The Rabbis on the Temple Mount’s True Location: Evidence from the Talmud and Other Writings

by Marilyn Sams

Fig. 1. Map of the Southeastern Hill and the Haram esh-Sharif

Fig. 1. The map shows the southeastern hill, south of the alleged temple mount, with the Gihon Spring at its center. The City of David occupied the approximate lower half of the hill.

Did the Rabbis leave behind any clues about the Jerusalem temple’s true location? The purpose of this paper is to set forth evidence from the Talmud and other Rabbinic statements that indeed they did. Most of these clues revolve around the correct identification of Zion, defined by Strong’s Concordance as “a mountain in Jerusalem." The terms “Zion” and “Mount Zion” begin in the Old Testament with David’s conquest of Jebus, renamed as the City of David, located on the lower half of the southeastern hill in Jerusalem, where Solomon built the temple.

The Location of Priesthood Origination in Canaan

The Bible places Melchizedek in Salem; [1] Josephus calls this Jerusalem; [2] the Rabbis identify Melchizedek with Shem; [3] and, unlike the Masoretic text, aver that Melchizedek gave Abraham the Melchizedek priesthood. This latter event is described in Nedarim 32b:

"R. Zechariah said on R. Ishmael’s authority: The Holy One, blessed be He, intended to bring forth the priesthood from Shem, as it is written, and he [sc. Melchizedek] was the priest of the most high God. But because he gave precedence in his blessing to Abraham over God, he brought it forth from Abraham; as it is written, And he blessed him and said. Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth, and blessed be the most high God.

"Said Abraham to him, ‘Is the blessing of a servant to be given precedence over that of his master?' Straightway it [the priesthood] was given to Abraham, as it is written, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit down at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool; which is followed by, The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedek, meaning, ‘because of the words of Melchizedek,’ hence it is written, And he was a priest of the most High God [implying that] he was a priest, but not his seed."

Hence, the priesthood transference from Shem/Melchizedek to Abraham takes place in Salem, the location of Melchizedek’s temple and also that of Solomon’s temple on Mount Zion. As an aside, the Seder ha-Dorot (p. 9b) claims Melchizedek initiated the first complete wall circumnavigating the city, requiring he exit it in order to meet Abram and his men. This accords with walls on the eastern slopes of the City of David, discovered by Kenyon, Shiloh, Reich, and Shukron and dated to the Middle Bronze Age II (2000 B.C.-1500 B.C.).

The Location of the Eben Shetiyah or Foundation Stone in Zion

From Yoma 54b:

"We were taught in accord with the view that the world was started [created] from Zion…for it was taught: R. Eliezer says: The world was created from its center…the sages said the world was created from Zion. And it was called Shethiyah: A tanna taught: [It was so called because from it the world was founded.]"

This passage illustrates the Rabbis believed Zion or Mount Zion occupied the center of the world’s creation. They called Zion “Shethiyah,” meaning “foundation.” However, in Strong’s Concordance, “shetiyah” means “drinking” (referring to the Gihon Spring’s nearby accessibility), which can be better understood from the following Jewish Haggadah:

"[During] Jacob's journey to Haran…He was following the spring that appeared wherever the Patriarchs went or settled. It accompanied Jacob from Beer-sheba to Mount Moriah…When he arrived at the holy hill, the LORD said to him: "Jacob, thou hast bread…and the spring of waters is nearby to quench thy thirst…It was the Divine purpose not to let Jacob pass the site of the future Temple without stopping…

"Jacob took twelve stones from the altar on which his father Isaac had lain bound as a sacrifice, and…the twelve stones joined themselves together and made one, which he put under his head…He dreamed…[and] awoke with a start of fright…He cried out, "How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, wherein is the gate of heaven through which prayer ascends to Him."

"He took the stone made out of the twelve, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it…and God sank this anointed stone unto the abyss, to serve as the centre of the earth, the same stone, the Eben Shetiyah, that forms the centre of the sanctuary...." (Ginzberg, 1909, The Legends of the Jews, Vol. 1,Chap. 6).

