צורת הבית
Build the Mikdash from the sources
The lab
- Stated in the text
- Schematic: placed by the site
Layer A
Mishnah Middot
The measurements of the Second Temple as the Mishnah records them: courts, gates, altar, Sanctuary and chambers. The site's primary architectural source.
| Assumption | Metres | Feet |
|---|---|---|
| Rabbi Chaim Naeh 48 cm | 48.0 | 157 |
| Chazon Ish 57.6 cm | 57.6 | 189 |
| Common academic estimate 45 cm | 45.0 | 148 |
| Ezekiel's cubit on Naeh 56 cm | 56.0 | 184 |
No conversion is certain. The sources measure in amot, and authorities differ on its length.
Where the layers differ
| Topic | Mishnah Middot | Ezekiel | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inner court | 187 x 135 amot (the Azarah) | 100 x 100 cubits, square | Classical interpretation: A traditional commentator's reading. Others may read the text differently. |
| Altar | 32 x 32 at the base, hearth 24 x 24 | Hearth 12 x 12; Rabbi Yose reads it as 12 from the centre in each direction, which gives 24 | Classical interpretation: A traditional commentator's reading. Others may read the text differently. |
| Ascent to the altar | A ramp on the south | Steps facing east | Open question: The sources disagree or are silent. The site does not choose an answer. |
| Outer enclosure | 500 x 500 amot | 500 'with the measuring reed': reeds or cubits is disputed | Open question: The sources disagree or are silent. The site does not choose an answer. |
| The cubit | The standard amah of six handbreadths | A cubit and a handbreadth | Classical interpretation: A traditional commentator's reading. Others may read the text differently. |
| Gates of the court | Seven (Middot 1:4) or thirteen (Abba Yosi ben Chanan) | Three gatehouses, east, north and south, each 50 by 25 | Open question: The sources disagree or are silent. The site does not choose an answer. |
| Height of the House | 100 amot | Not stated | Open question: The sources disagree or are silent. The site does not choose an answer. |
Why don't all Third Temple diagrams look identical?
Because the sources leave room, and honest people fill it differently. Six reasons.
אַתָּה בֶן־אָדָם הַגֵּד אֶת־בֵּית־יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת־הַבַּיִת וְיִכָּלְמוּ מֵעֲוֺנוֹתֵיהֶם וּמָדְדוּ אֶת־תָּכְנִית׃ וְאִם־נִכְלְמוּ מִכֹּל אֲשֶׁר־עָשׂוּ צוּרַת הַבַּיִת וּתְכוּנָתוֹ וּמוֹצָאָיו וּמוֹבָאָיו וְכָל־צוּרֹתָו וְאֵת כָּל־חֻקֹּתָיו וְכָל־צורתי [צוּרֹתָיו] וְכָל־תורתו [תּוֹרֹתָיו] הוֹדַע אוֹתָם וּכְתֹב לְעֵינֵיהֶם וְיִשְׁמְרוּ אֶת־כָּל־צוּרָתוֹ וְאֶת־כָּל־חֻקֹּתָיו וְעָשׂוּ אוֹתָם׃
Thou, son of man, show the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure accurately. And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, make known unto them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof, and write it in their sight; that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them.
Ezekiel is a vision, and a hard one
Ezekiel sees the House 'in the visions of God'. His chapters give many lengths and widths, few heights, and some terms whose meaning is lost. Rashi, commenting on one of them, writes simply that he does not know what it is.
Rambam says so himself
Rambam writes that the Temple described by Ezekiel is not described clearly or completely, and that the returnees built the Second Temple like Solomon's, with some features explicit in Ezekiel.
Two sources, two sets of numbers
Mishnah Middot records the Second Temple as it stood. Ezekiel describes a House of the future. Their courts, altar and gates do not match, and commentators reconcile them in different ways.
The cubit is not fixed
Every measurement is in amot, and halachic authorities differ on the length of an amah by more than 20 percent. Ezekiel's own cubit is 'a cubit and a handbreadth'.
Silence is filled differently
Where the texts are silent (facades, ornament, the placement of many chambers) every artist and model-maker has to decide. Honest reconstructions label those decisions. This site logs every one.
A future fulfilment is not a blueprint
Traditional sources place the future House within redemption. No one can represent it as if every architectural detail were settled, and this site does not try.
What is known?Confidence, from primary text to unknown
Established in primary text
- Middot's courts, altar and Sanctuary; Ezekiel's courts, gates, house and altar hearth.
Classical interpretation
- How to reconcile Middot and Ezekiel. The Tosafot Yom Tov's treatise on the form of the House is a classic attempt.
Historically supported
Nothing on this page at this level.
Reconstructed
- Heights and positions Ezekiel does not state, drawn dashed in the lab.
Unknown
- The exact form of the future House.