The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1920-05-05
SOLOMON'S TEMPLE

In the Holy Land, between the
beautiful Tyrolean valley and the
valley of Jehoshaphat, rises level
spur or plateau. On this commanding
height are the ruins of the great
Temple of Solomon. This spot is one
of extraordinary interest to the
whole Christian world, for the ia
nous edifice was erected by the an.
cient craftsmen of whom King Solo
mon and the two Kings Hiram were
the first grand masters.
We are all somewhat familiar
with the story of the building of the
temple: David was forbidden to erect
the structure to be dedicated to the
Lord because he had shed so much
blood in his wars. So he had to pre-
pare the way for his successors. Then
came the wise and mighty Solomon,
who planned to erect such monu
ment to his God as had never before
been dreamed Of. For this purpose he
entered into an agreement with
King Hiram whereby the latter fur
nished cedars-the famous cedars of
Lebanon-and killed workmen to
cut them. David had already prepared
''iron for the nails and Jennings;
brass in abundance without weight"
He had also prepared many hewn
stones, and gotten together for this
purpose 100000 talents Of gold and
tbolsand thousand talents of sill
yer. So the young King Solomon had
no lack of resources or material.
Of the original structure we are
told that it was indeed magnificent.
It was inclosed by q massive wall.
The length Of the temple was three
score cubits, the breadth 20 and the
height so. The stone was dressed be-
fore its arrival so that the construc-
ton of the building was as quiet as
possible. The cedar floor was covered
with flanks of fir. The whole interior
including the cedar wainscot, was
covered with gold. No stone was
visible in the interior, and the cedar
was carved with knobs and open
flowers. There was no inner court
for the priests and an inner and out
er temple, called the holy and most
holy places. Within the oracle were
two cherubim, ten cubits in height,
with wings measuring ten cubits from
tip to tip, all overlaid with gold.
Golden vessels and ornaments of all
kinds were in abundance. The roof of
the various parts Of the structure
was supported partly y cedar pillars
and partly by stone columns.
The surface Of the plateau no
where presented level spot of
sufficient area for the temple, so
large plateau was built up with piers
arched over and filled in with stone.
This structure still remains, with a
long, sloping passage TO the temple,
up which it is supposed that the ami
mails were brought from below for
the sacrifice.
Of the rest of the temple the re-
mains are in ruin. The great stones
of the foundation wall lie just where
the builders placed them and still
bear the craft-marks or directions
for placing them. The gates on the
south, west and east are still to be
seen. The south gate has all the
marks of Jewish architecture, but
has been Romanized by four white
marble columns which adorn the
doorway. Inside is. an entrance hall
in the center of which is a column
six feet in diameter and 21 feet high,
with capital finely sculptured in
stone, the entire column being from
single block of limestone.
The eastern gate, called by the
crusaders the Golden Gate, is now
kept walled up through superstition
on the part of the Mohammedans that
the Christians will enter here and
drive them out. The great wall of
the enclosure still remains, as do a
flight of steps in front of the Golden
Gate, although the latter are buried
in rubbish.
NOTICEi SCHOOL ELECTION