"Rabbah b. Bar Hana citing R. Jonanan stated “The Pits have existed since the Six days of creation…The cavity of the Pits descended to the abyss…My well-beloved had a vineyard on a very fruitful hill. And he digged it, and cleared it of stones, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also hewed out a vat therein. ‘And planted it with the choicest vine refers to the Temple; and built a tower in the midst of it refers to the altar; and also hewed out a vat therein refers to the Pits."

The “Pits” refers to the location of the Temple (the tower and the altar), built in the midst of a fruitful hill, that hill being Mount Zion. The “Pits” are reminiscent of the caves in the winding tunnel system of the Warren’s Shaft and the Gihon Spring areas (in the center of the southeastern hill), and Hezekiah’s Tunnel, bending and twisting from there to the Siloam Pool.

The Temple Located at the Border Between Benjamin and Judah

The border between Benjamin and Judah as mentioned in Joshua 18:16-17 will help orient the reader toward the statements of the Rabbis concerning the border:

"And the border came down to the end of the mountain that lieth before the valley of the son of Hinnom…and descended to the valley of Hinnom to the side of Jebusi on the south, and descended to En-rogel. And was drawn from the north and went forth to En-Shemesh…."

The scripture places the border at the approximate center of the southeastern hill (the mountain that lieth before the Hinnom Valley, then called Jebus), on whose east side En-Shemesh (the Gihon Spring) is located, with En-Rogel being southeast of the hill. This location corresponds with the border location mentioned for the temple in Zevachim 54b of the Talmud:

"They [Samuel and David] sat at Ramah and were engaged with the glory [beauty] of the world. Said they, It is written, Then shalt thou arise and ascend unto the place [which the LORD thy God shall choose]: this teaches that the Temple was higher than the whole of Eretz Israel…They did not know where that place was. Thereupon they brought the Book of Joshua 12.

"In the case of all [tribal territories] it is written, ‘And the border went down’ ‘and the border went up ‘and the border passed along,’ whereas in reference to the tribe Benjamin ‘and it went up’ is written, but not ‘and it went down.’ Said they: This proves that this is its site. They intended building it at the well of Etam, which is raised, but [then] they said: Let us build it slightly lower, as it is written, and He dwelleth between his shoulders.

"Alternatively, there was a tradition that the Sanhedrin should have its locale in Judah’s portion, while the Divine Presence was to be in Benjamin’s portion.

The “well of Etam” refers to the Gihon Spring, as does En-Shemesh. Solomon erected the east wall of the temple in the Kidron Valley, below the “well of Etam,” affirmed by many passages in Josephus. The Rabbis refer to the narrow bottleneck at the top of the ridge above the Gihon Spring as the “neck” or the temple, as in Berechoth 30a:“Thy neck is like the tower of David builded with turrets, the elevation toward which all mouths turn” (see also Song of Solomon 4:4; 7:4).Megilah 16b also identifies the temple with the “neck”:

"And he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck. How many necks had Benjamin? R. Eleazar said: He wept for the two temples which were destined to be in the territory of Benjamin [on the temple mount] and to be destroyed."

The bracketed information comes from a note in the Soncino edition. Another note says that “neck” should be understood as the temple. Combined with the passage from Joshua 18:16-17, the temple can be placed on the ridge of the southeastern hill, slicing it near the middle at the border between Benjamin and Judah, with the sanctuary in Benjamin and the Chamber of Hewn Stone in Judah.

The border is also referred to in Avoth 6, which states:

"The sanctuary is one possession. Whence [Do we infer this?] Since it is said: ‘the Sanctuary, O LORD, which thy hands have established’ and it is said [also]: ‘and he brought them to his holy border, to the mountain, which his right hand possessed.’"

The mountain of the border would be Mount Zion, which can refer to both the southeastern hill and a hill at its center.

Like Zevachim 54b above, Zevachim 118b indicates the sanctuary stood in Benjamin’s portion and includes the additional concept of the Shekinah’s residence in Benjamin’s portion:

"When R. Dimi came [from Palestine] he said: The Shechinah rested on Israel in three places; in Shiloh, in Nob and Gibeon, and in the Eternal House; and in all of these it rested [on Israel] only in the portion of Benjamin…we find in the Eternal House that the Shechinah was in Benjamin’s portion whereas the Sanhedrin was in Judah’s portion? How compare? replied he. There the territories [of Judah and Benjamin] were contiguous…."

