4. This was the singing which the levites used to sing in the Temple. On the first day they sang The earth is the Lord's and all that therein is, the round world and they that dzcell therein;4 on the second day they sang Great is the Lord and highly to be praised in the city of our God, even upon his holy hill-, 5 on the third day they sang God standeth in the congregation of God, he is a judge among the gods-, 6 on the fourth day they sang O Lord God to whom vengeance belongeth, thou God to whom vengeance belongeth show thyself f on the fifth day they sang Sing we merrily unto God our strength, make a cheerful noise unto the God of Jacob;8 on the sixth day they sang The Lord is king, and hath put on glorious apparel. 9 On the Sabbath they sang A Psalm: a Song for the Sabbath Day, 10 a Psalm, a song for the time that is to come, for the day that shall be all Sabbath and rest in the life everlasting.
1. x. The priests kept watch13 at three places in the Temple: at the Chamber of Abtinas, at the Chamber of the Flame, and at the Chamber of 1 Each priest in turn gave to the first priest the parts of the offering which he was carry¬ ing, the first priest gave them to the High Priest while each priest, except the first, went away. 2 Cf. Sukk. 5’. a Shek. 51. ■* Ps. 24. s Ps. 48.
11 Lit. ‘measurements’, of the Temple, as it was before its destruction in 70 a.d. The whole was contained in an area (the ‘Temple Mount’) 500 cubits square. Within the northern half of this square (and bearing to the west) was a rectangle having its west and east sides 135 cubits, and its north and south sides 322 cubits long. The space in the main square not covered by this rectangle was the ‘Court of the Gentiles’. The eastern portion of the rectangle was the ‘Court of the Women’, 135 cubits square. The rest of the rectangle (187 cubits east to west by 135 cubits north to south) was the ‘Temple Court’ ( Azarah ) within which alone the Most Ploly Things could be consumed. Of the ‘Temple Court’ the easternmost strip (measuring 11 cubits east to west) was called the ‘Court of the Israelites’ (i.e. males who were not priests could enter there); west of this was a strip of equal breadth, called the ‘Court of the Priests’. Standing between these two strips was the levites’ ‘plat¬ form’. West of this was the great outer Altar, with the Ramp to the south of it and the shambles to the north. West of the outer Altar "was the actual Temple structure, consisting of (east to west) the Porch, the Sanctuary, and the Holy of Holies. For the ascending degrees of sanctity attaching to the several parts of the Temple, see Kel. isi. J. E. xii, 94~S gives plans of the Temple based on this tractate. 12 Tam. i1.
590 FIFTH DIVISION: KODASHIM the Hearth; and the levites at twenty-one places: five at the five gates of the Temple Mount, four at its four comers inside, five at five of the gates of the Temple Court, four at its four comers outside, and one at the Cham¬ ber of Offerings/ and one at the Chamber of the Curtain/ and one behind the place of the Mercy Seat.1 * 3 2. The officer of the Temple Mount used to go round to every watch with lighted torches before him, and if any watch did not stand up and say to him, ‘O officer of the Temple Mount, peace be to thee!’4 and it was manifest that he was asleep, he would beat him with his staff, and he had the right to bum his raiment. And they would say, ‘What is the noise in the Temple Court?’ ‘The noise of some levite that is being beaten and having his raiment burnt because he went to sleep during his watch.’ R. Eliezer b. Jacob said: They once found my mother’s brother asleep and burnt his raiment.
3. There were five gates to the Temple Mount:5 the two Huldah Gates on the south, that served for coming in and for going out; the Kiponus Gate on the west, that served6 for coming in and for going out; the Tadi Gate7 on the north which was not used at all; the Eastern Gate on which was portrayed the Palace of Shushan.8 Through this the High Priest that burned the [Red] Heifer,9 and the heifer, and all that aided him went forth to the Mount of Olives.
