The Letter of Aristeas' Description of the Temple
83Therefore I have explained these things to you, assuming that a description of them was necessary. What follows comprises the journey that we made to Eleazar, but first I will explain the setting of the entire country. For when we arrived at the locales, we saw the city situated in the middle of the entirety of Judea upon a mountain that rose to…
The Letter of Aristeas, a pseudepigraphic work about the translation of the Bible into Greek attributed to an official of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285–246 BCE), includes the official’s recollections of Jerusalem and the Temple from his journey there from Egypt. Josephus also offers several detailed descriptions of the Temple in his writings. In The Jewish War, he describes the Temple’s construction and renovation over many generations, culminating in Herod’s magnificent restoration. In Against Apion, he counters the allegation that the Jews offered foreigners as human sacrifices by describing the courtyards that restricted foreigners from entering the Temple.
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The Jerusalem Temple in Antiquity
Ancient descriptions of the Temple and its material culture indicate that the Jerusalem Temple was the central site of Jewish sacrificial worship.
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Construction and Renovation of the Temple
The Jewish War 5.184–237 (selections)
An eyewitness describes the construction and layout of the Second Temple in Jerusalem.
The Temple Courts
Against Apion 2.103–107
A priest's describes who was and was not permitted to enter the Temple court.