Mr. Catherwood makes Acra extend so far; but Herod's Palace is usually placed on Bezetha. We know certainly that at the north-west corner of the Temple, was the fortress of Antonia, which protected the Outer Court of the Temple; and that to this it had access by a flight of steps. This fortress served as the residence of the Roman Governor when he came to Jerusalem at the festivals, and it thus became the Prætorium. To enable the Jews to bring their causes before the Governor, without entering the abode of a Gentile, there was, in front of it, a raised pavement called Gabbatha, on which his tribunal was set. At the north-east corner of the Temple wall, was the Pool of Bethesda, where animals were washed that were designed for sacrifices.

9. Description of the TEMPLE according to Josephus.

The foregoing are all the places which are of interest, in connection with the narratives of the Evangelists, either within or without the city, the Temple excepted, with an account of which this survey will be concluded.

The magnificent structure called the Temple, included not only the edifice appropriated to divine worship, with its peculiar courts, but also the surrounding court and porticoes. The whole formed a square which was above half a mile in circuit; and the sides of it faced the north, south, east, and west respectively. This is the statement of Josephus respecting the extent of the Temple; but it is supposed by D'Anville to be much less than the reality. The Mosque on the site of it extends further in length than what Josephus assigns to the outer wall of the Temple: but I see no reason to doubt his authority.*

Josephus was born in the year 37. He was himself a Priest, of the sect of the Pharisees; and he was so early and fully instructed in the Jewish religion, that when he was about fourteen, the Chief Priests, and some of the principal men of the city, came frequently to consult him on the interpretation of the Law; and from nineteen years of age, he began to act in public life. He afterwards went to Rome on behalf of some of his fellow Priests, returning three or four years before the War broke out; and during that visit he received much honour from Poppaa, the Emperor Nero's wife. He saw the whole progress of public affairs, towards the final ruin of his country; and had a large share in the military operations in Galilee.

The platform, on the south at least, probably extended beyond the outer wall; and the Mahommedans appear to have taken the whole of this, for the area of their Mosque. On the east no security was needed, on account of the rock: on the west, Acra was a support to the immense structure: on the north, too, support seems scarcely to have been needed; but on the south, the platform required to be extended, in order to give a foundation.

When the Romans took Jotapata, a fortress about ten miles north of Sepphoris, his life was remarkably preserved; and he was in the camp of Titus during the siege of Jerusalem; as a prisoner, indeed, but with every possible opportunity of knowledge. Altogether, he was eminently qualified to be the historian of his nation, at the period when the awful calamities came upon it which the Rulers and their faction had imprecated upon themselves; and though he takes no notice of the great events recorded by the Evanglists, yet by his records he furnishes an invaluable comment on the prophecy of our Lord respecting the ruin of the nation, and the destruction of the city and Temple of Jerusalem.

It is not an admissible supposition, that such an historian, himself present at the catastrophe which he records, and previously well acquainted with the structure which he describes, should omit to avail himself of the last opportunity to make that description accurate, by actual measurement of what was about to undergo utter destruction. The Romans fully accomplished the prediction of Christ—not one stone shall be left on another'; and to show how completely they laid waste the city, they did not leave off their work of destruction till they had rased even the foundations, and passed a plough over the ruins. Now Josephus was present; and he had every motive as a Jew, and as one well-disposed to please his conquerors, to give a correct account of that which needed no exaggeration to record its magnificence. Titus had seen the whole; and exaggeration by Josephus here, would have lessened his credibility elsewhere: but, on the other hand, it is inconceivable that Josephus would say less than the truth.

The foregoing considerations decide me to keep close to the particulars given respecting the Temple by Josephus, Ant. Jud. xv. xi. 5. Bell. Jud. v. v.; and the plan which has been engraved for this work, is, like that in the second edition of Seaton's map of Palestine, derived from what I constructed for my Introduction to the Geography of the New Testament, first published in 1806.

All round the outer wall, were magnificent porticoes, the roofs of which, adorned with carved cedar, were supported by massy columns, each consisting of one solid piece of white marble. On the north, east, and west sides, the columns were forty-four feet high; and there were three rows; but as one was in the outer wall, these porticoes were double, as Josephus expressly calls them. The whole breadth was forty-four feet; and considering the length, which was above a furlong on each side, the height and beauty of the columns, and the ornaments of the roof, the appearance of

• The measures given in the first edition, had been estimated by taking the cubit at eighteen inches: but it was not less than twenty-one inches.-The measures of the Royal Portico are given by Josephus in feet.

the whole must have been very magnificent, as well as elegantly simple. The portico on the east, there is reason to believe, was called Solomon's Portico; probably because there alone were remains of Solomon's Temple. It is mentioned in John x. 22, and in Acts v. 12; and as there was little passing through that portico, it was peculiarly adapted for the purposes therein referred to. It was also opposite that entrance into the Inner Court which must, from various circumstances, have been most frequented.

Along the south side, was a still more magnificent structure, called the Royal Portico. This had four rows of columns, dividing it into three aisles; and, in arrangement, it much resembled the choir of a cathedral, supposing a side wall of this building to be removed. The outer and inner aisles, were each thirty feet broad, and the middle one was forty-five. The roofs of the two smaller, were fifty feet from the ground, and the middle one rose as high again. The columns of this portico were twenty-seven feet high, and as thick as three men could encircle with arms extended. From the height of the columns compared with that of the roofs, it is evident that there were chambers over the outer and inner aisles, of this portico, and perhaps over the other porticoes also. On this structure, Herod appears to have employed his greatest efforts and expense; and the whole was ornamented with all that Grecian architecture could achieve, under the limits prescribed by the religion of the Jews.