4. There were seven gates to the Temple Court, three to the north and three to the south and one to the east. Those to the south were10 the Kind¬ ling Gate/1 next to it the Gate of the Firstlings, and the third was the Water Gate.12 That to the east was the Nicanor Gate13 beside which were two Chambers, one to the right14 and one to the left; the one was the Chamber of Phineas/5 the keeper of the vestments, and the other the chamber of them that made the Baken Cakes.16 5. And those to the north were the Gate of the Flame/7 which was a kind of portico over which an upper chamber was built, so that the priests might keep watch above and the levites below, and it had a door*8 towards the Rampart; next to it was the Gate of the Offering; 1 9 and the third was the [Gate of the] Chamber of the Hearth.
6. There were four rooms in the Chamber of the Hearth, like cells 1 The Chamber of Lambs, north of the Porch and south-west of the Chamber of the Hearth.
I Supposed to be the place where they wove the veil which separated the Holy of Holies from the Sanctuary (cf. Shek. 8*). The position is unknown.
s i.e. outside the western wall of the Holy of Holies. See below, 51.
♦ Variant: The officer of the Temple Mount would say to him, 'Peace be to thee’.
* i.e. in the wall surrounding the entire square of the Temple Area.
6 Some texts omit this clause. 7 Variant: Tari.
8 Cf. Kel. 17*. 9 Num. igin. Cf. below, a*, and Par. 3*.
10 Counting from the west.
II Through which the wood was brought for the Temple fires.
12 See below, 2*. >3 See Yom. 31*.
'5 Shek. 51; Tam. 5*. 19 Cf. Tam. 1*; see Men. 45.
17 So called, according to the commentators, because in the chamber above it a flame was continually kept burning whereby to rekindle the fire in the Chamber of the Hearth where it was the custom of the priests to resort to restore their warmth after a spell of service bare-footed.
18 The upper Chamber of the Hearth could be entered both from the Temple Court and from the Rampart, the high causeway that surrounded the rectangle containing the Temple Court and the Court of the Women.
19 Beasts, especially the Most Holy Things, were brought in from that side since (Zeb. 5') they must be slaughtered on the north side of the Altar.
opening into a hall, two within holy ground and two outside holy ground,1 and the ends of flagstones divided the holy from what was not holy. And what was their use? That to the south-west was the Chamber of the Lamb- offerings;2 that to the south-east was the Chamber of them that made the Shewbread;3 in that to the north-east the sons of the Hasmoneans had hidden away the stones of the Altar which the Grecian4 kings had defiled;5 and by that to the north-west they went down to the Chamber of Immer¬ sion.6 7. There were two gates to the Chamber of the Hearth: one opened towards the Rampart and one opened towards the Temple Court. R. Judah said: In that which opened towards the Temple Court was a small wicket by which they went in to inspect the Temple Court.
8. The Chamber of the Hearth7 was vaulted; it was a large chamber and around it ran a raised stone pavement; and there the eldest of the father’s house used to sleep with the keys of the Temple Court in their hand. The young priests had each his mattress on the ground.
9. And there was a place there, one cubit square, whereon lay a slab of marble in which was fixed a ring and a chain on which hung the keys. When the time was come to lock up [the Temple Court] he lifted up the slab by the ring and took the keys from the chain. And the priest locked [the gates] from inside while a levite slept outside. When he had finished locking [the gates] he put back the keys on the chain and the slab in its place, put his mattress over it, and went to sleep. If one of them suffered a pollution he would go out and go along the passage that leads below the Temple building, where lamps were burning here and there, until he reached the Chamber of Immersion. R. Eliezer b. Jacob said: He used to go out by the passage that leads below the Rampart and so he came to the Tadi Gate.8 2. 1. The Temple Mount measured five hundred cubits by five hundred cubits. Its largest [open] space was to the south, the next largest to the east, the third largest to the north, and its smallest [open space] was to the west;9 the place where its measure was greatest was where its use was greatest.10 2. Whosoever it was that entered the Temple Mount came in on the right and went round and came out on the left, save any whom aught be¬ fell, for he went round to the left. ‘What aileth thee that thou goest to the left?’ ‘Because I am a mourner’.1 1 ‘May he that dwelleth in this House give thee comfort!’ ‘Because I am under a ban.’ ‘May he that dwelleth in this House put it into their hearts to bring thee near again!’ So R. Meir. R. Jose said to him: Thou wouldest make it as though they12 had transgressed 1 i.e. the Chamber of the Hearth extended north and south. The two cells to the south stood over the area of the Temple Court and so counted as in holy ground; and the two to the north stood over the area that pertained to the non-holy ground of the Court of the Gentiles. Cf. M. Sh. 3*. 2 Cf. Arak. z5.
