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160-513: Biblical commentators believe the Books of Kings mixes legends, folktales, miracle stories and "fictional constructions" in with the annals for the purpose of providing a theological explanation for the destruction of the Kingdom of Judah by Babylon in c. 586 BC and to provide a foundation for a return from Babylonian exile . The two books of Kings present a history of ancient Israel and Judah , from

320-474: A famine is raging. Seeking to help the local prophets, he tells his servant to cook a stew. One of the prophets inadvertently adds some poisonous berries to the pot, but Elisha adds some flour , negating the poison. A man comes from Baal-Shalish with twenty loaves of bread. Elisha uses them to miraculously feed the hundred people present. An Aramean general named Naaman has leprosy . He hears of Elisha from an Israelite slave-girl and receives permission from

480-426: A lattice on an upper floor and injures himself. He sends a party to Ekron to consult its god, Baal-Zebub , about whether he will recover. The messengers are met by Elijah, who tells them to inform Ahaziah that he will die where he is for seeking advice from a non-Israelite god. Ahaziah sends two captains and fifty men each to summon Elijah, but both parties are consumed by fire at Elijah's command. When Ahaziah sends

640-411: A lily " and turned outward "about an hand breadth"; or about four inches. It was placed on the backs of twelve oxen , standing with their faces outward. The Book of Kings states that it contains 2000 baths (90 cubic meters), while Chronicles (2 Chr. 4:5–6) states it can hold up to 3000 baths (136 cubic meters) and states that its purpose was to afford opportunity for the purification by immersion of

800-481: A vineyard belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite. When Naboth will not sell it to him on account of it being his inheritance, Ahab sulks and refuses to eat. Jezebel proclaims a day of fasting , upon which two false witnesses accuse Naboth of cursing God and the king. He is stoned to death, allowing Ahab to take possession of the vineyard. In response, God tells Elijah to confront Ahab and inform him that he will die in

960-534: A Benedictine, was credited with the " Glossa Ordinaria " on the entire Bible. It is a brief explanation of the literal and mystical sense, based on Rabanus Maurus and other Latin writers, and was one of the most popular works during the Middle Ages, being as well known as "The Sentences" of Peter Lombard. Anselm of Laon , professor at Paris (twelfth century), wrote the Glossa Interlinearis , so called because

1120-543: A campaign during a state visit, Ahab decides to take it back. Four hundred prophets agree this is a good idea, but Jehoshaphat asks to speak with a prophet of God. Ahab reluctantly calls Micaiah , whom he dislikes for never prophesying in his favour. When he arrives, a prophet named Zedekiah uses a strange hat with horns to claim that Ahab will have victory over the Arameans. Michaiah tells Ahab that if he attacks Ramoth-Gilead, he will die and Israel will be leaderless but that this

1280-706: A chain, a catena . The principal Latin commentators of this period were the Venerable Bede, Walafrid Strabo, Anselm of Laon, Hugh of Saint-Cher, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Nicholas de Lyra. The Venerable Bede (seventh to eighth century), a good Greek and Hebrew scholar, wrote a useful commentary on most of the books of the Old and the New Testament. It is in reality a catena of passages from Greek and Latin Fathers judiciously selected and digested. Walafrid Strabo (ninth century),

1440-609: A compilation of Jewish traditional moral theology, liturgy, law, etc. There were other traditions not embodied in the work of Rabbi, and these are called additional Mishna. The discussions of later generations of rabbis all centred round the text of the Mishna. Interpreters or "speakers" laboured upon it both in Jerusalem and Babylonia (until 500), and the results are comprised in the Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmuds . The word Talmud means teaching, doctrine. Each Talmud consists of two parts,

1600-453: A dream that God has heard his prayer, and God will continue to hear the prayers of the people of Israel if they adopt the four ways in which they could move God to action: humility, prayer, seeking his face, and turning from wicked ways. Conversely, if they turn aside and forsake God's commandments and worship other gods, then God will abandon the temple: "this house which I have sanctified for My name I will cast out of My sight". According to

1760-470: A good king and to punish David's enemies, and then dies. Adonijah comes to Bathsheba and asks to marry Abishag. Solomon suspects this request is to strengthen Adonijah's claim to the throne and has Benaiah put him to death. He then takes away Abiathar's priesthood as punishment for supporting Adonijah, thus fulfilling the prophecy made to Eli at the start of 1 Samuel . Joab hears what is going on and himself claims sanctuary, but when he refuses to come out of

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1920-450: A harpist. Elisha prophesies a coming flood in the valley in addition to a complete defeat of Moab. The water comes but looks like blood to the Moabites, which they conclude can only have come from the three kings having killed each other. However, when they cross, Israel wins a great victory and completely plunders the land. When the king of Moab sacrifices his firstborn son on the city walls,

2080-410: A pain in his head. He is returned to his mother and dies. His mother therefore seeks out Elisha, whom she meets at Mount Carmel. He tells Gehazi to quickly make his way to the house and lay his staff on the boy's face. When Elisha gets there with the woman, Gehazi informs him that this has not worked. Elisha prays, paces, and lays himself on the boy, who then awakens. Elisha continues on to Gilgal, where

2240-441: A prophecy that his junior officers will defeat Ben-Hadad if Ahab starts the battle. Ben-Hadad tells his men to take the advancing troops alive, but each junior officer kills his Aramean equivalent. The Arameans, including Ben-Hadad, begin a retreat, but Ahab's army inflicts heavy losses. The prophet who brought the first prophecy tells Ahab to improve his defences, since the Arameans will attack again. Ben-Hadad's advisors reason that

2400-470: A prophet comes by and announces that some day a Davidic king named Josiah will be born and violently abolish Jeroboam's religion. Seeking to seize him, Jeroboam stretches out his hand, but it becomes withered and, as a sign, the altar splits open and its ashes pour out. Despite all this, Jeroboam does not change his ways. Jeroboam's son Abijah becomes ill, so Jeroboam tells his wife to go in disguise to Ahijah, who has become blind with age. God tells Ahijah of

2560-452: A repayment to Hiram. Hiram was not pleased with the gift, however, and asks "what are these towns that you have given me, my brother?". Hiram then calls them "the land of Cabul ", and the writer of 1 Kings 9 says they were called by this name "to this day". Hiram however remains on friendly terms with Solomon. The Second Book of Chronicles fills in some details of the construction not given in narrative brought in 1 Kings. It states that

2720-515: A secular priest, and superior of the college at Douai. These two works are still of the greatest help to the student. Many other Jesuits were the authors of valuable exegetical works, e.g.: The Jesuits were rivalled by During the nineteenth century the following were a few of the Catholic writers on the Bible: Catholics have also published scientific books. There is the great Latin "Cursus" on

2880-527: A temple had existed on the Temple Mount by the time of the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem (587 BCE), but the identity of its builder and its construction date are strongly debated. Because of the religious and political sensitivities involved, no archaeological excavations and only limited surface surveys of the Temple Mount have been conducted since Charles Warren 's expedition of 1867–70. As of today, there

3040-464: A temple to God with wood provided by the king of Tyre , Hiram I , an old friend of David's. He also builds himself a palace, which takes him thirteen years. Once the Temple is finished, Solomon hires a Tyrian half- Naphtalite named Huram to create the furnishings. When finished, the things which David prepared for the Temple are brought in, and Solomon organizes a ceremony during which the priests carry

3200-528: A third group, God tells Elijah to go with them and deliver his prophecy directly. Ahaziah dies and, having no sons, his brother Joram succeeds him. Elijah and Elisha are walking from Gilgal . Elijah asks that Elisha stay where they are, but Elisha insists on coming with him to Bethel. Elijah informs him that he is going to be taken by God. Elisha seems to have some kind of knowledge of this. Once again, Elijah asks Elisha to stay where they are, but Elisha insists on coming with him to Jericho. Eventually, they reach

