Temple 201-Where was the Temple Located-Conclusion

The Temple had a massive water system that came into the Temple Mount. Extensive work has been done over the years investigating this water system. They have found out where it operated from, exactly where the tunnel system was that brought the water into the Temple and massive cisterns. The fosse (moat) in the northwest corner is right where it is supposed to be. It is recorded by Strabo, a Greek geographer, philosopher and historian, that this fosse was filled in by the Romans in 63 BC when he fought the Hasmoneans. Josephus also records where it was. It is 250 feet long and 50 feet wide and 60 feet deep. It was made to guard the vulnerable north side of the Temple Mount.

The Baris, a citadel or fort, was built by Nehemiah because the northwest corner was open for attack. The fortress Antonia was built on the site of the Baris on the north side, and it was much larger than the Baris and capable of holding 600 men, or a cohort. The Struthian Pool has been found, and it was described by Josephus, and it gave water to the Baris, and later Antonia. It was built by Herod during his construction of the Antonia and his renovation of the Temple Mount (Josephus, Wars, Book 5, Paragraph 467). The Baris, or citadel, came all the way down to the fosse/moat. Josephus says Herod tore down the Baris and rebuilt it and enlarging it, and renamed it. This is the area where the fortress Antonia was and it overlooked the Temple Mount.

Titus, the Roman general in 70 AD, stood in a tower in Antonia and could call down instructions to his troops below who were fighting to gain access to the Temple. He also stood there to see which of his troops showed courage and those who did not. This would be impossible if the Temple was at the Gihon Spring in Ernest Martin’s theory. They know for sure where the Baris, the Struthian pool and the fortress Antonia was, and how it was very near the fosse. Ernest Martin uses Josephus, but not all of Josephus in his Gihon Spring theory. He leaves out what does not fit his theory.

In short, because of the location of the Baris, the fosse and the Struthian Pool that gave water to the Antonia, the Temple could not have been located at the Gihon Spring according to the Ernest Martin theory. When you add all the other information together the evidence is conclusive that the Temple was located at the site of the Dome of the Rock.

Posted in Articles, Idioms, Phrases and Concepts, Prophecy/Eschatology, The Festivals of the Lord, The Tanak, The Temple, Tying into the New Testament

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*