Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Sujata <shevaroys AT yahoo.com>]

There is another location proposed by Dr. Ernest
Martin in his book "The Temples That Jerusalem Forgot"
published a while ago.

Best wishes,
Sujata

--- Yigal Levin <leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il> wrote:

> Here's something else to fight about:
> 
> Yigal Levin
> 
> >From
>
<http://www.southbendtribune.com/stories/2005/09/01/faith.20050901-sbt-MICH-
>
D4-For_Jews__a_cubit_is.sto>=====================================
> 
> For Jews, a cubit is a great deal
> 
> By RICHARD N. OSTLING
> Associated Press Writer
> 
> How long is a "cubit"?
> 
> Defining that ancient measurement may seem a matter
> of mere Bible
> trivia, but in theory the answer could affect a
> potentially
> calamitous modern-day religious confrontation.
> 
> The term occurs in the Bible more than 100 times.
> Some well-known
> examples:
> 
> # God's directive to Noah on building the ark: "The
> length of the
> ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its
> height 30 cubits"
> (Genesis 6:15).
> 
> # The dimensions for the Jerusalem Temple that King
> Solomon built:
> "60 cubits long, 20 cubits wide and 30 cubits high"
> (1 Kings 6:2).
> 
> # The prophet Ezekiel's vision of the restored
> Temple precinct:
> "Set apart for the Lord a portion of the land as a
> holy district,
> 25,000 cubits long and 20,000 cubits broad" (Ezekiel
> 45:1).
> 
> Cubit, from the Latin word for "elbow," is used in
> most English
> Bible translations when the Hebrew word for "elbow"
> refers to
> measurements.
> 
> In various ancient cultures, the cubit referred to
> the typical
> measurement between a person's elbow and the tip of
> the middle
> finger. Obviously, there was no fixed meaning
> because people come
> in different sizes. Scholars say the cubit became a
> more or less
> standardized measure but referred to different
> lengths in ancient
> Sumer, Egypt, Greece, Rome and Israel.
> 
> As for biblical usage, scholars estimate the cubit
> at anywhere from
> 1.33 to 2.2 feet, says Joshua Schwartz, the dean of
> Jewish studies
> at Israel's Bar-Ilan University, writing in the
> current Biblical
> Archaeology Review.
> 
> The consensus appears to be the 1969 view of Arye
> Ben David that in
> Temple measurements, at least, a cubit was 1.84
> feet.
> 
> However, Asher Selig Kaufman is a "cubit minimalist"
> who puts the
> length at only 1.43 feet. Historian Kaufman
> specializes in aspects
> of the Temple Mount, the sector where the Temple
> once stood (called
> the Haram as-Sharif or "Noble Sanctuary" by
> Muslims). His short
> cubit provides the basis for controversial
> calculations on the
> location of the ancient Temple.
> 
> During the past five centuries, most Jews have
> agreed with Rabbi
> David ben Zimra's belief that the ancient Temple
> stood at the exact
> site that's now occupied by the Dome of the Rock.
> This is one of
> Islam's holiest structures, commemorating what's
> believed to be the
> spot from which Muhammad ascended to heaven.
> 
> Some zealous Jews and Christians interpret the Bible
> as teaching
> that it's God's will for the Temple to be rebuilt
> someday at its
> original location. If the conventional location is
> correct, that
> would require demolition of the Muslim shrine -- and
> incitement to
> interfaith world war.
> 
> But the effect of Kaufman's short cubits is to
> undermine the old
> "central theory" for the Temple's location. His
> "northern theory"
> puts the Temple site northwest of the Dome of the
> Rock at a cupola
> known as the Dome of the Spirits or Dome of the
> Tablets.
> 
> (There's also a third or "southern theory" promoted
> by Tel Aviv
> architect Tuviah Sagiv.)
> 
> Kaufman set forth his case in Biblical Archaeology
> Review in 1983.
> He pursues the theme further in a 2004 book
> published in Israel,
> "The Temple Mount: Where Is the Holy of Holies?" the
> third in a
> series treating the Mount.
> 
> If Kaufman is right about cubits, it's possible
> Israel could
> someday rebuild the Temple without having to destroy
> Islam's Dome
> of the Rock -- not that Muslims would welcome such
> nearby
> construction, either.
> 
> Besides calculations based upon a short cubit,
> Kaufman argues based
> on the alignment of the Temple in relation to the
> Mount of Olives.
> 
> In Jewish tradition, a priest would burn a red
> heifer and mix the
> ashes with water to be sprinkled on worshippers for
> ritual
> cleansing. The ceremony took place on the Mount of
> Olives with the
> priest looking toward the entrance to the Temple
> sanctuary.
> 
> To Kaufman, the line of sight argues for the
> northern location.
> Schwartz's article says, "With all due respect to
> the calculations
> of the author, it is impossible to know where the
> priest stood."
> 
> Though Kaufman's views "have been accepted by very
> few scholars,"
> Schwartz says, he is an acknowledged expert and his
> general
> contributions to Temple Mount scholarship "cannot be
> denied."
> 
> 
> 
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