3360-507: A treaty and Ben-Hadad leaves. After failing to get another prophet to strike him with his weapon, resulting in that prophet's death by lion, a prophet manages to get someone else to do it and appears before Ahab, telling him a parable about how his failing to guard a man in battle means he now must pay a talent. When he removes his headband, and Ahab sees he is a prophet, he tells Ahab that he will die because he spared Ben-Hadad, who God had told him to kill. Some time later, Ahab attempts to buy

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3520-452: A tripartite building, consisting of three units; the ulam (porch), the heikal (sanctuary), and the debir (the Holy of Holies ). It is also categorized as being a straight-axis temple, meaning that there is a straight line from the entrance to the innermost shrine. The ulam , or porch, featured two bronze pillars Jachin and Boaz . It is unclear from the biblical descriptions whether the porch

3680-443: A whisper. After hearing Elijah's concerns about being killed, he instructs him to go to Damascus, where he is to anoint Hazael as king of Aram, Jehu as king of Israel and Elisha as Elijah's own successor. Elijah finds Elisha plowing with oxen . Elisha says goodbye to his parents, kills his oxen and cooks them by burning his plowing equipment. He distributes the meat to his neighbours and sets off to follow Elijah. Ben-Hadad II ,

3840-596: A years-long drought about to begin. God then tells Elijah to hide in the Kerith Ravine, where he drinks from the stream and is fed by ravens . When the brook dries up, God tells Elijah to travel to Zarephath , where a widow will feed him. She is more than happy to give him water, but when he asks for bread, she informs him that she is just about to make a small loaf – only enough that she and her son may eat it as their last meal. Elijah instructs her to make him some anyway, telling her that she will not run out of food until

4000-439: Is a good king, on par with David. He abolishes male temple prostitution and destroys idols, and even deposed his grandmother as Queen mother due to idolatry. He moves a collection of gold and silver objects back into the Temple. However, when he goes to war against Baasha of Israel , he gives the royal and Temple gold and silver to Ben-Hadad , king of Aram , to get him to break a treaty with Israel and attack with him. Ben-Hadad

4160-410: Is by now old, and so his attendants look for a virgin to look after him. They find Abishag , who looks after him but they do not have sexual relations. Adonijah , David's fourth son, born after Absalom , decides to claim the throne. With the support of Joab , David's general, and Abiathar , the priest, he begins a coronation procession. He begins the festivities by offering sacrifices at En Rogel in

4320-529: Is completed in Bul , the eighth month of Solomon's eleventh year, thus taking about seven years. The Hebrew Bible records that the Tyrians played a leading role in the construction of the Temple. The Second Book of Samuel mentions how David and Hiram forged an alliance. This friendship continues after Solomon succeeds David, and the two refer to each other as brothers. A literary account of how Hiram helps Solomon build

4480-461: Is evil but gets rid of the sacred stone of Baal. After the death of Ahab, the king of Moab refused to continue paying tribute to Israel, so Joram teams up with Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom to put down the rebellion. They attack through the Desert of Edom but soon run out of water. They ask Elisha for advice. He first makes it very clear that he is only doing this for Jehoshaphat's sake and then calls for

4640-586: Is his Latin commentary on the Four Gospels, which is generally acknowledged to be one of the best ever written. When Maldonato was teaching at the University of Paris the hall was filled with eager students before the lecture began, and he had frequently to speak in the open air. Great as was the merit of the work of Maldonato, it was equalled by the commentary on the Epistles by Estius (born at Gorcum, Holland, 1542),

4800-536: Is in accordance with how Phoenician temples looked; others have described the structure as temple in antis . In 2011, three small portable shrines were discovered in Khirbet Qeiyafa , an archaeological site 30 km (20 mi) from Jerusalem dated to 1025–975 BCE, a range that includes the biblical date for the reigns of David and Solomon. The smaller shrines are boxes shaped with different decorations showing impressive architectonic and decorative styles. One of

4960-473: Is no solid archaeological evidence for the existence of Solomon's Temple, and the building is not mentioned in surviving extra-biblical accounts, save for perhaps a single fragmented ostracon that mentions a " house of Yahweh " without any further specification. Artifacts previously believed to prove the existence of Solomon's Temple—an ivory pomegranate and a ninth century BCE stone tablet —are now highly contested as to their authenticity. Moreover, starting in

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5120-470: Is not Ahab. Ahab is hit between the plates of his armour by a random Aramean arrow. He withdraws from the battle and dies that evening. He is buried, his chariot is washed in a pool where prostitutes bathe, and his blood is licked by dogs. Ahab's son Ahaziah succeeds him. Jehoshaphat has been a good king his entire reign, following the example of his father Asa. He has not destroyed the high places, but he has kept peace with Israel. He has also gotten rid of

5280-457: Is part of God's plan. Zedekiah slaps him, leading Michaiah to prophesy impending destruction, and Ahab tells his jailer to put Michaiah in prison with no food or water until Ahab returns safely. Ahab and Jehoshaphat begin their campaign, agreeing that Ahab will be disguised while Jehoshaphat will wear his royal robes. The Arameans, being under instructions to kill no one except Ahab, begin pursuing Jehoshaphat but cease their pursuit when they see he

5440-524: Is succeeded by his son Ahab , who himself overtakes Omri in his evilness. Upon his marriage to Jezebel , daughter of Ethbaal , king of Sidon , he introduces the worship of Baal, building him a temple and setting up an Asherah pole. Meanwhile, a nobleman named Hiel of Bethel activates the curse proclaimed by Joshua by rebuilding Jericho , resulting in the death of his oldest and youngest sons. A new prophet arises in Israel, named Elijah , who informs Ahab of

5600-779: Is succeeded by his son Rehoboam . Rehoboam travels to Shechem to be proclaimed king. Upon hearing this, Jeroboam returns from Egypt and joins Rehoboam's older advisors in asking for the people to be treated better than under Solomon. Instead, Rehoboam turns to his friends for advice, and proclaims that he will treat the people worse. This greatly displeases the Israelites. When he sends a new minister of forced labour named Adoniram , they stone him to death. Rehoboam returns to safety in Jerusalem. The Israelites proclaim Jeroboam king. Judah remains loyal to Rehoboam, and he also controls Benjamin. From these two tribes, Rehoboam amasses an army to attack

5760-487: Is surprisingly successful, and Baasha must withdraw from Ramah , leading Asa to issue a decree that Ramah's fortifications be taken down and used to build Geba and Mizpah . Asa dies an old man and is succeeded by his son Jehoshaphat . Back in Israel , Nadab is on the throne. Like his father, he is evil. Baasha, son of an Issacharite named Ahijah, plots to kill him and succeeds in a sneak attack, taking him by surprise during

5920-574: Is that the Ark was originally conceived as Yahweh's footstool, above which he was invisibly enthroned. Biblical scholar Francesca Stavrakopoulou states that Yahweh was physically enthroned above the Ark as a cult statue and it was only following the Exile that Yahweh was conceived as unseen and the prohibition on carved images was added to the Ten Commandments. On the other hand, some biblical scholars believe

6080-559: The Altar of burnt-offering (2 Chr. 15:8), the Brazen Sea laver (4:2–5, 10) and ten other lavers (1 Kings 7:38, 39). A brazen altar stood before the Temple (2 Kings 16:14), its dimensions 20 cubits square and 10 cubits high (2 Chr. 4:1). The Great Court surrounded the whole Temple (2 Chr. 4:9). It was here that people assembled to worship. (Jeremiah 19:14; 26:2). According to the Hebrew Bible ,

6240-837: The Ark of the Covenant into the Temple. A cloud fills the Temple, preventing the priests from continuing the ceremony. Solomon explains that this is the presence of God, and takes the opportunity to make a dedication speech . The dedication is completed with sacrifices, and a celebration is held for fourteen days. God speaks to Solomon and accepts his prayer, re-affirming his vow to David that his House will be kings forever unless they begin worshipping idols. Solomon gives twenty towns in Galilee to Hiram as thanks for his help, but they are virtually worthless. He begins building and improvement works in various cities in addition to his major projects in Jerusalem and puts

