Product Description

According to the Hebrew Bible, King Solomon built a Temple to the Lord in Jerusalem on a threshing floor that his father, King David, purchased from Araunah the Jebusite for 50 shekels of silver. "No other building of the ancient world," claims the Anchor Bible Dictionary, "either while it stood in Jerusalem or in the millennia since its final destruction has been the focus of so much attention throughout the ages."

This stunning book, with its 160 illustrations, is a history of the Temple or Temples in Jerusalem from Solomon's time to the present. The book reads like an archaeological excavation, digging deeper and deeper at one site. Starting with a discussion of the Palestinian denial of a Jewish Temple, the book proceeds to explore the Islamic Dome of the Rock, the little-known Roman Temple of Jupiter, Herod's massive Temple Mount, the Temple built by the exiles returning from Babylon, and finally Solomon's Temple. With a lively and informative text to accompany the pictures, Jerusalem's Temple Mount is replete with archaeology, history, legends (Jewish, Christian, and Muslim), inscriptions, biblical interpretations, and forgeries.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #128977 in Books
• Published on: 2007-10-14
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 206 pages

Review
"...In this beautifully illustrated volume [Shanks] lends his charismatic writing style to one of the most fascinating and contentious topics in religion, archaeology, and history...The work does not present any new evidence or theses, but rather consolidates research published in Biblical Archaeology Review and in academic journals, offering the material in a condensed and very readable manner, perfect for a popular audience. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower and upper level undergraduates and general readers." -- S. H. Werlin, CHOICE, April 2008

"Filled with interesting full-color photographs, reconstruction drawings, and charts accompanied by excellent descriptions, this is a useful survey of the history of the Temple Mount, by the founder and editor of Biblical Archaeology Review. With a journalist's eye for what is interesting, Shanks takes the reader backward through the history of the area, from the current state to its early period. The book is replete with archaeological details, history and legends, inscriptions, changing interpretations, and even discussions of forgeries. One learns of the various rival, overlapping, and fluid claims of Muslims, Christians, and Jews, while following how the archaeological details illuminate the various historical developments in clear, concise language geared to the non-specialist." -- Jewish Book World

"Shank's book is a masterpiece of haute vulgarization. He begins his narrative with the Temple Mount as it exists today and works backwards from there, digging deeper and deeper into the past, until he gets to Solomon's temple. The colored photographs are beautiful, and the architectural projections illuminating...It will help students- and teachers- visualize Solomon's great building program." -- Lawrence S. Cunningham, Commonweal

About the Author
Hershel Shanks is editor of the Biblical Archaeology Review and was a leading figure in making the complete Dead Sea Scrolls available to the world.

Customer Reviews

Temple Mount, Dome of the Rock, al- Sharif, Aqsa, Quds
This 2007 book about the Temple Mount/al-Sharif in Jerusalem/Quds is a very worthy update of archeological research regarding this site holy to the three religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Yes, numerous other books have been written about this site, and one wonders: "Can another book REALY add anything NEW to this subject? After all, isn't all of this Mount stuff over 1,500 years old? What is its relevance today?" Nonetheless: "YES," is the clear answer in promoting this book. What is refreshing about this book is that the author does present a rather straight-forward "This is what I think" about some topic, but he also CLEARLY and OBJECTIVELY presents alternative views about some disputed aspect of the Mount. The author looks at the current claims by Muslims that Solomon's Temple never existed (in their attempt to deny Jewish claim to Jerusalem), and discusses the changing boundaries of the Etheral City. He loudly laments the excavations undertaken by the Muslims without oversight by the Israeli Antiquities Authority. Despite the author's pro-Jewish biases, which he clearly details, he appears to be fair and objective in listing alternative views and theories as to why and how the various temples were built. Having read the other major books regarding the Dome and the Mount, I still find this book to be very informative and FRESH in bringing together "many," yes, "many," issues/details/subjects/themes that I did not find in previous books by Dore Gold, Gorenberg, Grabar, Busse, and Nitmeyer. This book brings them all together. Interestingly, the author presents a different, but fresh (did I say "fresh" before?), and useful perspective in reviewing the history of the Dome/Mount: instead of starting with trying to determine the religious and political origins of the Mount, he starts off with "today: 2006" history and works backwards into the historical origins. This is refreshing: solid scholarly research today, followed by analysis of some of the mythical origins of the Mount. One new, interesting topic that the author asks is: "WHY does the Dome exist? WHY was it built?" Many assume it had something to do with the Prophet Mohammad ascending into Heaven to rap with Allah, but none of the many Arabic inscriptions throughout the Dome mention Mohammad's "Night Journey": so what then is the PURPOSE of the Dome? (Get this book.) I could list 10-15 informative "subjects" here, but, just trust me: if I ever wanted just one book about the Dome of the Rock and the Temple Mount, this is it (but do research the others, too). A lot of political history, a lot of religious Torah relevance, a lot of superb analysis about the holiest mound of dirt.

A Mountain of Praise
This was the most excellent and comprehensive look at the temple mount that I have ever read. I used it for a research paper on the temple mount and it was by far the most helpful and interesting book. It is very well written and includes beautiful pictures. It is fairly unbiased and really gets into the details of every issue and facet of history it covers. Would make a great coffee table book as well as research book. I am so glad I own this book and I will lend it out and read it myself many many times. If you have ANY interest in the Temple Mount I highly recommend this book.

Well Written and Fascinating Look at the Temple Mount
Hershel Shanks has written a fascinating and lively history of the Temple Mount. The author takes us backwards in history, beginning in the present day, and traces the history of the Temple Mount back through the Islamic period, the Second Temple period, the First Temple period and to the time prior to Solomon's Temple. The book is well-written, lively, beautifully illustrated, and absolutely fascinating for someone interested in this subject. The author manages to cover the most compelling biblical and historical issues surrounding this most venerated parcel of real estate. One only wonders what archeological discoveries lie beneath the Mount itself, currently off limits to researchers by edict of the Muslim authorities.