Solomon's Temple

Solomon's Temple — the First Temple — was built on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem between roughly 966 and 959 BC, taking seven years to complete. Twice the size of the Tabernacle and constructed from massive limestone blocks shaped at the quarry, its interior was lined with cedar from Lebanon and overlaid with gold; two great pillars, Jachin and Boaz, stood at its porch. Tens of thousands of labourers worked under Hiram of Tyre's craftsmen, and the finished sanctuary housed the Ark of the Covenant in the Most Holy Place. At its dedication the glory of the LORD filled the house so thickly that the priests could not stand to minister. The Temple stood as the visible centre of Israel's worship for nearly four centuries until Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon destroyed it in 586 BC, carrying its sacred vessels into exile and leaving the people to long for the day the house of the LORD would be rebuilt.