Renovation of the Temple

In the eighteenth year of the reign of King Herod, after the acts recorded above, he undertook a very great task, namely the renovation of the Temple of God at his own expense. He both expanded it and raised it to a more appropriate height, believing that completing this project would be the most glorious of all his accomplishments—as indeed it turned out to be—and that this would be sufficient for him to be remembered forever. Since he knew, however, that the masses were neither ready nor willing to assist him in such a large undertaking, he decided to prepare them first by delivering a speech to them. After convening them together, he addressed them as follows:

“I assume it is unnecessary to speak to you, fellow countrymen, about the other things accomplished during my reign, although I may say that they have been done in such a manner as to bring more security to you than glory to myself. For I have neither neglected your needs in the most difficult times nor have I in my building projects pursued my own preservation from harm more than all of yours. And I believe that, through the will of God, I have advanced the nation of the Jews to an unprecedented state of happiness.

“Therefore, it seems to me needless to enumerate the various buildings belonging to your own country and your own cities, as well as those cities we have recently acquired, which we have raised up and greatly adorned and through which we have increased the dignity of your nation, since you know them well yourselves. But I will announce the undertaking that I propose to set in motion now, which will be a work of the greatest piety and excellence that we can possibly undertake.

“After their return from Babylon, our ancestors built this Temple for God Almighty, but it is still sixty cubits too short, for the first Temple, built by Solomon, was that much taller than this one. Still, let no one condemn our ancestors for negligence or lack of piety, for it was not their fault that the Temple was no higher. Rather, it was Cyrus and Darius the son of Hystaspes who determined the dimensions for its rebuilding, and it was due to the subjection of our ancestors to them and to their descendants, and after them to the Macedonians, that they lacked the opportunity to follow the original model of this pious edifice and to raise it to its ancient height. Since I now rule by the will of God, and peace has continued for a long time, and I have gained great riches and large revenues, and, most important of all, I have friendly relations with and am well regarded by the Romans—who, if I may say so, are the rulers of the whole world—I will attempt to correct that imperfection, which arose from the necessity of our situation and the servitude we were previously under, and to offer in the most pious manner thankful remuneration to God for the blessings I have received from Him through His giving me this kingdom. And I shall do so by rendering His Temple as complete as I am able.”

So Herod spoke on these matters, but this speech astonished many people, as it fell on them quite unexpectedly. Because it seemed incredible to them, they were not encouraged but instead very troubled, for they were afraid that he would tear down the entire edifice and not be able to bring his plan for its rebuilding to fruition. This danger seemed very grave to them, and the undertaking seemed so vast that it could hardly be accomplished. But while they were feeling this way, the king encouraged them and told them he would not bring down their Temple until everything was prepared for completely rebuilding it. And he did as he promised: he prepared a thousand wagons to bring the stones for the building, selected ten thousand of the most skillful workmen, bought a thousand sacerdotal garments for that number of priests, and trained some of them as stone-cutters and others as carpenters. Then he began to build, but not until everything was well prepared for the work.

So Herod removed the previous foundations and laid others, on which he erected the Temple. They were a hundred cubits in length and twenty additional cubits in height, which fell down over time after the foundations had settled. This part we resolved to raise again in the time of Nero.

Translated by William Whiston, adapted byAaron Samuels.