6400-624: The Book of Kings , includes a detailed narrative about the construction's ordering by Solomon, the penultimate ruler of the United Kingdom of Israel . It further credits Solomon as the placer of the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies , a windowless inner sanctum within the structure. Entry into the Holy of Holies was heavily restricted; the High Priest of Israel was the only authority permitted to enter

6560-548: The First Temple ( Hebrew : בֵּית-הַמִּקְדָּשׁ הָרִאשׁוֹן ‎ , romanized :  Bēṯ ham-Mīqdāš hā-Rīšōn , lit.   'First House of the Sanctum';), was a biblical Temple in Jerusalem believed to have existed between the 10th and 6th centuries BCE . Its description is largely based on narratives in the Hebrew Bible , in which it was commissioned by biblical king Solomon before being destroyed during

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6720-599: The Franciscans in 1291 and brought to the service of the Church knowledge of Hebrew and rabbinical learning. He wrote short notes or Postillæ on the entire Bible, and set forth the literal meaning with great ability, especially of the books written in Hebrew. This work was most popular, and in frequent use during the late Middle Ages, and Martin Luther was indebted to it. A great impulse

6880-503: The Gospels and the Epistles of St. Paul , but heavily influenced by the writings of Alexandrian Jews, especially of Philo. The great representative of this school was Origen (died 254). Origen was the son of Leonides of Alexandria , himself a saint and martyr. Origen became the master of many great saints and scholars, one of the most celebrated being St. Gregory Thaumaturgus ; he was known as

7040-567: The Hexapla he wrote scholia, homilies, and commentaries on the Old and the New Testament. In his scholia he gave short explanations of difficult passages after the manner of his contemporaries, the annotators of the Greek classics. Most of the scholia, in which he chiefly sought the literal sense, are unfortunately lost, but it is supposed that their substance is embodied in the writings of St. John Chrysostom and other Fathers. In his other works Origen pushed

7200-520: The Holy of Holies of the Temple. 1 Kings 8:10–66 and 2 Chronicles 6:1–42 recount the events of the temple's dedication. When the priests emerged from the holy of holies after placing the Ark there, the Temple was filled with an overpowering cloud that interrupted the dedication ceremony, "for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord [such that] the priests could not stand to minister" (1 Kings 8:10–11; 2 Chronicles 5:13, 14). Solomon interpreted

7360-467: The Pentateuch were not intended to be taken literally. In fact, he said that they were literally false, but allegorically true. He did not make the distinction between natural and revealed religion. For example, Pagan systems may have natural religion highly developed, but, from a Judeo-Christian point of view, with much concomitant error. His exegesis served to tide over the difficulty for the time amongst

7520-457: The Pharaoh's daughter . After this, he continues the ancient practice of travelling between the high places and offering sacrifices. When he is at Gibeon , God speaks to him in a dream and offers him anything he asks for. Solomon, being young, asks for "an understanding heart to judge" (שָׁפַט). God is pleased and grants him not only "a wise...heart" ( חכם ), but also wealth, honor, and longevity, on

7680-705: The Siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar II of the Neo-Babylonian Empire in 587 BCE. No remains of the destroyed temple have ever been found. Most modern scholars agree that the First Temple existed on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem by the time of the Babylonian siege, and there is significant debate among scholars over the date of its construction and the identity of its builder. The Hebrew Bible, specifically within

7840-519: The Tanakh . Hillel and Shammai were the last "pair" of several generations of "pairs" ( Zugot ) of teachers. These pairs were the successors of the early scribes who lived after the Exile. These teachers are said to have handed down and expanded the Oral Law , which, according to the uncritical view of many Jews, began with Moses. This Oral Law consists of legal and liturgical interpretations and applications of

8000-575: The Tel Motza temple , dated to the 9th century BCE and located in the neighbourhood of Motza within West Jerusalem . The biblical description of Solomon's Temple has also been observed to share similarities with several Syro-Hittite temples of the same period discovered in modern-day Syria and Turkey , such as those in Ain Dara and Tell Tayinat . Following Jewish return from exile, Solomon's Temple

8160-441: The asherah in the Temple was a wooden pole, rather than a statue. Although originally a symbol of the goddess, the asherah is argued to have been adopted as a symbol of Yahweh. According to Richard Lowery, Yahweh and Asherah headed a pantheon of other Judean gods that were worshipped at the temple. The temple had chariots of the sun ( 2 Kings 23:11 ) and Ezekiel describes a vision of temple worshipers facing east and bowing to

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8320-404: The northern Kingdom of Israel , advanced on Jerusalem, broke down a portion of the wall, and carried away the treasures of the Temple and the palace ( 2 Kings 14:13–14 ). Later, when Ahaz of Judah was threatened by defeat at the hands of Rezin of Aram-Damascus and Pekah of Israel, he turned to king Tiglath-Pileser IV for help. To persuade him, he "took the silver and gold that was found in

8480-415: The paradox that God who lives in the heavens cannot really be contained within a single building. The dedication was concluded with musical celebration and sacrifices said to have included "twenty-two thousand bulls and one hundred and twenty thousand sheep". These sacrifices were offered outside the temple, in "the middle of the court that was in front of the house of the Lord", because the altar inside

8640-440: The " Adamantine " on account of his incessant application to study, writing, lecturing, and works of piety. He frequently kept seven amanuenses actively employed; it was said he became the author of 6000 works ( Epiphanius , Hær., lxiv, 63); according to St. Jerome , who reduced the number to 2000 (Contra. Rufin., ii, 22), he left more writings than any man could read in a lifetime (Ep. xxxiii, ad Paulam). Besides his great labours on

8800-442: The "Biblische Zeitschrift', published by Herder (Freiburg im Breisgau). For further information concerning the principal Catholic commentators see respective articles. The commentaries of the first Reformers, Luther , Melanchthon , Calvin , Zwingli and their followers wrote on Holy Scripture during the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. During the nineteenth century: Temple of Solomon Solomon's Temple , also known as

8960-456: The "Molten or Brazen Sea" ( ים מוצק "cast metal sea") was a large basin in the Temple for ablution of the priests. It is described in 1 Kings 7:23–26 and 2 Chronicles 4:2–5 . According to the Bible, it stood in the south-eastern corner of the inner court. It was five cubits high, ten cubits in diameter from brim to brim, and thirty cubits in circumference. The brim was "like the calyx of

9120-451: The 10th century BCE, although the biblical description is undoubtedly excessive. These views are shared by the archaeologist Amihai Mazar , who underlines how the description of the Temple in the Bible, albeit exaggerated, is substantially in line with the architectural descriptions already present in the Levant in the second millennium BCE. Yosef Garfinkel and Madeleine Mumcuoglu argue that

9280-440: The 10th century BCE. Some scholars have suggested that the original structure built by Solomon was relatively modest, and was later rebuilt on a larger scale. No direct evidence for the existence of Solomon's Temple has been found. Due to the extreme religious and political sensitivity of the site, no recent archaeological excavations have been conducted on the Temple Mount. Nineteenth and early-twentieth century excavations around

9440-473: The 1980s, biblical minimalists have doubted King Solomon's connection to the temple, sometimes describing him as little more than a hill country chieftain. On the other hand, William G. Dever argues that the biblical description of the Temple itself shows profound similarities with other temples of the time ( Phoenician , Assyrian and Philistine ), suggesting that this cult structure was actually built by Solomon (whom he sees as an actual king of Israel) in

9600-468: The 8th century and "was retroactively attributed to the great ruler of the 10th century." An ostracon (excavated prior to 1981), sometimes referred to as the House of Yahweh ostracon , was discovered at Tel Arad , dated to the 6th century BCE, which mentions a temple that could be the Temple in Jerusalem. This has been challenged by Fabio Porzia and Corinne Bonnet who wrote that the context and location of

9760-460: The Apostle St. Paul could have used Attic speech he would have explained his own Epistles in the identical words of St. John Chrysostom. Other writers combined both these systems, some leaning more to the allegorical and some to the literal sense. The principal contributors were Jerome, besides his translations of Scripture and other works, left many commentaries, in some of which he departed from

