The Building itself — Ulam, Heikhal and Kodesh HaKodashim under one roof. Seen from the front, from the east, it is a square block 100 amot wide and 100 high, roughly 48 by 48 meters. But the body that stands behind the vestibule is only 70 amot wide: “narrow behind and wide in front, like a lion.” The Ulam therefore overhangs by 15 amot on each side, and these two overhangs were called Beit HaChalifot: the knives were stored there. The exterior is not gilded: it is the stone itself, white, green and blue marble in alternating courses, one projecting, one recessed.
Dimensions
- façade 100 amot wide × 100 high (≈ 48 × 48 m)
- rear body 70 amot wide
- the Ulam overhangs by 15 amot on each side
- total east-west length 100 amot: wall of the Ulam 5, Ulam 11, wall of the Heikhal 6, Heikhal 40, Amah Traksin 1, Kodesh HaKodashim 20, wall 6, cell 6, wall 5
- elevation: foundation 6, interior height 40, ceiling and decoration 5, upper floor 40, roof 5, Ma'ake 3, Kaleh Orev 1 — total 100
Sources
Project decisionAdopted: the façade is not gilded — Herod wanted to overlay it with gold, and he was advised to leave the stone visible, as it “looks like the waves of the sea” (Bava Batra 4a; Sukkah 51b); the gold is inside (Middot 4:1). Adopted: the three marbles of the second version in Bava Batra 4a, “בְּאַבְנֵי כּוּחְלָא, שִׁישָׁא וּמַרְמְרָא”; according to Rabba there were only two, without the blue. Set aside: R. Yehuda (Middot 4:6), for whom the Kaleh Orev does not count in the height and the Ma'ake is four amot. Tour's choice: masonry of blocks sawn smooth, on the model of Shlomo's buildings (I Kings 7:9-10), where the stones of ten and eight amot are those of the foundations.