The temple Herod enlarged
Herod the Great began enlarging the Temple Mount around 19 BC. John 2:20 mentions “forty-six years” of building. The Romans destroyed the temple in AD 70; the retaining walls, such as the Western Wall, remain today.
Biblical context · Approved edition
Jerusalem in the time of Jesus: the temple and the final week
Matthew 21 tells of Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem and what he does in the temple; a few days later come the trial, the cross and the tomb. We will first observe the sacred text and then the first-century city studied by archaeology.
By the end: you will be able to distinguish what the sacred text affirms, what archaeology has confirmed about first-century Jerusalem and what remains a proposed location.
- Passage
- Matthew 21:1–17; John 18–19
- Central question
- What do the Gospels affirm about Jesus in Jerusalem, and what can the city known to archaeology contribute?
- Estimated reading time
- 11–13 minutes
- Status
- Approved for publication · version 1.0
First, look at the sacred text
Observe before reconstructing
Read Matthew 21:1–17 and follow the movement of the account: by which way does Jesus arrive, how does the city react, what does he do in the temple and who comes to him?
Compare with a guided observation
| Element | What the passage tells us |
|---|---|
| Arrival | Jesus comes to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, and enters Jerusalem riding on a donkey (Matthew 21:1–9). |
| Reaction | The whole city is stirred and asks, “Who is this?” (21:10). |
| In the temple | He drives out those who were buying and selling and recalls that God’s house must be a house of prayer (21:12–13). |
| Those who come | The blind and the lame come to him in the temple and he heals them; the children acclaim him (21:14–15). |
| Announcement | When the temple’s stones are admired, Jesus announces that not one stone will be left on another (Mark 13:1–2). |
| Trial | He is taken before the high priest Caiaphas and then to the governor’s praetorium (Matthew 26:57; John 18:28). |
| Cross and tomb | He is crucified at Golgotha, near the city, and buried in a new tomb in a garden (John 19:17–20, 41). |
The Gospels name specific places — the temple, the praetorium, Golgotha — but they do not give a plan or the exact location of several of them in today’s city.
Degrees of certainty
What can be recognized and what remains open
First-century Jerusalem is one of the best-studied ancient cities, but what has been found should be kept apart from what only tradition points to.
Pilate and Caiaphas outside the Bible
An inscription found at Caesarea in 1961 names Pontius Pilate as “prefect of Judea”. In 1990 an ossuary inscribed “Joseph, son of Caiaphas” came to light in Jerusalem; many archaeologists attribute it to the high priest of the Gospels.
The pools of Siloam and Bethesda
In 2004 a large Second Temple-period Pool of Siloam was discovered (John 9:7). Beside the Church of St Anne, the two pools of Bethesda were excavated, with porticoes like those described in John 5:2.
The praetorium and the way of the cross
Many specialists place the praetorium in Herod’s former palace, by today’s Jaffa Gate; medieval tradition placed it in the Antonia Fortress, where the Via Dolorosa begins. The exact route is not known.
Golgotha and the tomb
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built by Constantine in the fourth century on a spot that lay outside the wall in Jesus’ time, is the strongest candidate; even so, there is no definitive archaeological proof.
Three complementary lenses
How to read the account and its city
These three lenses do not compete with each other: they answer different questions and must keep different degrees of certainty.
Theological reading: Jesus and the temple
What it contributes
It shows Jesus entering as a humble king (Matthew 21:5), cleansing the temple, healing there and announcing its destruction; his death takes place “outside the gate” (Hebrews 13:12).
Which details it helps explain
Why the temple stands at the centre of the final week and why the cross is placed outside the city.
Which limit must remain
The theological reading does not by itself fix the topography or the exact location of each scene.
Related readings: source 1.
Herod’s temple platform and the city
What it contributes
It helps us picture the size of the temple the disciples admired and the urban landscape: the platform, its walls and the pools where the Gospels place healings.
Which details it helps explain
The “forty-six years” of building (John 2:20), the admired stones (Mark 13:1), the Pool of Siloam (John 9:7) and the Pool of Bethesda (John 5:2).
Which limit must remain
Knowing the city does not turn every traditional place into a proven site.
Related readings: source 1 and source 2 and source 5 and source 6.
The places of the Passion
What it contributes
It gathers what archaeology says about the people and spaces of the trial and the cross: Pilate, Caiaphas, Herod’s palace and the Holy Sepulchre.
