were about twenty-seven feet in height, while the two rows in the middle were double this height.  Each of these colonnades was covered with a richly ornamented cedar roof, thus affording grateful shelter from the sun and storm.  The great space at the south of the temple area was the Court of the Gentiles, the common park of the city where all classes of its population freely gathered.  The colonnade on the east of the temple area bore the name of Solomon’s Porch, and from it the steps led up to the raised platform of native rock twenty or more feet above the Court of the Gentiles.  Somewhere to the east of the temple was found the famous Beautiful Gate.  The series of steps led into the so-called Court of the Women.  West of this was the Court of the Israelites, to which only men were admitted.  Thence a broad, high door led to the open space before the temple.  Surrounding the altar and cutting off approach to the temple proper was a stone balustrade.  The space within this was known as the Court of the Priests.  Here no laymen were admitted except as the ritual of private sacrifice required.  These inner courts were surrounded by a high wall and adjoining chambers for the storing of the paraphernalia used in connection with the sacrifice and for the residence of the priests.  On the southern side of the temple was the room where the national council, the sanhedrin, held its public meetings.  Four gates on the north and four gates on the south led from the temple court to the lower Court of the Gentiles.

IV.  The Organization of the Temple Service.  At the head of the temple organization was the high priest.  Since the deposition of the ill-fated Hyrcanus the high priests had been appointed by Herod, for to them was intrusted large civil as well as religious authority.  The one duty which the high priests could not neglect, unless prevented by illness, was to perform the sacrifice in behalf of the people and to enter the Holy of Holies on the day of atonement.  Frequently he also offered the sacrifice or presided at the special services on the sabbath, the new moons, or at the great annual festivals.  Otherwise the temple duties were performed by the army of priests and assistants who were associated with the temple.  According to Josephus there were twenty thousand priests.  They were divided into twenty-four courses.  Each course included certain priestly families to which were intrusted for a week the performing of the sacrifices.  Corresponding to the twenty-four courses of the priests were the courses of the people, who were represented by certain of their number at each of the important services.  The priests not only performed the sacrifices but also guarded the temple treasures and the private wealth placed in their keeping.  The Levites attended to the more menial duties in connection with the temple service.  They aided the priests in preparing the sacrifices and in caring for the utensils that were used in connection with the sacrifice.  Some of them were doorkeepers.  Probably from the Levites were drafted the temple police at whose head was the captain of the temple.  Their task was to preserve order and to prevent Gentiles from entering the sacred precincts of the temple.  The singers constituted a third group of Levites.