At no great distance from the porticoes was a partition made of stone, of elegant construction, about five feet high, with pillars upon it, at equal intervals, bearing inscriptions which forbade Gentiles, and other persons legally unclean, to go further, on pain of death: from this circumstance, the space between this 'middle wall of partition' and the outer boundary of the Temple, has been called the Court of the Gentiles. Here alone, then, could the devout Gentile worship Jehovah; and if, as was often the case, he brought holocausts to be offered on the altar of the Lord, he might perceive the smoke ascending from them in the air; but the altar itself he never saw he could see no more of what was within the Inner Court, than could be discerned from the Mount of Olives, or through the eastern gate. Now it was in this Court, where alone the Gentiles could worship, that the Chief Priests, sharing without doubt in the profit of the traffic, permitted the venders of animals for sacrifice, and those who gave the shekel of the sanctuary for the Roman or foreign coin, to take their station.

Within the balustrade, all round the inner wall, was a magnificent series of steps, in two flights. This wall inclosed the Inner Court, which, though seventy feet above the pavement of the Outer Court, rose only forty-five above that of the Inner, on account of its greater elevation.

Leading into the Inner Court, there were four gates on the north, and four on the south; each having two doors, the height of which was above fifty feet and the breadth above twenty, all covered with gold and silver. Within each gate, supported on massy columns, were extensive erections like towers, rising to the height of seventy feet, in which were many apartments. On the east, there was a gate of the same size and construction with the rest, but greatly surpassing them, being made of Corinthian brass.

All along the eastern side of the Inner Court, was a portico, under which were placed the chests designed to receive the gifts of the worshipers. It is probable that this is what was termed the Treasury.

In front of this portico was the Court of the Women, where alone the Israelitish women were permitted to worship. The ascent to it was by a flight of steps; and at the top of these, opposite the great front of the Temple, and above the Corinthian gate, was a very magnificent gate, which, it is probable, is what is denominated in the Acts, the Beautiful Gate of the Temple. Its height was above eighty feet, and the breadth of its doors was about seventy; and it was adorned after a more costly manner than the rest, with richer and thicker plates of gold and silver.*

To the Court of the Women succeeded that of the Priests, which was separated from the rest of the Inner Court, in front, and on the sides, by a low wall of elegant structure; and into this the Priests and Levites alone were permitted to enter. Here, to the east of the Temple, stood the Altar of Burnt Offerings, a large massy structure, seventy-five feet in length and breadth, and twenty-two feet high, having an inclined ascent to it from the south. On this altar, two lambs were offered as holocausts, at the morning and at the evening sacrifice. The front of the Temple, properly so called, was a square, one hundred and seventy-five feet each way; but the breadth speedily contracted to one hundred and five feet: the projecting part seems most to correspond with what is called the 'wing of the Temple' in the narrative of the Temptation. A large opening in this front, more than one hundred and twenty feet high by about forty-four broad, entered by a flight of steps, without any doors, led into the Vestibule, which was about twelve feet narrower than the opening, but rose above it thirty-five feet, and extended eighty-seven feet. The front of the Temple and the walls of this Vestibule were covered over with gold; and so were the large folding doors at the end of it, opening into the Holy Place.

• If this view of the Beautiful Gate is correct, my former representation of it was erroneous. It is not easy to realize the whole of the account respecting the eastern gate of Corinthian brass, and this as a separate structure leading from it into the Court of the Women: but the height of the inner gate does not necessarily imply any high separation between the eastern portico and that Court.

q

Before these doors, which were ninety-five feet high and twenty-eight broad, there was a magnificent Babylonian curtain, extending from top to bottom; and above the entrance were golden vines, from which hung clusters of golden grapes five or six feet long.

The Holy Place, which succeeded to the Vestibule, was of the same width; but it was only one hundred and five feet high and seventy long. In this were kept the Golden Candlestick, the Altar of Incense, and the Table of Showbread. And there the Priests performed their daily ministrations.

Beyond this, was the Holy of Holies; of the same breadth as the preceding, but only thirty-five feet long, thus forming a square. This had the full height of the whole building. There were no rooms above it, or on the sides of it; but along the sides of the Vestibule and the Holy Place, were numerous apartments communicating with the Vestibule; and there were some, apparently, over the Holy Place. The Holy of Holies contained nothing, after the Babylonish Captivity; and it was never entered except by the High Priest, and by him only on the day of annual expiation. It was separated from the Holy Place, only by a veil, which, at the awful hour of darkness when our Saviour expired, was rent, without human agency, from top to bottom; indicating that the distinctions of ritual sanctity were now to be abolished. This fearful presage occurred at the very hour of evening sacrifice, when many Priests were ministering within the Temple; and that sanctuary was necessarily beheld by them, which, since it had been consecrated, no Jewish eye had yet seen but the High Priest's. No wonder that we read in the sacred history, Acts vi. 7, 'A great company of the Priests became obedient to the faith'.

The stones of which the Temple was constructed, were of an immense size: according to Josephus, some of them were sixty-six feet long, nine broad, and seven high. These dimensions appear to us almost incredible; but some much larger in bulk, and nearly as long, were measured by Maundrell at Balbeck.

The proportions and form of the Temple would not suit the taste of modern times; but the effect of the whole must have been singularly magnificent. "To strangers, who approached the capital, says the Jewish historian, the Temple appeared, at some distance, like a huge mountain of snow, decorated with gold; for where it was not covered with plates of gold, it was exceedingly white and glistering." The appearance of the great front at sun-rising, when viewed from the Mount of Olives, and still more from the eastern side of the Inner Court, must have been radiant beyond all description. Indeed Josephus says, the effulgence was so strong and dazzling that the eye of the beholder could not bear it.—It was in the