"What [part of Jerusalem] was in the portion of Judah? The Temple mountain, the priestly chambers, and the courts. And what was in the portion of Benjamin? The hall and the sanctuary and the holy of holies. A strip projected from the portion of Judah into the portion of Benjamin, and in it the altar [of sacrifice] was built, and every day the righteous Benjamin fretted over it, desiring to swallow it up, as it says, Crouching over it all the day. Therefore Benjamin was privileged to become the host of the Shechinah.’"

Another Talmudic passage referring to the temple courts occurs in Sanhedrin 37a, which, while speaking of the Sanhedrin’s place on the temple mount, harks back to Jacob’s pillar and altar:

Mishnah: "And three rows of scholars sat in front of them; each knowing his own place, in case it was necessary to ordain [another judge]…."

Gemara: "Whence is this derived? -- R. Aha Haninah said: Scripture states, Thy navel is like a round goblet ['aggan ha-Sahar] wherein no mingled wine is wanting. 'Thy navel' -- that is the Sanhedrin. Why was it called 'navel'? -- Because it sat at the navel-point of the world…."

While Jacob erected his pillar at the “center of the earth,” Herod established the nearby residence of the Sanhedrin at the “navel-point of the world." The Talmud passages show the Rabbis were surely cognizant of a temple location in the middle of the former Salem/Jebus.

The Temple Located on Mount Zion

Additional rabbinical sources link the temple with Mount Zion in the City of David. Many of these originate from Old Testament quotations, as is clearly illustrated in the Aramaic version of Isaiah by Jonathan ben Uzziel. Jonathan studied under Hillel (110 B.C.-10 A.D.) and is mentioned in Sukkah 28a and Bava Batra 133b of the Talmud. The following is a collection of quotations from his Targum which relate the temple with Mount Zion, adding Jonathan’s unique interjections of the “Shekinah,” to show that God’s presence dwelt in Zion on Mount Zion:

Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel on Isaiah.

The connection among temple, the Shekinah, and Mount Zion emerges in the following passages:

Isaiah 4:5: “And the LORD will create upon every holy place of the mountain of Zion, and upon the place of the house of his Shekinah a cloud of glory….”

Isaiah 8:18:“But if they would see and repent, the decree should be annulled, which He decreed against them, that they should go into captivity, and that they should not appear before the LORD of hosts, whose Shekinah is in the mountain of Zion.”

Isaiah 10:24: “[the Assyrian] moved his hand against the mount of the house of the sanctuary which is in Zion, and against the court which is in Jerusalem.”

Isaiah 12:6:“Cry out and shout, congregation of Zion, because He is great that promised to cause His Shekinah to dwell in the midst of thee, the Holy One of Israel.”

Isaiah 18:7:“At that time shall one bring an offering unto the LORD of hosts...into the place which is called by the Name of the LORD of hosts, whose Shekinah is in the mountain of Zion.”

Isaiah 24:23:“And they shall be confounded that worship the moon, and they shall be ashamed that worship the sun; because the power of the LORD of hosts shall be revealed in mount Sion, and before the elders of His people in glory.”

Isaiah 30:19-20:"For the people of Zion shall dwell in Jerusalem; thou shalt weep no more. He will assuredly shew thee compassion: the voice of thy prayer He will hear, and He will answer thy supplication. And the LORD shall give unto you the treasures of the enemy, and the spoil of the oppressor, and He will no more take away His Shekinah from the house of the sanctuary, and thine eyes shall behold My Shekinah in the house of the sanctuary."

Isaiah 60:1-2, 13-14: "Arise, shine, Jerusalem, for the time of thy redemption is come, and the glory of the LORD is revealed upon thee…For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the kingdoms: but in thee the Shekinah of the LORD…The glory of Lebanon shall be brought unto thee, the fir-tree, the elm, and the box together, to beautify the place of the house of My sanctuary; and I will make the place of the dwelling of My Shekinah…and they shall call thee, The city of the LORD, The Zion in which the Holy One of Israel delights."

