Second Temple Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Second Temple Herod's Temple
בית־המקדש השני
Model of Herod's Temple (a renovation of the Second Temple) in the Israel Museum, created in 1966 as part of the Holyland Model of Jerusalem. The model was inspired by the writings of Josephus.
Religion
Deity	Yahweh
Location
Location	Herodian Temple Mount, Jerusalem
Location in Jerusalem
Architecture
Creator	Likely Zerubbabel, largely renovated by Herod the Great.
Destroyed	70 CE
Specifications
Height (max)	45.72 metres (150.0 ft)
Materials	local limestone
Parent listing	Second Temple
History
Founded	c. 537–516 BCE (construction)
Site notes
Excavation dates	1930, 1967, 1968, 1970–1978, 1996–1999, 2007
Archaeologists	Charles Warren, Benjamin Mazar, Ronny Reich, Eli Shukron, Yaakov Billig
Condition	Ruin, archaeological park
Ownership	Disputed, currently managed by the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf
Public access	Yes (limited)

The Second Temple (Hebrew: בית המקדש meaning 'Holy House') was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem which stood between 516 BCE and 70 CE. It is also known as Herod's Temple. During this time, it was the center of Jewish worship. The Romans destroyed Jerusalem and its Second Temple on August 4, 70 CE.

Images for kids

Rebuilding of the Temple (illustration by Gustave Doré from the 1866 La Sainte Bible)
Modern-day reconstruction of Jerusalem during the 10th century BCE, showing Solomon's Temple, which was on the site prior to the building of the Second Temple.
Herod's Temple as imagined in the Holyland Model of Jerusalem; east at the bottom.
View of the Temple Mount in 2013; east at the bottom
Herod's Temple from The Presentation in the Temple (1910)
The Royal Stoa in the Holyland Model of Jerusalem
The Foundation Stone under the Dome of the Rock, a possible historical location for the Holy of Holies
Siege and Destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans (1850 painting by David Roberts). Looking southwest
Present-day view of the Temple Mount looking southwest, with the golden Dome of the Rock visible center and the Al-Aqsa Mosque to the left beyond some trees. Parts of the Old City of Jerusalem can be seen surrounding the Mount.
Magdala Stone
Bar Kokhba tetradracm showing the Jerusalem Temple façade 132–135 CE
Arch of Titus showing spoils of Jerusalem Temple
Part of the south-western upper corner of Herod's temple colonnade with ancient "Trumpeting Place" Hebrew inscription.
The Warning Inscription found in 1871
A copy of the temple warning inscription found in 1871
Fragment of Second Temple Warning
The Trumpeting Place inscription, a stone (2.43 m × 1 m (8 ft 0 in × 3 ft 3 in)) with Hebrew inscription "To the Trumpeting Place" excavated by Benjamin Mazar at the southern foot of the Temple Mount is believed to be a part of the Second Temple.

Second Temple facts for kids

Images for kids

See also