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9920-514: The Aramean army go blind , and they do. He then leads them to Samaria, where their eyes are opened. Biblical commentator This is an outline of commentaries and commentators . Discussed are the salient points of Jewish, patristic, medieval, and modern commentaries on the Bible. The article includes discussion of the Targums , Mishna , and Talmuds , which are not regarded as Bible commentaries in

10080-567: The Bible was of the supernatural. There were the two Kimchis, especially David (died 1235) of Narbonne, who was a celebrated grammarian, lexicographer, and commentator inclined to the literal sense. He was followed by Nachmanides of Catalonia (died 1270), a doctor of medicine who wrote commentaries of a cabbalistic tendency; Immanuel of Rome (born 1270); and the Karaites Aaron ben Joseph (1294), and Aaron ben Elias (fourteenth century). Isaac Abarbanel (born Lisbon , 1437; died Venice , 1508)

10240-678: The Catholic Schoolmen. Solomon ben Isaac , called Rashi (born 1040), wrote very popular explanations of the Talmud and the Bible. Tobiah ben Eliezer , a Romaniote scholar and paytan in 11th century Kastoria ( Greece ), wrote the Leḳaḥ Ṭov or Pesiḳta Zuṭarta , a midrashic commentary on the Pentateuch and the Five Megillot . Abraham Ibn Ezra of Toledo (died 1168) had a good knowledge of Semitic languages and wrote learned commentaries on

10400-593: The Hellenistic Jews, and had great influence on Origen of Alexandria and other Alexandrian Christian writers. Frederic Farrar , in his Life of Christ , says that it has been suggested that when Christ visited the Temple , at twelve years of age, there may have been present among the doctors Jonathan ben Uzziel , once thought to be the author of the Yonathan Targum , and the venerable teachers Hillel and Shammai ,

10560-531: The Holy Place overlaid with gold; also, a veil of tekhelet (blue), purple , and crimson and fine linen . It had no windows and was considered the dwelling-place of the "name" of God. The Holy of Holies was prepared to receive and house the Ark; and when the Temple was dedicated, the Ark, containing the original tablets of the Ten Commandments , was placed beneath the cherubim. Chambers were built around

10720-565: The Holy of Holies. The walls of the sanctuary were lined with cedar, on which were carved figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers that were overlaid with gold ( 1 Kings 6:29–30 ). Chains of gold further marked it off from the Holy of Holies. The floor of the Temple was of fir overlaid with gold. The doorposts, of olivewood, supported folding doors of fir. The doors of the Holy of Holies were of olivewood. On both sets of doors were carved cherubim, palm trees, and flowers, all being overlaid with gold ( 1 Kings 6:15 et seq.) This main building

10880-413: The Israelites are overwhelmed by great wrath and withdraw. Elisha meets a widow whose creditors are threatening to take her two sons into slavery as payment. When he finds out the only other thing she has is a small jar of olive oil, he tells her to go and ask all her neighbours for jars. He tells her to pour oil into the jars, and it holds out until every jar is filled. Elisha finally tells her to sell

11040-483: The Israelites' transition from either polytheism or monolatrism (as seen in Yahwism ) to firm Jewish monotheism . Previously, many scholars accepted the biblical narrative of the First Temple's construction by Solomon as authentic. During the 1980s, skeptical approaches to the biblical text as well as the archaeological record led some scholars to doubt whether there was any Temple in Jerusalem constructed as early as

11200-500: The Jordan, where fifty prophets are. Elijah strikes the water with his cloak, the water divides, and the pair cross over. Elijah asks what Elisha wants when he is gone, and Elisha asks for a double portion of his spirit, which Elijah says will be given to him if he watches him go. Suddenly, a fiery horse-drawn chariot takes Elijah and he ascends to heaven in a whirlwind. After mourning, Elisha picks up Elijah's cloak and himself uses it to part

11360-491: The Jordan. This leads the other prophets to recognise him as Elijah's successor, and offer to look for Elijah, an offer which Elisha refuses. They persist but, naturally, are unable to find him. As Elisha's first task, he throws salt into a spring in Jericho, resolving the locals' water problem by purifying the water. When Elisha leaves for Bethel, some boys start jeering him on account of his baldness. Bears come and maul them. Joram

11520-819: The Mishna (in Hebrew), in sixty-three tractates, and an explanation of the same ( Gemara ), ten or twelve times as long. The explanatory portion of the Jerusalem Talmud is written in NeoWestern Aramaic and that of the Babylonian Talmud in Eastern Aramaic , which is closely allied to Syriac or Mandaic . The passages in the Gemara containing additional Mishna are, however, given in New Hebrew. Only thirty-nine tractates of

11680-577: The Mishna have Gemara. The Talmud, then, consists of the Mishna (traditions from 450 BC till 200 AD), together with a commentary thereon, Gemara, the latter being composed about 200-500 AD. Next to the Bible the Babylonian Talmud is the great religious book of orthodox Jews, though the Palestinian Talmud is more highly prized by modern scholars. From the year 500 till the Middle Ages the rabbis (geonim) in Babylonia and elsewhere were engaged in commenting on

11840-533: The Old Testament. He was the first to maintain that Isaiah contains the work of two prophets. Moses Maimonides (died 1204), the greatest Jewish scholar of the Middle Ages, of whom his coreligionists said that "from Moses to Moses there was none like Moses", wrote his "Guide to the Perplexed", which was read by St. Thomas . He was a great admirer of Aristotle, who was to him the representative of natural knowledge as

12000-520: The Pentateuch. As no part of it was written down, it was preserved by constant repetition (Mishna). Upon the destruction of Jerusalem, several rabbis, learned in this Law, settled at Jamnia , near the sea, 28 miles (45 km) west of Jerusalem. Jamnia became the headquarters of Jewish learning until AD 135 , due to the Third Jewish Revolt . Then schools were opened at Sepphoris and Tiberias to

12160-650: The Queen gifts and she returns to her country. Solomon by now has 666 talents of gold, and decides to forge shields and cups. He also maintains trading relations with Hiram, from whose country he receives many exotic goods. Overall, Israel becomes a net exporter of golden goods. Solomon amasses 700 wives and 300 concubines, many from foreign countries, including from countries God told the Israelites not to intermarry with. Solomon begins to adopt elements from their religions, and builds shrines in Jerusalem to foreign deities. God informs Solomon that because he has broken his commandments,

12320-493: The Siege of Gibbethon , a Philistine city. He then proceeds to kill Jeroboam's whole family, fulfilling the prophecy of Ahijah the prophet. However, Baasha commits the same sins as Jeroboam. God therefore informs the prophet Jehu that he will also end the House of Baasha . Baasha dies and is succeeded by his son Elah , who soon falls victim to a plot led by his charioteer Zimri . Zimri becomes king after Elah's killing, and fulfills

12480-518: The Talmud and reconciling it with the Bible. A list of such commentaries is given in The Jewish Encyclopedia . Simultaneously with the Mishna and Talmud there grew up a number of Midrashim , or commentaries on the Bible. Some of these were legalistic, like the halakhic sections of the Talmud, but the most important were of an edifying, homiletic character ( Midrash Aggadah ). These latter, although chronologically later, are important for

12640-526: The Temple Mount did not identify "even a trace" of the complex. The House of Yahweh ostracon , dated to the 6th century BCE, may refer to the First Temple. Two 21st century findings from the Israelite period in present-day Israel have been found bearing resemblance to Solomon's Temple as it is described in the Hebrew Bible: a shrine model from the early half of the 10th century BCE in Khirbet Qeiyafa ; and

12800-403: The Temple is given in 1 Kings (chapters 5–9) and 2 Chronicles (chapters 2–7). Hiram agrees to Solomon's request to supply him with cedar and cypress trees for the construction of the Temple. He tells Solomon that he will send the trees by sea: "I will make them into rafts to go by the sea to the place that you indicate. I will have them broken up there for you to take away." In return for

