Herod's Second Temple

Tonight's lecture was entitled "Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus."  It is one of three lectures for Educational Opportunities' groups.  Each time I present this lecture, I gain a deeper appreciation of Herod's renovation of the Second Temple.

Although Herod is called many names which aren't complimentary, I do think that "Builder King" is quite fitting.  Jerusalem in the time of Jesus certainly bore the imprint of Herod.  That influence is best seen in his Temple Mount Project.

Josephus described the remodeled Second Temple in this way: "like a snow-clad mountain for all that was not gold was gleaming white."  In its day, the Temple of the Jews was one of the wonders of the world.