6 Cf. Tam. i*. See below, i9. 7 Tam. i1.
8 In opposition to Tam il, according to which he returned to his fellow-priests in the Chamber of the Hearth.
9 Cf. above, p. 589, n. n. The free space to the south was 265 by 500 cubits; to the east of the inner rectangle was a space of 115 cubits; to the north was a space of 100 cubits; while west of the Temple structure there was only 63 cubits.
10 Public access and egress was by the two Huldah Gates, south of the Temple Area.
14 And, as such, forbidden to bring any offering (cf. Deut. z614).
12 Who had pronounced a ban against him.
FIFTH DIVISION: KODASHIM against him in judgement! — but, rather, [they say], ‘May he that dwelleth in this House put it into thy heart to listen to the words of thy fellows that they may bring thee near again.’
3. Inside the Temple Mount1 was a latticed railing (the Soreg ), ten hand- breadths high. It had thirteen breaches which the Grecian kings had made; these were fenced up again, and over against them thirteen prostrations were decreed.2 Inside this was the Rampart (the i/e/),3 ten cubits broad. And there were twelve steps there;4 the height of each step was half a cubit and the tread thereof was half a cubit. All the steps that were there [within the Temple Mount], the height thereof was half a cubit and the tread thereof was half a cubit, save only those of the Porch.5 All the entrances and gates that were there were twenty cubits high and ten cubits wide, save only those of the Porch. All the entrances that were there had doors save only those of the Porch. All the gates that were there had lintels, save only the Tadi Gate over which two stones leaned the one against the other.6 All the gates that were there had been changed [and overlaid] with gold, save only the doors of the Nicanor Gate, for with them a miracle had happened;7 and some say, because their bronze shone like gold.
4. All the walls there were high, save only the eastern wall, because the [High] Priest that burns the [Red] Heifer and stands on the top of the Mount of Olives should be able to look directly into the entrance of the Sanctuary when the blood is sprinkled.8 5. The Court of the Women was one hundred and thirty-five cubits long and one hundred and thirty-five cubits wide. At its four corners were four chambers each of forty cubits; and they had no roofs. And so shall they be hereafter, for it is written, Then he brought me forth into the outer court and caused me to pass by the four corners of the court; and behold, in every corner of the court there was a court. In the four corners of the court there were courts inclosed f and inclosed means only that they were not roofed. And what was their use? That to the south-east was the Chamber of the Nazirites, for there the Nazirites cooked their Peace-offerings and cut off their hair and threw it under the pot.10 That to the north-east was the Chamber of the Wood-shed,11 for there the priests that were blemished12 examined the wood for worms, since any wood wherein was found a worm was invalid [and could not be burnt] upon the Altar. That to the north¬ west was the Chamber of the Lepers.13 That to the south-west — R. Eliezer b. Jacob said: I forget for what it was used. Abba Saul [b. Batnith] said: There they put the wine and the oil, and it was called the Chamber of the House of Oil. Beforetime [the Court of the Women] was free of buildings, and [afterward] they surrounded it with a gallery,14 so thatthe women should behold from above and the men from below and that they should not mingle together. Fifteen steps led up from within it to the Court of the Israelites,15 1 Surrounding the inner precincts which contained the Court of the Women and the Temple Court.
2 In thanksgiving for the deliverance of the Temple from the hands of gentiles.
•’ A raised causeway going around the inner precincts.
4 Leading up from the Court of the Gentiles (or from the level of the top of the Ram¬ part) to the entrance of the Court of the Women, on the eastern side, through the ‘Lower Gate’. 5 See below, 3°. 6 In the fashion of a pointed arch.
