Biblical Archaeology Review

“Our Rabbis taught: Once R. Joshua b. Hanania was standing on a step on the Temple Mount, and Ben Zoma saw him and did not stand up before him. So [R. Joshua] said to him: Whence and whither, Ben Zoma? He replied: I was gazing between the upper and lower waters, and there is only a bare three fingers’ [breadth] between them, for it is said: And the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters—like a dove which hovers over her young without touching [them].”

The adjective “synoptic,” like the noun “synopsis” from which it is derived, is based on the Greek adjective synoptikos, meaning “seeing the whole together.” The first three Gospels are known as the Synoptic Gospels because, when printed in parallel columns and “seen together,” they exhibit numerous striking verbal and literary similarities. See Glossary by David Aune, “Synoptic Gospels,” BR 06:06.

A Facsimile Edition of the Dead Sea Scrolls, 2 vols., prepared with an introduction and index by Robert H. Eisenman and James M. Robinson (Washington, DC: Biblical Archaeology Society, 1991).

The joint Annual Meeting of the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR), the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) and the American Academy of Religion (AAR) The 1991 meeting in Kansas city was held November 23–26.

Hebrew dates are commonly written using letter equivalents for dates; tet (9) plus vov (6) equal Tu (15) in Hebrew numerical notation.

See Hershel Shanks, “Elie Borowski Seeks a Home for His Collection,” BAR 11:02, and “Treasures from the Lands of the Bible,” BAR 11:02.

Kathleen and Leen Ritmeyer, “Reconstructing Herod’s Temple Mount in Jerusalem,” BAR 15:06.

The Double and Triple Gates on the southern wall of the Herodian Temple Mount that can still be identified are frequently, but incorrectly, referred to as the Huldah Gates. The Huldah Gates mentioned in Middot 2:1 were located in the southern wall of the original square Temple Mount.

Stretchers are laid lengthwise in the wall, the long side facing out. Headers are laid with the shots side facing out. In “header and stretcher” construction, headers and stretchers alternate. This gives a wall much greater strength, especially where needed at corners.

This direct entrance was probably the forerunner of the Triple Gate in the southern wall of the present Temple Mount.