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Solomon's Temple (First Temple)
c. 957–586 BC (traditional dates)· Holy place· Judaism, Christianity & Islam
Debated by scholarsHistorians and scholars disagree.
The temple that, the Bible says, King Solomon built in Jerusalem as the house of Israel's God and home of the Ark of the Covenant.
See it on the World Religions map →What it is
According to 1 Kings, Solomon built the Temple around 957 BC with Phoenician cedar and craftsmen. It had a courtyard altar for sacrifices, a main hall, and an inner room, the Holy of Holies, holding the Ark with the stone tablets. Priests offered daily sacrifices and pilgrims came at festivals. King Josiah, around 622 BC, made it the only legitimate place of sacrifice. Babylon destroyed it in 586 BC.
Why it matters
It made Jerusalem Israel's religious center, and its loss forced the faith to reinvent itself. Its memory shapes Jewish prayer and the deep sacredness of the Temple Mount today.
Sources and history
Known mainly from the Bible. No remains have been excavated, since the Temple Mount cannot be dug; similar temples, as at Ain Dara in Syria, and burn layers from 586 BC support the account.
Questions and debates
Whether Solomon's temple was as grand as described, or a modest royal shrine later expanded, is debated; its exact spot on the Mount is uncertain.
Connections (2)
▸Solomon's Temple (First Temple) stood in JerusalemMostly agreed by scholars
The connection
The Temple sat on a hill just north of David's original city, today's Temple Mount. It made Jerusalem, in Israelite belief, the place where God dwelt and, after Josiah's reform, the only place for sacrifice, turning a royal capital into a holy city.
When and where
Jerusalem, by tradition c. 957–586 BC; built by Solomon according to 1 Kings 6–8.
How do we know?
The Bible locates it, and the later Second Temple stood on the same site. No First Temple ruins have been excavated, because digging on the site, holy to Jews and Muslims, is not permitted.
Questions and debates
Exactly where on the Mount it stood, perhaps under the Dome of the Rock, is unknown, and the question is religiously and politically sensitive.
▸Solomon's Temple (First Temple) was destroyed in Babylonian exile and fall of the First TempleHistorical record
The connection
When Judah rebelled again, Babylon's army besieged Jerusalem for about 18 months. In 586 BC it burned the Temple, tore down the city walls and carried off the Temple's bronze and treasures. The loss of God's house was the defining catastrophe of the exile.
When and where
Jerusalem, summer of 586 BC (some say 587); Nebuchadnezzar's commander Nebuzaradan led the destruction, according to 2 Kings 25.
Historical evidence
Burn layers, arrowheads and collapsed houses in Jerusalem date to this time; Babylonian chronicles confirm the 597 BC capture, though records for 586 are lost; the Bible and Lamentations describe the fall.
Questions and debates
Whether the year was 587 or 586 BC, and what became of the Ark of the Covenant, which vanishes from the record.