Isaiah 66:1, 4, 20: "Thus saith the LORD…where is the house that ye build unto Me? and where is the place of the dwelling of My Shekinah…Is it possible that a country be made in one day…but Zion shall be comforted, and shall be filled with the people of the captivity of her captivity…And they shall bring all your brethren out of all nations an offering before the LORD…with songs unto My holy mountain in Jerusalem, saith the LORD, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the sanctuary of the LORD."

Sometimes, however, the association of Mount Zion with the temple occurs without specific names, as in Isaiah 5:1-2, where the Targum refers to Mount Zion and its height and position in the city, by interjecting the phrases “I gave to them an inheritance in a high mountain” and “I built My sanctuary [‘tower’ in the King James] in the midst of them,” literally meaning the LORD gave them the temple on the high mountain of Zion in the middle of the city.

Another instance occurs in Isaiah 25: 6, 10 of the Targum: “And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make a feast and a banquet” and “For the power of the LORD of hosts shall be revealed in this mountain.”

This is also true of Isaiah 56: 5:

"Even unto them will I give in the house of My sanctuary, and in the land of the house of My Shekinah a place and a name that is better than that of sons and of daughters…Even them will I bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their holy sacrifices shall be offered up with acceptance upon Mine altar; for the house of My sanctuary shall be called an house of prayer for all people [of Israel]."

In addition to Mount Zion, Jerusalem is sometimes named for the temple’s location. However in Isaiah 29:1-2, 7-8, an even more specific location is given:

"Woe to the altar, the altar which is built in the city in which David dwelt; because of the assembly of the armies which are gathering them selves together against her year by year, because the festivals shall cease. And I will distress the city, in which the altar is, and she shall be desolate and empty; and she shall be surrounded before Me with the blood of the slain, as the altar is surrounded round about with the blood of the holy sacrifices in the day of the festival…

"And the multitude of all the nations, that are gathered together against the city, and the altar which is in her, and all their camps and their armies, that are oppressing her, shall be like a phantom of the night…so shall the, multitude of all the nations be, that gather themselves together against the mountain of Zion."

The Targum substitutes the “altar” for the Masoretic text’s “Ariel,” meaning “Lion of God,” emphasizing the presence of the temple in the City of David. This presence is reiterated in Middoth 4:7:

"Thus the Hekal [the sanctuary] was narrow behind and broad in front, resembling a lion, as it says, ah, Ariel, Ariel, the city where David encamped. Just as a lion is narrow behind and broad in front."

The association of Zion, the Shekinah, and the house of the sanctuary also appears in Isaiah 33:14, 16; Isaiah 33:17, 20, 22, 32; Isaiah 52:1-2, 8; Isaiah 56:5-8; Isaiah 57:15-17; Isaiah 59:2, 20; Isaiah 64:3, 10.

Specific Passages from the Talmud

Passages from the Talmud not already cited include references to the temple in Zion. For example, Pesachim 5a states:

"…[Israel] merited three firsts: to destroy the seed of Esau. the building of the temple; and the name of the Messiah...and ‘the building of the Temple,' whereof it is written a glorious throne set on high from the first is the place of our sanctuary; ‘and the name of Messiah,’ for it is written, First unto Zion, behold, behold them.”

Bikkurim 3:2: “Early in the morning the officer said: ‘Let us arise and go up to Zion, into the house of the LORD our God.’”

Berechoth 58b: “They that trust in the LORD are as Mount Zion. Just as the Holy One, blessed be He, will restore Mount Zion to its inhabited state, so will He restore the houses of the righteous to their inhabited state.”

Baba Bathra 75a: “The Holy One, blessed be He, will make seven canopies for every righteous man; for it is said: “And the LORD will create over the whole habitation of Mount Zion, and over her assemblies, a cloud of smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory shall be a canopy.”

