Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Kevin P. Edgecomb" <kevin AT bombaxo.com>]

Quoting Karl Maresco:
Do we know the dimensions of Ezra's temple? If so, from where?  How  
does the chapter Midot in the mishnah relate to the this? Does Midot  
describe Ezra's temple or Herod's temple?

I write:
The only indication of the plan of the Second Temple prior to Herod's  
reconstruction is included in Ezra 6.3-4, which is lacking all detail.  
It is, however, thought most likely that this building followed the  
plan of the Solomonic temple, though without the wealth of decoration.  
 Interestingly, Yitzhak Magen has found the foundations of two  
versions of the temple on Mount Gerizim, the first of which would have  
been based on the Jerusalem temple in the time of Nehemiah.  See here:
http://www.antiquities.org.il/article_Item_eng.asp?sec_id=36&subj_id=286
and also Y. Magen, _Mount Gerizim Excavations_ (Israel Antiquities  
Authority, 2004).

And yes, Josephus in combination with Mishhah tractate Middot provide  
us with a wealth of detail about Herod's temple.

I recommend to everyone Leen Ritmeyer's excellent, full-color, book,  
_The Quest: Revealing the Temple Mount in Jerusalem_.  In it, he  
provides photographs of various remaining architectural remnants of  
the Herodian temple compound, and numerous beautiful receonstruction  
drawings.  It's a little pricey, but it's really the best book to deal  
with the subject:
http://www.ritmeyer.com/online-store/books/the-quest---revealing-the-temple-mount-in-jerusalem/

Regards,
Kevin P. Edgecomb
Berkeley, California