Statement
From a historical perspective, it is wrong to deny that Solomon's Temple existed: although nothing of it survives, the biblical description cannot be dismissed as fantasy, since it matches in many ways the temple architecture of Canaan and Syria at the time. But it is also certain that the search for it has led many scholars astray.
References
p. 17
supports · boxed feature · ch. 1
Efron, Lehmann and Weitzman. The Jews: A History. 3rd edition. New York and Abingdon: Routledge, 2019.
Section: The Search for Solomon's Temple
Verification anchor recorded · checked against the page text
p. 17
supports · boxed feature · ch. 1
Efron, Lehmann and Weitzman. The Jews: A History. 3rd edition. New York and Abingdon: Routledge, 2019.
Section: The Search for Solomon's Temple
Verification anchor recorded · checked against the page text
Scholarly debate
Can Solomon's Temple be historically reconstructed?
2 positions · no single answer · take a seat →
- A
Comparable biblical plan
Reconstructions based on Kings and regional temples
Kings and architectural parallels make it possible to imagine a building in the Levantine tradition.
- B
Insufficient evidence
The authors' cautious assessment
There are no images from the time and no archaeological remains; Montagu Parker's dig under the Temple Mount (1909 to 1911) set off riots and was never resumed, and the inscribed pomegranate proved probably fake. Even so, the authors consider it wrong to deny that the Temple existed.