Sanhedrin 95a: “On beholding it [Jerusalem]…he [Sennacherib said] ‘Is this the city of Jerusalem…Why, it is smaller and weaker than the cities of the nations which I have subdued by my might!’ Then he arose and shook his head and waved his hand to and fro contemptuously toward the Temple in Zion, against the [Temple] Court in Jerusalem.”

Mo’ed Katan 29a: “Whoever comes out of the synagogue and goes in to the Beth Hamidrash…shall gain the privilege of being admitted into the Presence of the shechina, as it is said: They go from strength to strength, everyone of them appeareth before God in Zion.”

Zevachim 119a: "Our Rabbis taught: For ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance:' rest' alludes to Shiloh; 'inheritance', to Jerusalem…Is My inheritance unto Me as a speckled bird of prey? this is R. Judah's opinion. R. Simeon said: 'Rest' alludes to Jerusalem; 'inheritance', to Shiloh, as it is said, This is My resting-place for ever; here will I dwell, for I have desired it; and it says, For the LORD hath chosen Zion; He hath desired it for His habitation."

The Temple Located Over the Gihon Spring

There are several references to the Gihon Spring which show it resided within the temple the Rabbis knew. The most telling of these regards the restrictions given to priests on drawing water in the temple on the Sabbath, contained in Eruvin 10:14:

"It is also permitted to draw water from the well Gola and from the large well by means of the rolling wheel on the Sabbath and from the cold well (on festivals)…Is not, however the prohibition to draw water from the well Gola or from the large well instituted on account of the sound produced by the rolling wheel? Nay; it is prohibited as a precaution, lest a man take water from such a well and sprinkle his garden or his ruins (to lay the dust)….'And from the cold well on festivals'). What is meant by the cold well?

"Said R. Na’hman bar Itz’hak: 'That well was filled with spring-water.' Whence does R. Na’hman adduce this? From the passage [Jeremiah vi. 7]:'As a well sendeth forth its waters.'…We have learned in a Boraitha: It was not permitted to draw water from all cold wells but only from the one mentioned; because when the Israelites returned from exile they together with their prophets who lived in that day drank there from and made it lawful to draw water from that well on Sabbath forever" (Trans. Rodkinson, 1918).

The rolling wheel refers to a contraption created for drawing water in the temple courts from the Golah cistern. The priests could also draw water from the cold well or Bor Hakar on festival days. This refers to the Gihon Spring, containing the spring waters referred to. A Jewish tradition noted the returning exiles from Babylon drank from the Bor Hakar or Well of the Exiles, a natural circumstance considering it is the only spring in Jerusalem. The restriction for its use only on festivals may include the water libation ceremony at the end of the Feast of Tabernacles, where water from Siloam was poured out on the altar.

In Avoth 35 of Rabbi Nathan, the Gihon Spring had a role as a digestive aid: “…when [the priests] were eating the meat of the offerings, they were drinking water from the Shiloah and [the meat] was digested in their intestine, the way food is digested.”

Another revealing passage comes from Arachin 10b, where a discussion of musical instruments in the temple occurs:

"R. Simeon b. Gamaliel taught: The Siloah was gushing forth through a mouth of the size of an issar. The king commanded and it was widened so that its waters be increased, but the waters diminished. Thereupon it was narrowed again, whereupon it had its [original] flow, to make true that which was said: Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might. Thus also would R. Simeon b. Gamaliel say: There was no hirdolim in the Sanctuary. [What is hirdolim?] -- Abaye said: A musical instrument [table] worked by pressure [of water] because its sound was heavy and disturbed the music."

The miracle of water flow from Siloah (the Gihon Spring) took place within the temple, reminding Rabbi Simeon about the absence of a hirdolim in the Sanctuary, because of its noise.

Another somewhat tangential source is from Sanhedrin 63b:“If he saw one issue which was as copious as three, lasting as long [as it takes to go] from Gad-Yawan to Siloah, in which time one can bathe and dry twice, he becomes a real zab.”The passage is part of the rule system for priestly cleanliness. The priests probably used the Gihon Spring (Gad Yawan) as a place of immersion for becoming clean. In Middoth 1:9 a bathing place is described:

If a seminal emission happened to one of them [a priest], he would go out by the winding stair which went under the Birah, which was lighted with lamps on both sides, until he reached the bathing place. R. Eliezar b. Jacob says: He descended by the winding stair which went under the Hel and he went out by the Taddi Gate.

