What is Solomon's Temple?
[[File:The ancient city of Jerusalem with Solomon's Temple (LOC pga.02305).jpg|thumb|alt=A picture of ancient Jerusalem with Solomon’s temple|In the middle of ancient Jerusalem stands the famous temple of Solomon.]] According to the [[Hebrew Bible]], '''Solomon’s Temple''' was the first temple the [[Israel]]ites built for [[God]]. It was also called the '''First Temple''' and was first built by Solomon. It stood next to the king’s palace, and was both God’s royal palace and Israel’s center of worship. The Bible says that [[God|the Lord]] said to Solomon, “I have consecrated (made special or clean) this temple…by putting my name there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there” (1 Kings 9:3). A symbol of holiness and royalty, it reminded the [[Israel]]ites that God was the special head of Israel.<ref name=joy>{{cite book | last = | first = | authorlink = | title = ''The NIV Study Bible''| year =1995| publisher = Zondervan Publishing House| location = Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530, USA| pages = | url =https://archive.org/details/nivstudybibleper00kenn| doi = | id = | isbn =0310925886|lccn=95-060484}}</ref> It was patterned after the [[tabernacle]] and, in general, other temples at that time, and was divided into three important areas: the Most Holy Place, the Holy Place and the outer courtyard. It was built in Jerusalem, on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, where Solomon's father [[David]] had bought to build an altar to [[God]]. ==Historical evidence== According to [[secular]] [[historian]]s, the Temple would have been completed in 957 BCE. The [[Babylonia]]ns destroyed it in 587 or 586 BCE.<ref>Stevens, Marty E. [https://books.google.com/books?id=0P9gcFR1MSAC Temples, tithes, and taxes: the temple and the economic life of ancient Israel], pg. 3. Hendrickson Publishers 2006, {{ISBN|1565639340}}</ref> Rabbinic literature says that the temple stood for 410 years. According to the work [[Seder Olam Rabbah]], written in the second century CE, the temple was built in 832 BCE, and destroyed in 433 BC