12960-531: The Temple on the southern, western and northern sides ( 1 Kings 6:5–10 ). These formed a part of the building and were used for storage. They were probably one story high at first; two more may have been added later. According to the Bible, two courts surrounded the Temple. The Inner Court (1 Kings 6:36), or Court of the Priests (2 Chr. 4:9), was separated from the space beyond by a wall of three courses of hewn stone, surmounted by cedar beams (1 Kings 6:36). It contained

13120-484: The Temple was destroyed on Tisha B'Av , the 9th day of Av (Hebrew calendar), the same date of the destruction of the Second Temple . Rabbinic sources state that the First Temple stood for 410 years and, based on the 2nd-century work Seder Olam Rabbah , place construction in 832 BCE and destruction in 422 BCE (3338 AM ), 165 years later than secular estimates . The Jewish historian Josephus says; "the temple

13280-626: The allegorical interpretation to the utmost extreme. In spite of this, however, his writings were of great value, and with the exception of St. Augustine, no writer of ancient times had such influence. The writers of the Antiochene School disliked the allegorical method, and sought almost exclusively the literal, primary, or historical sense of Holy Scripture. The principal writers of this school were The great representatives of this school were Diodorus, Theodore of Mopsuestia, and St. John Chrysostom. Diodorus, who died Bishop of Tarsus (394), followed

13440-571: The arrival of Jeroboam's wife. Ahijah prophesies the end of the House of Jeroboam , beginning with the death of Abijah, who will be the only member of the royal house to be buried. He prophesies that a usurper king will arise who will accomplish this. Jeroboam dies, and is succeeded by his son Nadab . Meanwhile, in the Kingdom of Judah , the people set up high places, sacred stones and Asherah poles to foreign gods, and even allow male temple prostitution . The pharaoh Shishak sacks Jerusalem and takes all

13600-418: The biblical accounts which place the temple in the 10th century and the historical considerations which tend towards the 8th and 7th centuries." They suggest that Solomon's temple corresponds more with the 8th-7th century temple architectural models associated with Aram or Assyria than with anything associated with temple architecture from the 10th century. They suggest that the first temple most likely dates to

13760-429: The biblical narrative, Solomon's Temple was plundered several times. In the fifth year of Rehoboam 's reign (commonly dated to 926 BCE), Egyptian pharaoh Shishak (positively identified with Shoshenq I ) took away treasures of the Temple and the king's house, as well as shields of gold that Solomon had made; Rehoboam replaced them with brass ones ( 1 Kings 14:25 ; 2 Chronicles 12:1–12 ). A century later, Jehoash, king of

13920-571: The bodies of the priests. The fact that it was a washbasin that was too large to enter from above lends to the idea that water would likely have flowed from it down into a subcontainer beneath. The water was originally supplied by the Gibeonites but was afterwards brought by a conduit from Solomon's Pools . The molten sea was made of brass or bronze that which Solomon had taken from the captured cities of Hadadezer ben Rehob , king of Zobah ( 1 Chronicles 18:8 ). Ahaz later removed this laver from

14080-447: The books of the Old and the New Testament. When St. Thomas Aquinas was asked by one of his brethren whether he would not like to be the owner of Paris , so that he could dispose of it to the King of France and with the proceeds promote the good works of his order, he answered that he would prefer to be the possessor of Chrysostom's Super Matthæum . St. Isidore of Pelusium said of him that if

14240-485: The city walls in 587/6 BCE. The city finally fell to his army in July 586/5 BCE. A month later, Nebuzaradan , commander of Nebuchadnezzar's guard, was sent to burn and demolish the city. According to the Bible, "he set fire to the Temple of Yahweh , the royal palace and all the houses of Jerusalem" ( 2 Kings 25:9 ). Everything worth plundering was then removed and taken to Babylon ( 2 Kings 25:13–17 ). Jewish tradition holds that

14400-426: The cloud as "[proof] that his pious work was accepted": "The Lord has said that he would dwell in thick darkness. I have built you an exalted house, a place for you to dwell in forever." The allusion is to Leviticus 16:2 : The Lord said to Moses : Tell your brother Aaron not to come just at any time into the sanctuary inside the curtain before the mercy seat that is upon the ark, or he will die; for I appear in

14560-454: The cloud upon the mercy seat. The Pulpit Commentary notes that "Solomon had thus every warrant for connecting a theophany with the thick dark cloud". Solomon then led the whole assembly of Israel in prayer , noting that the construction on the temple represented a fulfilment of God's promise to David , dedicating the temple as a place of prayer and reconciliation for the people of Israel and for foreigners living in Israel, and highlighting

14720-499: The condition that Solomon is righteous like his father David. Solomon returns to Jerusalem and holds a feast for his servants in front of the Ark of the Covenant . After the Judgment of Solomon amazes the Israelites, he appoints a cabinet and reorganizes the governance of Israel at a local level. The nation of Israel prospers and Solomon's provisions increase. Over a period of seven years, Solomon works to fulfill David's vow of building

14880-502: The corroborative light which they throw on the language of the New Testament. The Gospel of John is seen to be steeped in early Jewish phraseology, and the words of Psalm 109 LXX Hebrew Bible 110], "The Lord said to my Lord", etc. are in one place applied to the Messiah , as they are in Gospel of Matthew 22:44 (referenced from Psalm 110:1), though Rashi , following the rabbis, interpreted

15040-445: The cult objects of the sun and Asherah were taken out of the temple and the practice of sacred prostitution, and the worship of Baal and the hosts of heaven were stopped. A korban was a kosher animal sacrifice, such as a bull , sheep , goat , or a dove that underwent shechita (Jewish ritual slaughter). Sacrifices could also consist of grain , meal , wine , or incense . Offerings were often cooked and most of it eaten by

15200-459: The death of King David to the release of Jehoiachin from imprisonment in Babylon—a period of some 400 years ( c.  960  – c.  560 BC ). Scholars tend to treat the books as consisting of a first edition from the late 7th century BC and of a second and final edition from the mid-6th century BC. The Jerusalem Bible divides the two Books of Kings into eight sections: David

15360-446: The discovery of a 9th century BCE temple at Motza , a secondary administrative site in the Kingdom of Judah , implies that there must have been a central temple in the kingdom’s capital. Fabio Porzia and Corinne Bonnet , reflecting on the archaeological parallels between the way Solomon's temple is described and comparable examples of similar temples from around the ancient Near East, demur and conclude that "a gap [...] exists between

15520-621: The entire kingdom except one tribe will be taken away from his son. At the same time, Solomon begins to amass enemies. A young prince named Hadad who managed to escape Joab's attempted genocide of the Edomites, hears Joab and David are dead, and returns to Edom to lead his people. Meanwhile, to the north, the Syrian king Rezon , whose Zobahite army was defeated by David, allies himself with Hadad and causes havoc for Israel from his base in Damascus . On

15680-402: The excavators, Israeli archaeologist Yosef Garfinkel , suggested that the style and the decoration of these cultic objects are very similar to the biblical description of some features of Solomon's Temple. Archeologists categorize the biblical description of Solomon's Temple as a langbau building. That is, a rectangular building that is longer than it is wide. It is furthermore classified as

15840-515: The explanation was inserted between the lines of the Vulgate. Hugh of Saint-Cher (Hugo de Sancto Caro), thirteenth century), besides his pioneer Biblical concordance , composed a short commentary on the whole of the Scriptures, explaining the literal, allegorical, analogical, and moral sense of the text. His work was called Postillæ , i. e. post illa ( verba textus ), because the explanation followed

16000-453: The fall of Constantinople, the Christian and anti-Christian Renaissance, the invention of printing, the controversial excitement caused by the rise of Protestantism, and the publication of polyglot Bibles by Cardinal Ximenes and others, gave renewed interest in the study of the Bible among Catholic scholars. Controversy showed them the necessity of devoting more attention to the literal meaning of

16160-506: The famine is over. Soon, the widow's son becomes ill and dies. At the widow's insistence, Elijah raises him from the dead. Three years later, God tells Elijah to return to Ahab because the drought is coming to an end. On the way, Elijah meets his administrator Obadiah , who was hiding prophets during Jezebel's persecutions, and asks him to tell Ahab of his arrival. Seeking to end the worship of Baal for good, Elijah tells Ahab to invite four hundred priests of Baal and four hundred of Asherah to

