of Canaan. Built to specifications revealed by God to Moses at Mount Sinai, it accompanied the Israelites...
was visited in Jerusalem by several crowned heads of state, toured the United Kingdom, and was exhibited at the 1873 Vienna World's Fair. It was purchased by the King of Württemberg
Württemberg
Württemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg or Wurtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....
, who awarded Schick a knighthood in recognition of his work. Schick built a replica of the contemporary Temple Mount
Temple Mount
The Temple Mount, known in Hebrew as , and in Arabic as the Haram Ash-Sharif , is one of the most important religious sites in the Old City of Jerusalem. It has been used as a religious site for thousands of years...
and Dome of the Rock
Dome of the Rock
The Dome of the Rock is a shrine located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. The structure has been refurbished many times since its initial completion in 691 CE at the order of Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik...
for the Ottoman Sultan. His final model, in four sections, each representing the Temple Mount as it appeared in a particular era, was exhibited at the St. Louis World's Fair of 1904.
A scale model existed at the Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva
Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva
Founded by Rabbi Meir Shapiro, the Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva, , was an important centre for Torah study in Poland.-History:On May 22–28, 1924, the cornerstone laying ceremony took place for the construction of the yeshiva building. Approximately 20,000 people participated in the event.The opening...
, but was destroyed during World War II. Two of Schick's models are located in the basement of the Schmidt school for girls in east Jerusalem, near Nablus gate.
Museums that display notable Temple models include the Bijbels Museum
Bijbels Museum
The Bijbels Museum , originally founded in 1852, is housed since 1975 in two imposing canalside buildings, known as the Cromhout houses, on Amsterdam's stately Herengracht canal. The buildings are famed also for the ceiling paintings by Jacob de Wit, which were restored in 1999-2000...
("Biblical Museum") in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, the Israel Museum
Israel Museum
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem was founded in 1965 as Israel's national museum. It is situated on a hill in the Givat Ram neighborhood of Jerusalem, near the Bible Lands Museum, the Knesset, the Israeli Supreme Court, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem....
in Jerusalem, which now houses the model of Jerusalem in the Late 2nd Temple Period
Model of Jerusalem in the Late 2nd Temple Period
The Holyland Model of Jerusalem is a 1:50 scale-model of the city of Jerusalem in the late Second Temple Period. The model was moved from its original location at the Holyland Hotel in Bayit VeGan, Jerusalem, to a new site at the Israel Museum in June 2006....
originally constructed by archeologist Michael Avi-Yonah at the Holyland hotel, and the Yeshiva University Museum
Yeshiva University Museum
The Yeshiva University Museum is a teaching museum and the cultural arm of Yeshiva University. Along with the American Jewish Historical Society, the American Sephardi Foundation, the Leo Baeck Institute, and the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, it is a member organization of the Center for...
in Manhattan which has models by archaeological architect Leen Ritmeyer
Leen Ritmeyer
Leen Ritmeyer is a Dutch-born archaeological architect who currently lives and works in Wales, having spent 22 years in Jerusalem from 1967-1989. He holds the M.A. in Conservation Studies from the Institute of Advanced Architectural Studies, University of York, England, and the Ph.D. from the...
. The North Visitors' Center at Temple Square
Temple Square
Temple Square is a ten acre complex located in the center of Salt Lake City, Utah, owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . In recent years, the usage of the name has gradually changed to include several other church facilities immediately adjacent to Temple Square...
, in Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
has a scale model of Jerusalem as it may have looked at the time of Christ.
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, UK, worked for 30 years creating a 1:100 scale model of Herod's Temple. His model has been recognised as the most authentic version of the temple in the world.
Palestine Park
Palestine Park
Palestine Park is located on the grounds of Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York. The park is a scale model of the Holy Land, including cities, hills, rivers, and seas in approximately correct geographical location. Palestine Park is laid out along the southwestern side of Chautauqua...
on the grounds of Chautauqua Institution
Chautauqua Institution
The Chautauqua Institution is a non-profit adult education center and summer resort located on 750 acres in Chautauqua, New York, 17 miles northwest of Jamestown in the western part of New York State...
in Chautauqua, New York
Chautauqua, New York
Chautauqua is a town in Chautauqua County, New York, U.S. . The population was 4,666 at the 2000 census. The town is named after Chautauqua Lake. The traditional meaning remains 'bag tied in the middle'...
has a small replica of the temple, part of a living topographical map of the Holy Land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
, complete with the Sea of Galilee
Sea of Galilee
The Sea of Galilee, also Kinneret, Lake of Gennesaret, or Lake Tiberias , is the largest freshwater lake in Israel, and it is approximately in circumference, about long, and wide. The lake has a total area of , and a maximum depth of approximately 43 m...
