The Second Temple: From Zerubbabel to Herod

Zerubbabel's Temple and the return from exile

The Second Temple period spans roughly 516 BCE to 70 CE - over five centuries of Jewish religious, political, and cultural life centered on a rebuilt sanctuary in Jerusalem. Understanding the two very different structures that bore the name 'Second Temple' is essential for reading both the Hebrew Bible's later books and the entire New Testament.

Zerubbabel's Temple: When the first exiles returned from Babylon under Zerubbabel (governor) and Joshua (high priest) after Cyrus's edict of 538 BCE (Ezra 1:1-4), rebuilding the Temple was their first priority. The altar was set up before the Temple's foundations were even laid (Ezra 3:2-3). The foundations were completed amid a mixed reaction: the older priests and Levites who had seen Solomon's Temple wept at the comparison, while younger people shouted for joy (Ezra 3:12-13). The prophet Haggai records the discouragement that set in when work stopped (Hag 1:2-4: 'Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses while this house remains a ruin?') and his encouragement restarted the project in 520 BCE. Zechariah joined in prophetic encouragement (Zech 4:6-10). The Temple was completed and dedicated in 516 BCE (Ezra 6:15-16).

Zerubbabel's Temple apparently lacked several items from Solomon's Temple - notably the Ark of the Covenant, which never reappears after the Babylonian destruction. The rabbinic tradition (Mishnah Yoma 5:2) states that the Most Holy Place in the Second Temple contained only a stone slab (Even Shetiyah, 'foundation stone') where the Ark had stood, and the high priest set the incense censer on this stone on the Day of Atonement. The new Temple was also smaller and less richly decorated than Solomon's, prompting the prophetic promise of Haggai 2:9: 'The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house.' This prophecy required future fulfillment - and in Jewish tradition, Herod's expansion was sometimes read as its partial fulfillment.

Herod's expansion and the Temple Mount platform

Herod's Expansion: In 19 BCE, Herod the Great announced plans to rebuild the Temple on a scale that would surpass Solomon's. His motives were mixed: genuine piety, desire for lasting fame, and the political calculation that a magnificent Temple would win Jewish loyalty for his client-king regime. Josephus's accounts in Jewish War 5.184-237 and Antiquities 15.380-425 are our primary literary sources and describe the project in remarkable detail. To avoid interrupting worship during construction, Herod trained 10,000 workers and 1,000 priests (who would build the sanctuary proper, since only priests could enter). He doubled the size of the Temple Mount by extending the platform with massive retaining walls.

The Temple Mount Platform: Herod's Temple Mount platform was among the largest artificial platforms in the ancient world - approximately 480 × 300 meters (36 acres). The retaining walls were built from enormous ashlars (dressed stone blocks) up to 12 meters long and weighing hundreds of tons. The Western Wall (Kotel) is the most famous surviving section of this Herodian retaining wall. A dedicatory inscription found in 2011 on the pavement of the Southern Wall reads 'To the place of the trumpeting' - confirming Josephus's description of a priest sounding trumpets from the Temple Mount corner (Jewish War 4.582). Wilson's Arch, Robinson's Arch, and Barclay's Gate were massive stone bridges and stairways connecting the Temple Mount to the city below.

The Temple complex layout and Jesus's ministry there

The Temple Complex Layout: The Herodian Temple was arranged in a series of concentric courts of increasing holiness. The Court of Gentiles was open to all; within it, a stone balustrade (soreg) marked the point beyond which Gentiles could not pass on pain of death. Greek and Latin warning inscriptions from this barrier have been found - two in fragmentary form - reading: 'No foreigner is to enter within the barrier and enclosure around the Temple. Anyone who is caught doing so has himself to blame for his ensuing death' (one nearly complete example is in the Istanbul Museum). Within the barrier lay the Court of Women, the Court of Israel (for Jewish men), the Court of Priests, and finally the sanctuary building itself.

Jesus in the Temple: Much of Jesus's ministry occurred in the Herodian Temple complex. He was brought there as an infant for purification rites (Luke 2:22-24). At age twelve, he stayed behind to discuss Torah with teachers in the Temple courts (Luke 2:46). During Passion Week, he drove out the money changers and animal sellers from the Court of Gentiles (Matt 21:12-13; John 2:13-16). He taught daily in the Temple porticoes (Luke 19:47; 21:37). His dispute with Pharisees and priests was conducted on the Temple Mount (Matt 21-23). His prediction of the Temple's destruction - 'not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down' (Matt 24:2) - was fulfilled in meticulous detail in 70 CE.

Destruction in 70 CE and its aftermath

Destruction in 70 CE: The First Jewish-Roman War (66-73 CE) culminated in the siege and destruction of Jerusalem by Titus's Roman legions. Josephus describes the Temple's burning in Jewish War 6.249-266: a Roman soldier, against Titus's alleged orders (though this is contested in ancient sources), threw a burning brand through a golden window, igniting the Temple. The fire was so intense that the gold overlays on the building melted and ran into the stone cracks, leading soldiers to pry stones apart to recover the gold - possibly explaining the fulfillment of Jesus's 'not one stone left on another.' The Temple treasuries, including the golden menorah, were carried to Rome and displayed in Titus's triumph, depicted on the Arch of Titus (still standing in Rome), which remains the most vivid visual documentation of the Temple's end.

Aftermath and Memory: The destruction of the Temple in 70 CE is the single most consequential event in Jewish history after the Exodus. It ended the sacrificial system that had defined Jewish religious practice for a millennium and forced the transformation of Judaism into a rabbinic, synagogue-centered religion. The annual fast of Tisha B'Av (ninth of Av) commemorates both Temple destructions. For early Christianity, the destruction was interpreted as divine judgment confirming the shift of covenant focus from Temple to the body of Christ (John 2:19-21; Eph 2:19-22).

Scholarly Sources: Josephus, Jewish War 5-6 and Antiquities 15, are primary sources. Ehud Netzer, The Architecture of Herod the Great Builder (2006), provides comprehensive archaeological analysis. For the Temple Mount platform and excavations, see Benjamin Mazar, The Mountain of the Lord (1975). Lee Levine, Jerusalem: Portrait of the City in the Second Temple Period (2002), places the Temple in urban context. N.T. Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God (1996), ch. 8-9, analyzes Jesus's Temple actions theologically.

• ISBE: Temple, Herodian
• Josephus, Jewish War 5.184-237
• Netzer, Architecture of Herod the Great Builder (2006)
• Mazar, The Mountain of the Lord (1975)
• Levine, Jerusalem: Portrait of the City (2002)