Which details it helps explain
The Pilate inscription, the Caiaphas ossuary, the debate between Herod’s palace and the Antonia Fortress, and why the Garden Tomb, from the Iron Age, does not fit a new first-century tomb.
Which limit must remain
The people are well attested; several places remain proposals of differing strength.
Related readings: source 3 and source 4 and source 7 and source 8.
Comparison of lenses
What each approach answers and leaves unanswered
| Approach | Basis | Main contribution | Limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Theological reading | Matthew 21 and the Passion accounts. | Explains the role of the temple and the cross in the final week. | Does not fix the location of each scene. |
| Platform and city | Herodian walls, pools and data from Josephus and archaeology. | Gives scale and landscape to the accounts. | Does not confirm every traditional place. |
| Places of the Passion | Inscriptions, ossuaries and excavations. | Documents Pilate, offers a probable identification of Caiaphas and ranks the places by evidential strength. | The praetorium, the route and the tomb are not proven. |
Criterion: the sacred text, archaeological finds and place traditions are presented as different levels of evidence.
What you can now recognize
What the city contributes to the Gospel accounts
First-century Jerusalem had a monumental temple, public pools and named authorities whom archaeology has found. This gives historical weight to the setting of Jesus’ final week. But it does not allow us to point with certainty to every place or to reconstruct the exact route from the trial to the cross.
The centre of the account lies in who Jesus is and what he does: he enters as king, cleanses the temple, announces its end and gives his life. The city illuminates the setting; the sacred text defines the message.
Return to the sacred text
What does this add to my reading?
1. Look at what he does in the temple
In Matthew 21:12–16, what does Jesus do in the temple, and who comes to him?
See a guided answer
He drives out the traders, recalls that God’s house is a house of prayer, heals the blind and the lame and accepts the children’s praise. The temple becomes again a place of meeting with God, above all for those on the margins.
2. Stones that will not remain
In Mark 13:1–2, what do the disciples admire, and what does Jesus answer?
Read Mark 13:1–2See a guided answer
They admire the great stones and buildings of the temple; Jesus announces that not one stone will be left on another. The Romans destroyed the temple in AD 70, and today only the walls that supported the platform remain.
Result of the journey: you can now recognize the central message of the final week, place it prudently in first-century Jerusalem and distinguish proven finds from places that only tradition points to.
Key terms
Brief glossary
- Temple Mount
- The platform Herod enlarged for the temple; parts of its retaining walls survive.
- Praetorium
- Residence and seat of the Roman governor when he was in Jerusalem; Jesus was tried there (John 18:28).
- Golgotha
- Place of the crucifixion, “place of a skull”, outside the wall of its time (John 19:17).
- Siloam
- Pool in the south of the city where Jesus sent the man born blind to wash (John 9:7).
- Ossuary
- Stone box in which a person’s bones were placed after a time in the tomb.
Editorial record
Scope and review
- Responsible person
- Jose A Bejarano V
- Version
- 1.0 · trilingual edition
- Last reviewed
- Approved for publication by the responsible editor on 27 September 2026
- Method
- A guided reading that distinguishes the sacred text, the historical and archaeological context and theological interpretations.
About the images: the conceptual illustrations generated with artificial intelligence serve as visual support. They are not historical, archaeological or geographical evidence.
Sources for further study
Works consulted
- Biblical Archaeology Society: “The Temple Mount in the Herodian Period (37 BC–70 A.D.)” — Herod’s enlargement of the Temple Mount and what remains of it.
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls — official record of the Old City and its walls.
- The Israel Museum, Jerusalem: Latin dedicatory inscription mentioning Pontius Pilate — the inscription from Caesarea naming Pontius Pilate as prefect of Judea.
- Biblical Archaeology Society: “The Tomb of Caiaphas” — the 1990 discovery of the ossuary bearing the name Caiaphas.
- Biblical Archaeology Society: “The Siloam Pool: Where Jesus Healed the Blind Man” — the Second Temple-period Siloam Pool, discovered in 2004.
- Biblical Archaeology Society: “The Bethesda Pool, Site of One of Jesus’ Miracles” — the two pools of Bethesda beside the Church of St Anne.
- Biblical Archaeology Society: “Tour Showcases Remains of Herod’s Jerusalem Palace—Possible Site of the Trial of Jesus” — Herod’s palace as a possible praetorium for the trial of Jesus.
- National Geographic: “What archaeology can—and can’t—tell us about Jesus’ crucifixion” — what archaeology can and cannot say about the crucifixion and the tomb.