Because the route to the Gihon Spring contains a winding stair, the possibility of it being the bathing place is increased. Yoma 3:1 states “[On the Day of Atonement]…the high priest used to be then taken down to the bath (or place of immersion). ”A Jewish legend notes the Gihon Spring was “the ritual bath of Rabbi Ishmael the high priest, who was among the ten martyrs of Israel” (Vilnay, 1978, p. 277). This concords with Philo’s calling the Gihon Spring “the high priest’s fountain” (Preparation for the Gospel 9.37.1-3) and Bishop Cyril of Jerusalem writing: “When Solomon came forth to be king, the High Priest anointed him, after a bath in Gihon” (Five Catechetical Lectures to the Newly Baptized on the Mysteries 3 (21):6).

Another allusion to the existence of a spring in the temple area comes from Maccoth 2:6: “When David was digging under the altar a hole to reach the watery depth of the earth (-Shithin), the water came up and menaced to inundate the world….”

Temple Mount Descriptions

Middoth 2:1-2 sets forth the measurements of the temple mount:

"The Temple Mount measured five hundred cubits by five hundred cubits. Its largest [open] space was to the south, the next largest to the east, the third largest to the north, and its smallest [open space] was to the west; the place where its measure was greatest was where its use was greatest. Whosoever it was that entered the Temple Mount came in on the right and went round and came out on the left, save any to whom aught befell, for he went round to the left."

These measurements do not fit either the Haram esh-Sharif (the alleged temple mount) or Josephus’s description of a four-furlong square. They do fit Ezekiel’s prophecy of a future temple, or they may fit a Levitical “degree of holiness” measurement for the Camp of the Levites, with no physical boundaries beyond the court walls. Hence, it cannot be accurately ascertained what the Rabbis were thinking with these measurements.

A less controversial but still contradictory description appears in Middoth 1:3 for the temple mount gates:

"There were five gates to the Temple Mount: the two Huldah Gates on the south, that served for coming in and 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."

If we assume a “gate” has stone boundaries on either side, then there are five gates of Herodian date on the Haram esh-Sharif’s south wall, rather than the two gates described for the temple. There are two gates of Herodian date on the Haram esh-Sharif for the one Kiponus Gate described for the west. There are no gates of Herodian date on the north of the Haram esh-Sharif, while the Mishnah describes one. There is one gate of verified Herodian date on the east of the Haram esh-Sharif, but it entered into the underground area now known as the Marwani Mosque and there is no sign of the Palace of Shushan on it. Hence, the Rabbis’ description of the temple mount gates does not match the gates of the Haram esh-Sharif.

"One should avoid showing disrespect to the eastern gate because it is indirect line to the Holy of Holies. A man should not enter the temple mount with his staff or with his shoes on or with his wallet or with his feet dust-stained; nor should he make it a short-cut and spitting a fortieri."

An injunction against using the temple as a short cut is compatible with it located in the middle of the southeastern hill, where the east gate could have provided a short cut through the Huldah Gate to the Acra or through the west gates to the bridge that crossed over the lower Tyropoeon Valley and vice versa. Furthermore, the Huldah Gate could give access to the east gate and vice versa. The short-cut injunction falters, however, when applied to the alleged temple mount, because in Herod’s time, there was no gate on the north and no gate on the east which would have entered onto the plaza.

Other passages which describe the temple mount reflect a City of David location. For example, in the Mishnah, Parah 3:3, it states:“…The Mountain of the House and its courts were hollow below through fear of an unseen grave….” This description matches the hollowed-out caves in the Gihon Spring and Warren’s Shaft areas. Another description matches the winding tunnels in these areas (including Hezekiah’s Tunnel) and comes from the work of Rabbi Maimonides (c. 1180 A.D.):

"There was a stone in the Holy of Holies at its western wall upon which the Ark rested. In front of it stood the jar of manna and the staff of Aaron. When Solomon built the Temple, knowing that it was destined to be destroyed, he built underneath, in deep and winding tunnels, a place in which to hide the Ark" (from Book 8, The Book of Temple Service).