16320-503: The first companions of Ignatius Loyola , and the pope's theologian at the Council of Trent, was a distinguished Hebrew scholar and voluminous commentator. Bellarmine , one of the first Christians to write a Hebrew grammar, composed a valuable commentary on the Psalms , giving an exposition of the Hebrew, Septuagint, and Vulgate texts. It was published as part of Cornelius a Lapide 's commentary on

16480-426: The five candlesticks on each side of the altar. The candle–tongs, basins, snuffers, firepans, and even the hinges of the doors were also gold. The Holy of Holies , also called the "Inner House", was 20 cubits in length, breadth, and height. The usual explanation for the discrepancy between its height and the 30-cubit height of the temple is that its floor was elevated, like the cella of other ancient temples. It

16640-653: The full situation to David. David reaffirms his promise that Solomon will be king after him and arranges for him to be anointed at the Gihon Spring . The anointing is performed by Zadok the priest. Following this, the population of Jerusalem proclaims Solomon king. This is heard by Adonijah and his fellow feasters, but they do not know what is happening until Abiathar's son Jonathan arrives and informs them. With Solomon officially enthroned, Adonijah fears for his life and claims sanctuary ; Solomon decides to spare him unless he does something evil. David advises his son on how to be

16800-450: The greatest Karaite commentator of the tenth century; and Judah Hadassi (died 1160). Saadiah of Fayûm (died 942), the most powerful writer against the Karaites, translated the Bible into Arabic and added notes. Besides commentaries on the Bible, Saadiah wrote a systematic treatise bringing revealed religion into harmony with Greek philosophy. He thus became the forerunner of Maimonides and

16960-504: The handers-on of the Mishna . The Targums (the most famous of which is that on the Pentateuch erroneously attributed to Onkelos, a misnomer for Aquila , according to Abrahams) were the only approach to anything like a commentary on the Bible before the time of Christ. They were interpretative translations or paraphrases from Hebrew into Aramaic for the use of the synagogues when, after the Exile ,

17120-572: The home front, Jeroboam , who supervised the building of Solomon's palace terraces and the reconstruction of the city walls, encounters the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite on the road out of Jerusalem. Ahijah tears his cloak into twelve parts and gives ten of them to Jeroboam, saying that Jeroboam will rule over ten tribes of Israel upon Solomon's death as punishment for Solomon's idol worship. In response, Solomon tries to kill Jeroboam, but he flees to Egypt. Solomon dies after having reigned for forty years and

17280-451: The house of Yahweh, and in the treasures of the king's house, and sent it for a present to the King of Assyria" ( 2 Kings 16:8 ). At another critical juncture, Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors and doorsteps of the temple he himself had overlaid, and gave it to king Sennacherib ( 2 Kings 18:15–16 ). 2 Kings 12:1–17 and 2 Chronicles 24:1–14 recount that King Joash and the priests of

17440-521: The king to travel in an attempt to have his leprosy cured. He travels first to the king of Israel, but is eventually called by Elisha, who sends a messenger to tell him to wash seven times in the Jordan. He does what Elisha told him to and his leprosy is cured. Naaman offers Elisha a gift of thanks, but Elisha refuses. Naaman contents himself with taking earth back to Damascus in order to build an altar to God and asking God's forgiveness for when he has to participate in Aramean religious rituals when accompanying

17600-412: The king. As Naaman is leaving Gehazi catches up with him and lies about prophets arriving so that at least he can get a gift. As punishment for this, Elisha curses him to become leprous. Several other prophets begin complaining that their meeting place with Elisha is too small, so he agrees to allow them to build a new one on the banks of the Jordan. During the building, someone's borrowed axehead falls in

17760-468: The literal meaning of the text. At times he did not always indicate when he was quoting from different authors, which according to Richard Simon accounts for his apparent discrepancies. The medieval writers were content to draw from the rich treasures left them by their predecessors. Their commentaries consisted, for the most part, of passages from the Church Fathers, which they connected together as in

17920-407: The literal to the exclusion of the mystical or allegorical sense. Theodore was born at Antioch, in 347, became Bishop of Mopsuestia, and died in the communion of the Church, 429. He was a powerful thinker, but an obscure and prolix writer. He felt intense dislike for the mystical sense, and explained the Scriptures in an extremely literal and almost rationalistic manner. His pupil, Nestorius , became

18080-400: The lumber, Solomon sends him wheat and oil. Solomon also brings over a skilled craftsman from Tyre, also called Hiram (or Huram-abi ), who oversees the construction of the Temple. Stonemasons from Gebal ( Byblos ) cut stones for the Temple. After the Temple and palace (taking an additional 13 years) is completed, Solomon hands over twenty cities in the northwestern Galilee near Tyre as

18240-533: The modern sense of the word, but which provide the foundation for later commentary. With the exception of these classical Jewish works, this article focuses on Christian Biblical commentaries; for more on Jewish Biblical commentaries, see Jewish commentaries on the Bible . Philo tried to reconcile the Jewish Scriptures with Greek philosophy , and for this purpose he made extensive use of the allegorical method of interpretation . He taught that many passages of

18400-401: The new king of Aram, raises an army and sends messengers demanding all Ahab's gold and silver, and the best of his wives and children. While agreeing to this demand, after consulting his advisors he decides not to accept a follow-up demand requesting anything else of value in his palace or his officials' houses. In response to this situation, Ben-Hadad attacks Samaria. At this point, Ahab receives

18560-655: The north, but the prophet Shemaiah prevents the war. Back in Shechem, Jeroboam becomes worried about the possible return of his tribes to loyalty to the House of David, and decides the best way to prevent this is to stop them worshipping the God of Israel , since he considers the point at which they are most likely to defect to be when they travel to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices. To this end, he sets up golden calves at altars at Bethel and Dan and appoints his own priests and festivals. One day,

18720-502: The offeror, with parts given to the Kohen priests and small parts burned on the altar of the Temple in Jerusalem . Only in special cases was all of the offering given only to God, such as in the case of the scapegoat . Under Josiah, sacrifices were centralized at Solomon's temple and other places of sacrifice were abolished. The temple became a major slaughtering center and a major part of Jerusalem's economy. Most scholars today agree that

18880-404: The oil, pay the creditors and live off the rest. He then moves on to Shunem , where a woman invites him to eat and soon decides to build a room for use whenever he passes through. His servant Gehazi informs him that she has no son, so Elisha tells her that she will have a child within a year, as payment for her kindness. One day, the child is helping his father's reapers when he complains of

19040-529: The oxen and placed it on a stone pavement ( 2 Kings 16:17 ). It was destroyed by the Neo-Babylonian Empire ( 2 Kings 25:13 ). Also outside the temple were 10 lavers, each of which held "forty baths" (1 Kings 7:38), resting on portable holders made of bronze, provided with wheels, and ornamented with figures of lions, cherubim , and palm-trees. The author of the books of the Kings describes their minute details with great interest (1 Kings 7:27–37). Josephus reported that

19200-508: The people had lost the knowledge of Hebrew. It is doubtful whether any of them were committed to writing before the Christian Era. They are important as indicating the character of the Hebrew text used. Shlomo Yitzchaki (1040–1105), more commonly known as Rashi ( RA bbi SH lomo I tzhaki), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud and commentary on

19360-436: The pillars supported a roof over the porch. The porch led to the heikal , main chamber, or sanctuary. It measured 40 cubits in length, 20 cubits in width, and 30 cubits in height and contained a candelabrum, a table and a gold-covered altar used for offerings. In the sanctuary, loaves of Showbread were left as an offering to God. At the far end of the sanctuary there was a wooden door, guarded by two cherubim, leading to

19520-417: The presence of his brothers and the royal officials, but does not invite Nathan the prophet ; Benanaiah , captain of the king's bodyguard, or the bodyguard itself; or even his own brother Solomon . Nathan comes to Bathsheba , Solomon's mother, and informs her what is going on. She goes to David and reminds him that he said Solomon would be his successor. As she is speaking to him, Nathan enters and explains

