The center of every sacred mystery, the Temple at Jerusalem is the most famous building on earth, even though it has not existed for almost 2000 years and no one knows precisely what it looked like. We join with Michael of “Xai, How Are You” to discuss Solomon’s Temple – both the real historical building as it can be reconstructed from ancient texts and archaeology, and the symbol that has been endlessly appropriated to represent humankind’s relationship to the cosmos, from Jewish mysticism, to Christian theology, to early Islam, to medieval magic, to Renaissance humanism, to the rituals of Freemasonry, to modern Jewish and evangelical fundamentalism.

Suggested further reading: Hamblin & Seely, “Solomon’s Temple: Myth and History”

Image: page of the "Perpignan Bible," France, 1299, depicting ritual objects in the Temple, including the Menorah

My previous lectures on Freemasonry:

https://soundcloud.com/historiansplaining/the-freemasonry-its-origins-its-myths-and-its-rituals

https://soundcloud.com/historiansplaining/freemasonry-its-growth-and-spread-before-1789

Correction: There is archaeological and textual evidence for two Israelite temples in Egypt -- one at Leontopolis in the Nile delta, and one at Elephantine in Upper Egypt.

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