In addition, Hagigah 76a of the Yerushalmi (the Palestinian Talmud) helps to define the city area where Mount Zion stood by stating Shiloah was “in the middle of the city.” Baba Bathra 75b reiterates this position: “Wilt thou fix a measurement for Jerusalem in the midst of which is Thy Name, thy Sanctuary and the righteous?” Such a location “in the middle” means the city (where the temple was built) occupied only the southeastern hill.

"One verse says for the LORD hath chosen Zion, but another verse says For this city hath been to Me a provocation of Mine anger and of My fury from the day that they built it unto this day. The former applied to the time before Solomon married the daughter of Pharoah while the latter applied to the time after Solomon married the daughter of Pharoah."

The LORD chose Zion as the site for the temple before Solomon married the daughter of Pharoah. In 3 Kings 2:35 (Septuagint version), Solomon built the temple in the City of David before he made a breach in its wall in order to take the daughter of Pharoah up out of it and place her into her own palace. Nevertheless, his involvement with foreign women continued while he still resided in the City of David, precipitating his downfall.

In Gittin 57b, the Rabbis allude to the second temple’s destruction: “…of the second Temple as it is written, Remember, O LORD, against the children of Edom the day of Jerusalem, who said, rase it, rase it, even unto the foundation therof.” The response is found in Baba Kama 60b: “And he had kindled a fire in Zion which hath devoured the foundation thereof.”

Though the current tradition espouses a destruction confined to the sanctuary and courts, Rabbi David Kimchi (1160-1235 A.D.), in his Commentary on Isaiah 64:10, felt otherwise: “And [the Temple] is still in ruins, [in] that the Temple site was never built on by the nations.” Since the Byzantines and Muslims built structures on the Haram esh-Sharif, still standing in Kimshi’s day, it clearly did not represent the temple site for him. In addition, Psalm 3:5, which says: “With my voice I call unto the LORD, and He answereth me out of his holy mountain,” has a Midrash attached to it which states: “The hill of the temple is in ruins.” This would be true for the former Mount Zion at the center of the southeastern hill, while the hill under the Haram esh-Sharif is entirely intact.

The Targum of Ezekiel 43:7-8, based on the Biblical passage, provides a City of David location for the temple:

"….and the Children of Israel shall no longer defile My holy name, neither they nor their kings, with their idols and the shrines of the corpses of their kings, by placing the threshold of My Holy Temple and their buildings beside My Temple Court, with only a wall of My Holy Temple between My Memra and them."

The LORD complains of the tombs containing the kings’ corpses being built only one wall away from the threshold of his temple. Ernest L. Martin (2000) was the first to notice that since the kings’ tombs were built in the City of David, the temple was also there. [4]

[1] Genesis 14:18

[2] War of the Jews VI, 10, 438

[3] The Targum of Onkelos on the Pentateuch identifies Melchizedek as Shem (Genesis 14:18): “And Malka Zadika, who was Shem bar Noah, the King of Yerushalem, came forth to meet Abram, and brought forth to him bread and wine; and in that time he ministered before Eloha Ilaha.”

[4] Biblical passages mentioning the burial of the kings in the City of David are 1 Kings 2:10; 11:4; 14:31; 15:8; 2 Kings 8:24.

Cahill, J. M., & Tarler, D. (1994). Excavations directed by Yigal Shiloh at the City of David,1978-1985. In H. Geva, (Ed.), Ancient Jerusalem Revealed. (pp. 3l-45). Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society.

Martin, E. L. (2000). The Temples That Jerusalem Forgot. Portland, OR: ASK Publications.

Reich, R. (2011). Excavating the City of David Where Jerusalem’s History Began. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society.

Vilnay, Z. (1973). “The Sacred Land.” Legends of Jerusalem, 1. Z. Vilnay (Ed.). Phildelphia, PA. Jewish Publication Society of America.

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