Visualizing First Temple Jerusalem

Visitors to Jerusalem understandably are often confused by the jumbled and disconnected layers of the past that exist side by side with the teeming modern city. Jerusalem at the time of the First Temple—the Jerusalem of the Bible, the Jerusalem of Solomon, the Jerusalem whose Temple was destroyed in 586 B.C. and whose residents were carried off to captivity in Babylon—this Jerusalem exists only in fragments today. These fragments, excavated in recent years,¹ may be seen in various places but to appreciate them requires help. Now these excavated remains may be viewed in relation to each other thanks to a scale model on display in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City.