Endnote 15 – Herod’s Roman Temple

In Josephus (Antiquities xv 380) the start of this project is given as the 18th year of Herod’s reign, whereas in War i 401, the date is given as Herod’s 15th year. Emil Schürer (The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ [Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1973], p. 292, n. 12) has pointed out that the rebuilding of the Temple must have begun in 20/19 B.C.E. because we are informed in the passage from Antiquities that this event coincided with the visit of the Emperor to Syria, which took place in the spring or summer of 20 B.C.E., during the consulship of M. Apuleius and P. Silius, in 20 B.C.E.