Cart 0
Until its final destruction by Rome in AD 70, the Temple in Jerusalem had been a key component of Judaism since the days of Moses (1400s BC). In Moses’ day, the Temple’s predecessor was the Tent Tabernacle. This tent was constructed based on detailed instructions given to Moses by God, not only its outer and inner layouts and materials, but the articles that would be used in all religious ceremonies as well. For example, the Ark of the Covenant, the Lamp Stand, the table of show bread and the altar.
The Tent Tabernacle, and it’s precious metal-covered utensils and artifacts, made it without much drama through the time of Moses and almost all the way through the time period of the Judges (the Bible and archaeology both show that the city of Shiloh, which had become its permanent residence in Israel, was destroyed by the Philistines during the life of Samuel, who was the last Judge of Israel (1 Samuel 4:1-11).
“ And the ark of God was captured, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.”
1 Samuel 4:11
That the Tabernacle and some, if not all, of its articles survived is implied in 1 Kings 8:4 at the dedication of the new and stationary Temple in Jerusalem built by King Solomon. He had the Tent and its furnishings brought into the Temple with a great celebration, though none of the specific articles are mentioned to give us clarity. Though the Tabernacle artifacts and the new Temple artifacts commissioned by Solomon now had a permanent home, they weren’t safe from the ravages of politics and war. A few times in Jerusalem’s history, her kings raided the Temple for either religious reform reasons, or when they were strapped for cash and needed to pay off enemy kings. This left a Temple and its articles not in their full original glory by the time of the final Babylonian invasion of Judah and Jerusalem in 586 BC. But the riches of the Temple were still enticing enough for the Babylonians to take them back home with them as spoils of war.
Less than a hundred years, later Babylon itself would fall to the Persian Empire who released the Jerusalem exiles with the Temple articles that were known or had survived. A humbler Temple was rebuilt in Jerusalem and the Temple articles reinstated.
Between the writing of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible another assault on the Jerusalem Temple was carried out by Antiochus Epiphanes. His efforts were short lived and routed by the Maccabean revolt that managed to salvage many of the Temple treasures.
After a massive Temple renovation project spearheaded by Herod the Great, the Temple once again became known for its majesty. Short lived as it was. After the conclusion of New Testament History, the Empire of Rome quenched the great Jewish revolt by ultimately destroying the Temple and taking its furnishings to Rome (AD 70). The most iconic of which were displayed in the Roman Temple of Peace paying homage, this time, to the majesty of the Empire.
Corie Bobechko is a daily co-host, speaker, and writer of Bible Discovery. She also hosts a YouTube channel that shows how history and archaeology prove the Bible. Her heart for seekers and skeptics has led her to seek truth and share it with others. Corie also has a Bachelor of Theology from Canada Christian College.
