
Behind the Scenes: Recreating the Temple
In this controversial documentary, Gary Glassman and Tristan Barako travel to Syria to give you a behind the scenes tour of the temple that Judaic King Solomon built.
Solomon´s temple is the archetype of sacred space for both Judaism and Christianity. Ironically, most of Solomon’s temple survived and has contributed valuable data to historians and bible scholars. There are two reliable sources of information regarding what the temple looked like and details of its architecture. One source is the Bible. The Old Testament book of First Kings contains a lot of information about the materials used in the construction and its design. The second source is found in the actual excavations.
Within the temple can be found the cherubims and the Ark of the Covenant on top of the Mercy Seat. Most Jews today call their synagogues “temples”, however the ancient temples bear little resemblance to modern synagogues. This is particularly because, according to Glassman and Barako, the main function of the temple in biblical times was to offer animal sacrifices. This was done as atonement for the sins committed by the people.
For a group of people having been slaves in a land of many gods to come out and establish the concept of one God is quite an impressive feat. This stance has influenced most religions.