10 See Num. 617- ie. " Cf. Ned. i3.
12 See Lev. 2ii7; Bekh. 7lff. They could take no part in the sacrificial service of the Temple. See Neg. 148. 14 Cf. Sukk. 53.
i.e. male Israelites who were not priests.
corresponding to the fifteen Songs of Ascents in the Psalms,1 and upon them the levites used to sing. They were not four-square,1 but rounded like the half of a round threshing-floor.
6. And there were chambers beneath the Court of the Israelites which opened into the Court of the Women, and there the levites played upon harps and lyres and the cymbals and all instruments of music.3 The Court of the Israelites was one hundred and thirty-five cubits long and eleven wide; so, too, the Court of the Priests was one hundred and thirty-five cubits long and eleven wide, and the ends of flagstones separated the Court of the Israelites from the Court of the Priests. R. Eliezer b. Jacob said: There was a step one cubit high, and the Platform4 was set thereon, and on it were three [other] steps each half a cubit high; thus the Court of the Priests was two cubits and a half higher than the Court of the Israelites. The whole of the Temple Court was a hundred and eighty-seven cubits long and a hundred and thirty-five cubits wide. And thirteen prostrations5 were made there.6 Abba Jose b. Hanin said: Opposite the thirteen gates.7 The southern [gates] were [thus] reckoned counting from the west: the Upper Gate, the Kindling Gate, the Gate of the Firstlings, and the Water Gate. And why was it called the Water Gate? Because through it they brought in the flagon of water for the libation at the Feast [of Tabernacles].8 R. Eliezer b. Jacob said: Through it the waters trickle forth,9 and hereafter they will issue out from under the threshold of the House.10 And opposite them on the north, counting from the west: the Gate of Jeconiah, the Gate of the Offering, the Gate of the Women, and the Gate of Singing. And why was it called the Gate of Jeconiah? Because through it Jeconiah went forth when he went into exile.1 1 To the east was the Nicanor Gate, and it had two wickets, one to the right and one to the left. And there were two [gates] to the west which had no name.12 3. i. The Altar was13 thirty -two cubits long and thirty-two cubits wide. It rose up one cubit and drew in one cubit:14 this formed the Base;,s thus there was left thirty cubits by thirty. It rose up five cubits and drew in one cubit: this formed the Circuit;16 thus there was left twenty -eight cubits by twenty-eight. The place of the horns was one cubit on every side; thus there was left twenty-six cubits by twenty-six. The place on which the feet of the priests trod was one cubit on every side; thus there was left twenty-four cubits by twenty-four, the place for the [Altar] fire. R. Jose said: At first17 it was only twenty-eight18 cubits by twenty-eight; it rose up and drew in in the selfsame measure, until the place for the [Altar] fire was twenty cubits by twenty; but when the children of the Exile came up they added to it four more cubits to the south and four more cubits to the west, in the form of [the Greek letter] Gamma; for it is written, And the Pss. 120-34. 3 In plan. 5 Cf. Arak. 2sfl.
* Kidd. 44; Arak. 2‘. Here the levites stood to sing the daily psalm. It was also probably used by the priests when (Tam. 7*) they blessed the congregation.
6 By all who came in and went round the Temple Area.
7 Above, i4, only seven gates are assigned to the Temple Court.
11 Cambridge text omits 'which had no name’.
At its base. 14 On every side.
is It was not, however (see end of paragraph), a regular plinth.
16 This formed a ledge all round the Altar.
7 In Solomon’s Temple. '* At its base.
FIFTH DIVISION: KODASHIM altar hearth shall be twelve cubits long by twelve broad, square',1 and can it be that it was only twelve cubits by twelve? — but when it [also] says, in the four quarters thereof, it teaches that one must measure from the middle twelve cubits in every direction.2 And a red line3 went around it in the middle to separate between blood that must be sprinkled above and blood that must be sprinkled below. And the Base [of the Altar] extended all the length of the north side and all the length of the west side, and pro¬ jected4 one more cubit to the south and one more cubit to the east.
