Image Details

LEEN RITMEYER

TEMPLE CITY. In a different Dead Sea Scroll known as New Jerusalem (4Q554), the author envisions the Temple plan much more broadly. The sacred precinct covers a massive 185 square miles, nearly four times the size of modern-day Jerusalem. The walls define a rectangular area, again with three gates per side for a total of 12. Through each gate passes a road, with the central gates opening onto major thoroughfares that intersect at the heart of the precinct, where the Temple structure itself stands. The entire area is thus divided into 16 blocks, each containing 12 residential apartment complexes or insulae (shown right).