Temples of the Levant and the Buildings of Solomon

Abstract

The biblical description of Solomon's Temple is discussed with reference to various reconstruction attempts. All the main temple types uncovered in Levantine archaeological sites are classified and reviewed and their relationships to Solomon's buildings discussed. The Phoenician temple at Kition is found to have certain structural similarities with The House of the Forest of Lebanon, but like the other temples classified as three room buildings, broadroom, Levantine broadroom and Egyptian-influenced broadroom, is not related to Solomon's Temple. The longroom temples of Northern Syria on the other hand appear to be the antecedents to Solomon's temple building.