The Forgotten Temple

The Tabernacle of Moses, the Temple of Solomon, the Temple of Herod—these are the names of the ancient temples. We are familiar with all of them. Yet, there was one more temple in Jerusalem. Solomon’s temple was completely destroyed. The forgotten temple is the one built by the Jews after they returned from their Babylonian captivity. It is called the Temple of Zerubbabel, or the Second Temple.

“The Temple of Zerubbabel was completed and dedicated in the sixth year of the reign of Darius, in March of 515 B.C. The dedicatory services were held with much rejoicing and many sacrifices and were followed by celebration of the Feast of Passover (see Ezra 6:15—19). This Temple, called the Second Temple, stood for five hundred years. Half a millennium after its initial construction, the Temple was not merely renovated but completely reconstructed by Herod. Yet Herod’s temple was still known as the Second Temple.

“In structure and appurtenances this new temple was not as grand and impressive as the First Temple, though it was basically the same size and architectural style. Those who remembered the previous Temple wept and lamented the inferiority of the restored Sanctuary, which no longer contained the ark of the Covenant or the Urim and Thummim. Nevertheless, even without the protection of walls and fortifications, and with only a small population, Jerusalem once again became a Temple City.”

(David B. Galbraith, D. Kelly Ogden, Andrew C. Skinner, Jerusalem: The Eternal City [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1996], 123)