2. And at the south-western corner there were two holes like two narrow nostrils by which the blood that was poured over the western base and the southern base used to run down and mingle in the water-channel and flow out into the brook Kidron.5 3. At the same corner in the pavement below was a place one cubit square where was a slab of marble on which a ring was fixed; by it they used to go down to the pit6 and clean it. To the south of the Altar was an incline, [the Ramp,] thirty-two cubits long and sixteen wide, and on its western side was a hollow' into which they cast the Sin-oiferings of birds that became invalid.
4. The stones of the Ramp and the stones of the Altar were alike taken from the valley of Beth Kerem,7 where they were quarried from below virgin soil and brought from thence as whole stones upon which no [tool of] iron had been lifted up.8 For iron renders [the stones] invalid [for the Altar] even by a touch, and by a blemish0 [it renders them invalid] in every respect.10 If one of the stones was blemished it becomes invalid, but the rest remain valid. They used to whiten them twice in the year, once at Passover and once at the Feast [of Tabernacles], and the Sanctuary once [in the year] at Passover. Rabbi said: They whitened them with a cloth on the eve of every Sabbath because of the blood. They did not plaster them with an iron trowel lest it should touch [the stones] and render them invalid; for iron was created to shorten man’s days, while the Altar was created to lengthen man’s days: what shortens may not rightly be lifted up against what lengthens.
5. To the north of the Altar were rings, six rows of four each11 (and some say four rows of six each) at which they slaughtered the animal- offerings. The shambles12 lay north of the Altar, and there stood there eight short pillars; upon these were four-sided blocks of cedar-wood into which were fixed iron hooks, three rows to each, whereon they used to hang [the slaughtered beasts]. They used to flay them on marble tables between the pillars.
6. The Iaver13 stood between the Porch and the Altar, towards the south. Between the Porch and the Altar was twenty-two cubits, and there were twelve steps there, the height of every step was half a cubit and the tread 2 i.e. the four quarters of its top surface must each measure twelve cubits by twelve; therefore the whole top surface (i.e. that available for the Altar fire) must be twenty-four cubits by twenty-four.
3 Cf. p. 469, n. 8; Zeb. 71; Kinn. i*. * i.e. it jutted out an extra cubit.
s Cf. Yom. s°. Meil. 33. 6 Cf. Meil. 3®.
9 Some texts read 'a blemish (renders them invalid) in every respect’.
10 Not only unfit for the Altar or the Ramp but even for any building within the Temple Court (Tif. Yis.).
11 Twenty-four according to the number of the Courses of the priests.
thereof was [first] one cubit, [then another of] one cubit, [and another of] one cubit, [then] a terrace1 of three cubits, then two steps each of one cubit’s tread, then a terrace of three cubits, and at the top were two steps each of one cubit’s tread and a terrace of four cubits. R. Judah says: At the top were two steps each of one cubit’s tread and a terrace of five cubits.
7. The entrance to the Porch was forty cubits high and twenty cubits wide, and above it were five carved oak beams; the lowest one projected beyond the entrance one cubit to either side, the one above it projected be¬ yond it one cubit to either side, [and so on]; thus the uppermost was thirty cubits long. Between every two beams was a course of stones.