19680-423: The prophecy of Jehu; however, Zimri's army now proclaims its commander Omri as king and returns to Tirzah to lay siege to it. Seeing he is losing, Zimri sets fire to the palace. The start of Omri's reign faces factionalism, with half his subjects supporting Tibni , son of Gibnath as king. He buys the hill of Shemer, upon which he builds the city of Samaria . However, he is the worst king yet. When he dies, he

19840-432: The reason they lost was because God lives in the hills, leading them to attack Aphek , a city on the plains, the following spring. In response to this, God agrees to give the Israelites another victory to demonstrate his omnipresence. After a disastrous first day, Ben-Hadad sends messengers to Ahab, begging him to spare him. Ahab sends for Ben-Hadad, who offers to return the land his father took from Israel. The two kings sign

20000-464: The remaining Canaanites into slavery. Solomon builds a navy. The Queen of Sheba hears of Solomon's wisdom and travels to Jerusalem to meet him. Upon arriving, she praises him, saying she did not fully believe the stories about Solomon until she came to see him. The Queen gives Solomon 120 talents and a large amount of spices and precious stones, prompting Hiram to send a large amount of valuable wood and precious stones in response. Solomon also gives

20160-459: The remaining male temple prostitutes and there is now a provincial governor rather than a king in Edom. He has built a merchant navy, but it was wrecked at Ezion-Geber . Ahaziah suggests they join forces in this regard, but Jehoshaphat refuses. He dies and is succeeded by his son Jehoram . Ahaziah does evil and allows the idol worship which flourished under his father to continue. Ahaziah falls through

20320-408: The river but miraculously floats. By this point, Aram is back at war with Israel. Elisha warns the king of Israel where the Arameans are camped several times, frustrating the king of Aram, who seeks him out. One morning, Elisha wakes up to find Dothan , the city where he is staying, surrounded by Arameans. His servant is frightened, until Elisha shows him the angels protecting them. He then prays that

20480-421: The royal and Temple treasures, including Solomon's gold shields, prompting Rehoboam to make bronze ones to replace them. Rehoboam dies and is succeeded by his son Abijah , a grandson of Absalom . Abijah is as bad as his father, but God continues to protect him and his family because of the promise He made to David. When Abijah dies, he is succeeded by his son Asa . Asa, in contrast to his father and grandfather,

20640-499: The sacrifice. Elijah orders the priests of Baal be killed, and informs Ahab of the coming rain. Climbing to the top of the mountain, Elijah sends his servant to look out to sea. After returning seven times, the servant eventually sees a small cloud rising far out at sea. Elijah tells the servant to inform Ahab to return to Jezreel in his chariot, while Elijah manages to run ahead of him. When she hears what has happened, Jezebel threatens to kill Elijah, causing him to run for his life. In

20800-510: The sanctuary, and only did so on Yom Kippur , carrying the blood of a sacrificial lamb and burning incense . In addition to serving as a religious building for worship, the First Temple also functioned as a place of assembly for the Israelites . The First Temple's destruction and the subsequent Babylonian captivity were both events that were seen as a fulfillment of biblical prophecies and thus affected Judaic religious beliefs , precipitating

20960-532: The story of the Ark was written independently and then incorporated into the main biblical narrative just before the exile into Babylon . Biblical scholar Thomas Römer speculates that the Ark may have contained statues of Yahweh and Asherah, and that it could have remained in Kiriath Jearim for much longer, possibly until shortly before the Babylonian conquest. During the Deuteronomic reform of King Josiah ,

21120-672: The subject of the Nestorian controversy; the Nestorians translated his books into Syriac and regarded Theodore as their great "Doctor". This made Catholics suspicious of his writings, which were finally condemned after the famous controversy on The Three Chapters . Theodore's commentary on St. John's Gospel , in Syriac, was published, with a Latin translation, by a Catholic scholar, Dr. Chabot. St. John Chrysostom, priest of Antioch, became Patriarch of Constantinople in 398. He left homilies on most of

21280-520: The sun ( Ezekiel 8:16 ). Some Bible scholars, such as Margaret Barker , say that these solar elements indicate a solar cult . They may reflect an earlier Jebusite worship of Zedek or possibly a solarized Yahwism. According to the Tanakh, the Temple housed the Ark of the Covenant . It says the Ark contained the Ten Commandments and was moved from Kiriath Jearim to Jerusalem by David before being moved into Solomon's temple. A common view among scholars

21440-532: The tabernacle, Solomon instructs Benaiah to kill him there. He then replaces Joab with Benaiah and Abiathar with Zadok. Solomon then instructs Shimei ben Gera , the Benjaminite who cursed David as he was fleeing from Absalom, to move to Jerusalem and not to leave. One day, two of Shimei's slaves run away to Gath and Shimei pursues them. When he returns to Jerusalem, Solomon has him put to death for leaving Jerusalem. Solomon makes an alliance with Egypt and marries

21600-522: The temple organised a restoration programme funded from popular donations. The temple was restored to its original condition and further reinforced. According to the Bible, the Temple was plundered by King Nebuchadnezzar II of the Neo-Babylonian Empire when the Babylonians attacked Jerusalem during the brief reign of Jehoiachin c. 598 BCE ( 2 Kings 24:13 ). A decade later, Nebuchadnezzar again besieged Jerusalem and after 30 months finally breached

21760-400: The temple was a house for the temple prostitutes ( 2 Kings 23:7 ) who performed sacred prostitution at the temple. It is unclear whether the prostitutes included both male and female or just male prostitutes. According to the majority of biblical scholars, Asherah was Yahweh's consort, and she was worshipped alongside Yahweh. This is disputed by a significant minority, who maintain that

21920-469: The temple, despite its extensive dimensions, was not big enough for the offerings being made that day. The celebration lasted eight days and was attended by "very great assembly [gathered] from the entrance of Hamath to the Brook of Egypt ". The subsequent feast of Tabernacles extended the whole celebration to 14 days, before the people were "sent away to their homes". After the dedication, Solomon hears in

22080-522: The text, according to the wise principle laid down by St. Thomas in the beginning of his "Summa Theologica". It was then that the Jesuits, founded in 1534, stepped into the front rank to counter the attacks on the Catholic Church. The Ratio Studiorum of the Jesuits made it incumbent on their professors of Scripture to acquire a mastery of Greek, Hebrew, and other Semitic languages. Alfonso Salmeron , one of

22240-530: The top of Mount Carmel . There, he upbraids the people for their duplicity, telling them to choose either worship of the God of Israel or of Baal. He then proposes a challenge: he and the priests will each prepare a sacrifice, and then call upon their respective gods to send fire to burn it. When the priests attempt to call down fire, none comes. On the other hand, despite having the Israelites pour much water over his altar, when Elijah prays for fire God sends it, accepting

22400-574: The trees sent as rafts were sent to the city of Joppa on the Mediterranean coast, and in return for the lumber supplied, Solomon, in addition to the wheat and oil, sent wine to Hiram. 1 Kings 8:1–9 and 2 Chronicles 5:2–10 record that in the seventh month of the year, at the feast of Tabernacles , the priests and the Levites brought the Ark of the Covenant from the City of David and placed it inside

22560-643: The vessels in the Temple were composed of orichalcum covered in gold in Antiquities of the Jews . During the United Monarchy the Temple was dedicated to Yahweh , the God of Israel. From the reign of King Manasseh of Judah until King Josiah , Baal and " the host of heaven " were also worshipped there. Until the reforms of Josiah, there was also a statue for the goddess Asherah ( 2 Kings 23:6 ) and priestesses wove ritual textiles for her ( 2 Kings 23:7 ). Next to

22720-478: The vineyard and that his descendants and Jezebel will be wiped out. This has marked the peak of Ahab's evilness, and indeed the evilness of any king of Israel. Ahab repents, so God allows the disaster Elijah prophesied to come during the reign of his son instead. Three years pass with peace between Aram and Israel. Aram still possesses Ramoth-Gilead and, when Jehoshaphat agrees for the Judahite army to accompany him on