, the Jordan River, and the Dead Sea
Dead Sea
The Dead Sea , also called the Salt Sea, is a salt lake bordering Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to the west. Its surface and shores are below sea level, the lowest elevation on the Earth's surface. The Dead Sea is deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world...
. Lake Chautauqua stands in for the Mediterranean.
The Holy Land Experience
Holy Land Experience
The Holy Land Experience is a themed exhibit and a museum located in Orlando, Florida that is meant to replicate the architecture and themes of 1st century Israel. The attraction is targeted at Christians.- Founding :...
is a Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
theme park in Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
that features a large replica of Herod's Temple inside the walls of a replica of the Jerusalem of Jesus' day.
Desert tabernacle
Glencairn Museum
Glencairn Museum, located on 1001 Cathedral Road, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, is a New Church-affiliated museum of religious history on the National Register of Historic Places. It houses a collection of about 8,000 mostly religious artwork from many cultures as diverse as ancient Egyptian, ancient...
in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania
Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania
Bryn Athyn is a home rule municipality, in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It was formerly a borough, and its official name remains "Borough of Bryn Athyn". The population was 1,375 at the 2010 census...
a replica dating from 1922. The Mennonite Information Center in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Lancaster is a city in the south-central part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the county seat of Lancaster County and one of the older inland cities in the United States, . With a population of 59,322, it ranks eighth in population among Pennsylvania's cities...
had a replica dating from the 1940s.
In Israel, Timna Valley Park and Kibbutz Almog
Almog
Almog is an Israeli settlement and a kibbutz near the northwestern shores of the Dead Sea in the Jordan Rift Valley in the West Bank. It is under the jurisdiction of the Megilot Regional Council. In 2008, there were 23 families living in Almog...
feature full-scale replicas.
The Temple's Influence on Masonic Ritual
Solomon's Temple is a central symbol of FreemasonryFreemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
, which holds that the first three Grand Masters were King Solomon, King Hiram I
Hiram I
Hiram I , according to the Hebrew Bible, was the Phoenician king of Tyre. He reigned from 980 to 947 BC, succeeding his father, Abibaal. Hiram was succeeded as king of Tyre by his son Baal-Eser I...
of Tyre, and Hiram Abiff
Hiram Abiff
Hiram Abiff is a character who figures prominently in an allegorical play that is presented during the third degree of Craft Freemasonry...
- the craftsman/architect who built the temple. Masonic initiation rites include the reenactment of a scene set on the Temple Mount while it was under construction. Every Masonic Lodge, therefore, is symbolically the Temple for the duration of the degree, and possesses ritual objects representing the architecture of the Temple. These may either be built in to the hall or be portable. Among the most prominent are replicas of the pillars Boaz and Jachin
Boaz and Jachin
Boaz and Jachin were two copper, brass or bronze pillars which stood in the porch of Solomon's Temple, the first Temple in Jerusalem.-Description:...
through which every initiate has to pass.
Buildings evoking the Temple
Juan Bautista de Toledo
Juan Bautista de Toledo. Spanish architect educated in Italy, in the Italian High Renaissance. As many Italian renaissance architects, he had experience in both architecture and military and civil public works. Born, either in Toledo or in Madrid around 1515. Died May 19, 1567 in Madrid...
. The central axis reveals a pattern of courtyard, sanctuary, Holy of Holies.. The Old Whalers Church in Sag Harbor, New York
Sag Harbor, New York
Sag Harbor is an incorporated village in Suffolk County, New York, United States, with parts in both the Towns of East Hampton and Southampton. The population was 2,313 at the 2000 census....
was built in 1844 by architect Minard Lafever
Minard Lafever
Minard Lafever was an influential American architect of churches and houses in the United States in the early nineteenth century.-Life and career:...
as a replica of the Temple. The 1906 building of Temple Israel (Boston, Massachusetts)
Temple Israel (Boston, Massachusetts)
Temple Israel is a Reform synagogue in Boston.-History:Temple Israel, originally known as Adath Israel, was founded in 1854 when Jews of German ancestry seceded from Ohabei Shalom, then the sole synagogue in Boston, because so many Polish Jews had joined the congregation. The congregation...
was intended to be a replica of the Temple. The Church of St. Polyeuctus
Church of St. Polyeuctus
The Church of St. Polyeuctus was an ancient Byzantine church in Constantinople built by the noblewoman Anicia Juliana and dedicated to Saint Polyeuctus. Intended as an assertion of Juliana's own imperial lineage, it was a lavishly decorated building, and the largest church of the city before the...
in Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
was built with the precise proportions given in the Bible for the Temple of Solomon.
