II.  Preparations for the Rebuilding of the Temple.  Herod’s temple was begun in 20 or 19 B.C. and was not entirely completed until a few years before its destruction in 70 A.D.  The task in itself was a difficult one, for on the north the city prevented the extension of the temple area, and on the south the hill rapidly descended toward the juncture of the Tyropoean and Kidron valleys.  Herod met the difficulty by filling in to the south with vast stone constructions which rose to the height of seventy to ninety feet above the virgin rock.  To economize building materials he built the huge underground vaults and arches known to-day as Solomon’s Stables.  Thus with a vast expense of labor and wealth he extended the temple area to the south until it was double that which surrounded Solomon’s temple.  It was also important to regard in every detail the ceremonial scruples of the Jews.  To this end a small army of priests were trained as masons and carpenters in order to do the work in the immediate proximity of the temple.  To bring the ancient temple into proportions with the rest of his buildings, a huge porch or facade was reared in front of it on the east, rising, according to Josephus, to the height of one hundred and twenty feet.  For the roof that covered the porches he apparently brought cedar from the distant Lebanons.  Only with all the resources of the kingdom at his command was it possible to carry through this vast enterprise.

III.  The Approaches to the Temple.  The entire temple area was rectangular in form, about twelve hundred feet in length and six hundred feet wide.  Its chief approaches were on the south and west.  A small gate through which sacrificial animals were introduced immediately into the temple precincts opened from the north.  The one gate on the east, which opened into the Kidron Valley, was apparently opposite the eastern entrance to the temple.  The two gates on the south opened toward the City of David.  The one was a double gate with an incline leading into the temple area, and the other farther to the east was a triple gate.  The main approaches were from the west.  The southern of these was a low viaduct spanning the Kidron Valley and thence by steps or inclined approach ascending to the temple area.  Remnants of the arches that spanned the valley at this point and a little farther north are still traceable on the present walls of the temple area far down in the Tyropoean Valley.  The third approach farther to the north was probably also a viaduct leading directly into the temple area, while the extreme northern approach, according to Josephus, led from the palace of Herod directly to the temple.  The entire temple area was encircled by a colonnade.  One row of pillars was built into the high wall that surrounded the area.  On the south was found the royal porch with its four rows of columns, the first and second about thirty feet apart, the second and third forty-five, and the third and fourth thirty.  The pillars on the sides