22880-683: The west of the Sea of Galilee . The rabbis comforted their countrymen by teaching that the study of the Law (Oral as well as Written) took the place of the sacrifices. They devoted their energies to arranging the Unwritten Torah, or Law. One of the most successful at this was Rabbi Akiba who took part in the Third Jewish Revolt of Bar Kochba against the Romans , and lost his life (135). The work of systematization

23040-540: The whole Bible. Cornelius a Lapide, S. J. (born 1566), was a native of the Low Countries, and was well versed in Greek and Hebrew. During forty years he devoted himself to teaching and to the composition of his great work, which has been highly praised by Protestants as well as Catholics. Juan Maldonato , a Spanish Jesuit, born 1584, wrote commentaries on Isaias, Baruch, Ezechiel, Daniel, Psalms, Proverbs, Canticles (Song of Solomon), and Ecclesiastes. His best work, however,

23200-534: The whole of the Bible by the Jesuit Fathers, Karl Cornely , Joseph Knabenbauer , and Franz Hummelauer . The writings of Marie-Joseph Lagrange (Les Juges), Albert Condamin (Isaïe), Theodore Calmes (Saint Jean), Albin van Hoonacker (Les Douze Petits Prophètes). For a list of Catholic publications on the Scripture, the reader may be referred to the "Revue biblique", edited by Lagrange (Jerusalem and Paris), and

23360-404: The wilderness near Beersheba , Elijah, fed up, asks God to kill him. Instead, an angel supplies him with food, which gives him the strength to continue a further forty days until he reaches Mount Horeb , where he falls asleep in a cave. When Elijah wakes up, God tells him He is about to pass by. An earthquake occurs and a fire starts, but neither contain God. Instead, God appears in the form of

23520-649: The words in the sense of applying them to Abraham . Anan ben David , a prominent Babylonian Jew in the eighth century, rejected Rabbinism for the written Old Testament and became the founder of the sect known a Karaites (a word indicating their preference for the written Bible). This schism produced great energy and ability on both sides. The principal Karaite Bible commentators were Nahavendi (ninth century); Abu al-Faraj Harun (ninth century), exegete and Hebrew grammarian; Solomon ben Yerucham (tenth century); Sahal ben Mazliach (died 950), Hebrew grammarian and lexicographer; Joseph al-Bazir (died 930); Japhet ben Ali ,

23680-502: The words of the text. Thomas Aquinas (thirteenth century) left commentaries on Job, Psalms, Isaiah, Epistles of St. Paul, and was the author of the well-known Catena Aurea on the Gospels. This consists of quotations from over eighty Church Fathers . He throws much light on the literal sense and is most happy in illustrating difficult points by parallel passages from other parts of the Bible. Nicholas de Lyra (thirteenth century), joined

23840-516: Was a closed room, a roofed entranceway, or an open courtyard. Thus, it is not known whether the pillars were freestanding or structural elements built into the porch. If they were built into the porch, it could indicate that the design was influenced by similar temples in Syria or even Turkey, home to the ancient Hittite Empire . While most reconstructions of the Temple have the pillars freestanding, Yosef Garfinkel and Madeleine Mumcuoglu finds it likely that

24000-523: Was a statesman and scholar. None of his predecessors came so near the modern ideal of a commentator as he did. He prefixed general introductions to each book, and was the first Jew to make extensive use of Christian commentaries. Elias Levita (died 1549) and Azarias de Rossi (died 1577) have also to be mentioned. Moses Mendelssohn of Berlin (died 1786), a friend of Lessing , translated the Pentateuch into German. His commentaries (in Hebrew) are close, learned, critical, and acute. He had much influence, and

24160-411: Was between the outer altar, where most sacrifices were performed, and inside at the far end was the entry to the Holy of Holies, originally containing the Ark of the Covenant. The main hekhal contained a number of sacred ritual objects including the seven-branched candlestick , a golden Altar of Incense , and the table of the showbread . According to 1 Kings 7:48 these tables were of gold, as were also

24320-750: Was burnt four hundred and seventy years, six months, and ten days after it was built". Solomon's Temple was subsequently replaced with the Second Temple in 515 BCE, following Jewish return from exile . The description of Solomon's Temple given in I Kings and II Chronicles is remarkably detailed, but attempts to reconstruct it have met many difficulties. The description includes various technical terms that have lost their original meaning to time. Archaeological studies have provided ancient Near Eastern counterparts for architectural features, furnishings and decorative motifs. Contemporary Israeli archaeologist Finkelstein considered Solomon's Temple to be built according to Phoenician design, and its description

24480-542: Was by a Gnostic named Heracleon in the 170s  CE . Most of the patristic commentaries are in the form of homilies, or discourses to the faithful, and range over the whole of Scripture. There are two schools of interpretation, that of Alexandria and that of Antioch. The chief writers of the Alexandrian School were: To these may be added Its chief characteristic was the allegorical method. The 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia considers it to be founded on passages in

24640-666: Was completed and probably committed to writing by the Jewish patriarch at Tiberias , Rabbi Jehudah ha-Nasi "The Prince" (150–210). He was of noble birth, wealthy, learned, and is called by the Jews "Our Master the Saint" or simply Rabbi par excellence. This compilation, called the Mishna, is written in Mishnaic Hebrew and consists of six great divisions or orders, each division containing, on an average, about ten tractates, each tractate being made up of several chapters. The Mishna may be said to be

24800-429: Was floored and wainscotted with cedar of Lebanon , and its walls and floor were overlaid with gold amounting to 600 talents or roughly 20 metric tons. It contained two cherubim of olivewood, each 10 cubits high and each having outspread wings of 10 cubits span, so that, since they stood side by side, the wings touched the wall on either side and met in the center of the room. There was a two-leaved door between it and

24960-508: Was followed by Wessely , Jarosław , Homberg , Euchel , Friedlander , Hertz , Herxheimer , Ludwig Philippson , etc., called " Biurists ", or expositors. The modern liberal school among the Jews is represented by Salomon Munk , Samuel David Luzzato , Leopold Zunz , Geiger, Julius Fürst , etc. Rabbi Pesach Wolicki (born 1970) is a biblical scholar and commentator. His book, Cup of Salvation , also known as Cup of Salvation: A Powerful Journey Through King David's Psalms of Praise , which

25120-458: Was given to exegetical studies by the Council of Vienne which decreed, in 1311, that chairs of Hebrew, Chaldean, and Arabic should be established at Paris, Oxford, Bologna, and Salamanca. Besides the major writers already mentioned the following are some of the principal exegetes, many of them Benedictines, from patristic times till the Council of Trent: The influx of Greek scholars into Italy after

25280-588: Was originally a threshing floor David had purchased from Araunah the Jebusite ( 2 Samuel 24:18–25 ; 2 Chronicles 3:1 ). Schmid and Rupprecht are of the view that the site of the temple used to be a Jebusite shrine that Solomon chose in an attempt to unify the Jebusites and Israelites. According to 1 Kings , the foundation of the Temple is laid in Ziv , the second month of the fourth year of Solomon's reign and construction

25440-618: Was published by the Center for Jewish–Christian Understanding and Cooperation (CJCUC) in 2017, is a devotional biblical commentary on Psalms 113-118 otherwise known as the Hallel . The history of Christian exegesis may be roughly divided into three periods: the Age of the Fathers, the Age of Catenæ and Scholia (seventh to sixteenth century), and the Age of Modern Commentaries (sixteenth to twentieth century). The earliest known commentary on Christian scriptures

25600-554: Was replaced with the Second Temple . Archeologist Israel Finkelstein writes that the exact location of the Temple is unknown. It is believed to have been situated upon the hill that forms the site of the Second Temple and present-day Temple Mount , where the Dome of the Rock is situated. According to the Bible, Solomon's Temple was built on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem, where an angel of God had appeared to David ( 2 Chronicles 3:1 ). The site

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