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...
claims that some of the Jews who fled from Jerusalem shortly before the Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC fled to America, where they built a new temple "after the manner of the Temple of Solomon." All Mormon temples are evocations of the Temple of Solomon. The Salt Lake Temple
Salt Lake Temple
The Salt Lake Temple is the largest and best-known of more than 130 temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is the sixth temple built by the church, requiring 40 years to complete, and the fourth operating temple built since the Mormon exodus from Nauvoo,...
of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is oriented towards Jerusalem and the large basin used as a baptismal font is mounted on the backs of twelve oxen, as was the brazen sea of Solomon's Temple.
The Cardston Alberta
Cardston Alberta Temple
The Cardston Alberta Temple is the eighth constructed and sixth operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located in Cardston, Alberta, it is the oldest LDS temple outside the United States. It is one of eight temples that do not have an angel Moroni statue, and one of...
, Laie Hawaii
Laie Hawaii Temple
Laie Hawaii Temple is a temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located on the northeast shore of the Hawaiian island of Oahu. The temple sits on a small hill a half-mile from the Pacific Ocean in the town of Lāie, from Honolulu...
, and Mesa Arizona
Mesa Arizona Temple
The Mesa Arizona Temple is the seventh operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located in the city of Mesa, Arizona, it is the first of five LDS temples built or planned in the state.-History:...
Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are all designed after the style of the second temple built by King Herod
Herod the Great
Herod , also known as Herod the Great , was a Roman client king of Judea. His epithet of "the Great" is widely disputed as he is described as "a madman who murdered his own family and a great many rabbis." He is also known for his colossal building projects in Jerusalem and elsewhere, including his...
.
Herzliya Hebrew High School
The Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium , originally known as HaGymnasia HaIvrit is a historic high school in Tel Aviv, Israel.-History:...
in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, designed by Joseph Barsky
Joseph Barsky
Joseph Barsky , an architect, was born in Russia and immigrated to Jerusalem in 1907.Barsky was a graduate of the Architectural College of Odessa and of the St. Petersburg Imperial Academy of Art.-Significant buildings:...
, was intended to evoke Solomon's Temple following a widely circulated reconstruction of the temple by Charles Chipiez
Charles Chipiez
Charles Chipiez was an influential French architect, Egyptologist, Iranologist, and an avid historian of the ancient world's architecture...
.
The Mishkan Shilo synagogue i in Shilo, Mateh Binyamin is designed as a replica of the Tabernacle.
Replicas in the form of the Dome of the Rock
Dome of the Rock
The Dome of the Rock is a shrine located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. The structure has been refurbished many times since its initial completion in 691 CE at the order of Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik...
had been built as an architectural replica of the Temple. A number of buildings were designed as replicas of the Temple in the shape of the Dome of the Rock. Many of these buildings are linked to the Temple Knights who had the nearby Al Aqsa Mosque as their Jerusalem headquarters.The replicas include the octagonal, fifteenth-century Church of St. Giacomo
Church of St. Giacomo
The Church of St. Giacomo is a small 15th century church in Vicovaro above Tivoli, Italy.It was built by the Orsini family, the family coat of arms is carved above the door....
in Italy, and the octagonal, nineteenth-century Moorish Revival
Moorish Revival
Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish is one of the exotic revival architectural styles that were adopted by architects of Europe and the Americas in the wake of the Romanticist fascination with all things oriental...
style Rumbach Street synagogue
Rumbach Street synagogue
The Rumbach Street synagogue is located in Belváros, the inner city of the historical old town of Pest, in the eastern section of Budapest.The synagogue in Rumbach Street was built in 1872 to the design of the Viennese architect Otto Wagner...
in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
. Perugino's Marriage of the Virgin (Perugino)
Marriage of the Virgin (Perugino)
The Marriage of the Virgin is a painting by the Italian Renaissance master Perugino. It is housed in the Musée des Beaux-Arts of Caen, France...
and Raphael's painting, The Marriage of the Virgin (Raphael)
The Marriage of the Virgin (Raphael)
The Marriage of the Virgin, also known as Lo Sposalizio, is an oil painting by Italian High Renaissance artist Raphael. Completed in 1504 for a Franciscan church in Città di Castello, the painting depicts a marriage ceremony between Mary and Joseph...
show the Temple as a Renaissance version of the Dome of the Rock.