8. And cedar posts were fixed between the wall of the Sanctuary and the wall of the porch that it might not bulge. And golden chains were fixed to the roof-beam of the Porch by which the young priests could climb up and see the crowns,2 as it is written, And the crowns shall be to 3 Helem, and to Tobijah, and tojedaiah, and to Hen the son of Zephaniah for a memorial in the temple of the Lord.* A golden vine stood over the entrance to the Sanctuary, trained over posts; and whosoever gave a leaf, or a berry, or a cluster5 as a freewill-offering, he brought it and [the priests] hung it thereon.6 R. Eliezer b. R. Zadok said: It once happened that three hundred priests were ap¬ pointed thereto.7 4. 1. The entrance to the Sanctuary was twenty cubits high and ten cubits wide. It had four doors, two within and two without,8 as it is written, The temple and the sanctuary had two doors.9 The outer doors opened into the inside of the entry10 and covered11 the thickness of the wall, and the inner doors opened into the inside of the House and covered the space behind the doors,12 for all the House was overlaid with gold, save only behind the doors. R. Judah says: They13 stood inside the entry and were in the form of folding doors which doubled back upon themselves; these [covered] two cubits and a half and those two cubits and a half; and the door-post was half a cubit thick on the one side and the door-post was half a cubit thick on the other side,14 as it is written, And the doors had two leaves apiece, two turning leaves, two leaves for the one door and two leaves for the other. 15 2. The great gate had two wickets,16 one to the north and another to the south. By that to the south none ever entered, whereof it is expressly said by Ezekiel, And the Lord said unto me, This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, neither shall any man enter in by it, for the Lord, the God of Israel, 2 The Cambridge text and some printed editions add: ‘in the windows’. They were crown-shaped ornaments set over the Sanctuary (or Porch) windows.
3 Their donors. 4 Zech. 6U. 5 Of gold, so shaped.
6 And when the Temple treasury was in need the treasurer took from the vine as much as was required.
7 Some texts add: ‘to clear it (of its golden leaves, berries, and clusters)’.
s The wall was six cubits thick and two sets of double doors enclosed the space corre¬ sponding to the wall’s thickness. 9 Ezek. 41 23.
10 The cell, six cubits by ten, enclosed within the two sets of doors.
11 Each wing of the door, folded back, sufficed to cover up five of the six cubits of the wall- thickness.
>2 The inner set of double doors were swung inwards 180 degrees, and so covered the adjacent walls to either side.
13 Both the inner and outer sets of doors.
14 Therefore within the door-cell there was only five cubits of wall surface, and when the folding wings of both sets of doors were folded back (each then measuring two and a half cubits) and turned all of them inwards in the direction of the door-cell, they exactly covered the wall-space of the cell. 13 Ezek. 4134. 16 Tam. 3’.
596 FIFTH DIVISION: KODASHIM hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut.1 He2 took the key and opened the wicket. He entered into a cell, and from the cell into the Sanctuary. R. Judah says: He went along the thickness of the wall3 until he found himself standing between both gates; then he opened the outer doors from within and the inner doors from without.
3. And there were thirty-eight cells there, fifteen to the north, fifteen to the south, and eight to the west. Those to the north and those to the south were [built] five over five, and five over them;4 and those to the west, three over three and two over them.5 And to every one were three en¬ trances, one into the cell on the right, and one into the cell on the left, and one into the cell above it. And in the one at the north-eastern corner6 were five entrances: one into the cell on the right,7 and one into the cell above it, and one into the passage-way, and one into the wicket, and one into the Sanctuary.
4. The lower [story of cells] was five cubits wide and the floor above it six; the middle one was six cubits and the floor above it seven; and the upper one was seven,8 as it is written, The nethermost story was five cubits broad and the middle was six cubits broad and the third was seven cubits broad?
5. And a passage-way went up from the north-eastern corner to the north-western corner, whereby they could go up to the roofs of the cells. [The priest] went up by the passage-wTay facing westward, and went the whole length of the northern side until he reached the west; after he had reached the west he turned his face to the south, and went the whole length of the western side until he reached the south; after he had reached the south he turned his face to the east and wrent along the southern side until he reached the entrance to the upper chamber,10 for the entrance to the upper chamber opened towards the south. And at the entrance to the upper chamber were two cedar posts by which they could mount to the roof of the upper chamber. And in the upper chamber the ends of flagstones marked where was the division between the Sanctuary and the Holy of Holies. And in the upper story were openings into the Holy of Holies by which they used to let down the workmen in boxes, so that they should not feast their eyes on the Holy of Holies.
6. The Sanctuary11 was a hundred cubits square and a hundred cubits in height. The solid basement12 was six cubits, and the height [of wall built thereon] forty cubits, the wall-frieze13 one cubit, the place of drippings'4