The Jerusalem of Christ’s day was the city as it existed in the days of Herod the Great. East and west it was no wider than at present; southward it covered the high south-western hill and a good part of the slope of Ophel; northward the third wall was not yet built, but there were suburban buildings outside the second. The Temple area had been so enlarged by Herod as to include all, or nearly all, the present Noble Sanctuary; and there were approaches from the west, one of which led over Robinson’s Arch. A main street from the Valley Gate led eastward to the Temple, passing over Wilson’s Arch. Another main street, running north and south, passed under Wilson’s Arch and Robinson’s Arch, and led to a gate in the south wall. In the north-western part of the High Town was Herod’s palace, with the three strong towers near the Valley Gate which defended it. The Tower of Antonia occupied the site of the present Turkish barracks, north-west of the Temple; and when Pontius Pilate was governor he occupied it. Westward of the city the _Birket Mamilla_ existed as a reservoir of water, and supplied the palace and towers: but the _Birket es Sultan_, or so-called Lower Pool of Gihon, had not been made. The Pool of Siloam was well known, and of course the spring-head which supplied it. The traditional Pool of Bethesda did not exist, but the true Bethesda--now buried under ruins--exhibited its five porches, and was in favour as a healing fountain. For the rest we may say that although all the valleys were deeper than they are now, the streets and bazaars probably followed in most instances the lines which they still preserve, and were just as narrow as they are at present. In the High Town, called in Josephus’ day the Upper Market Place, there would be an open space somewhere, actually used for a market; and here, we may conjecture, Jesus would sometimes teach. The very circumstances of the spot would suggest the parable of the Labourers, some of whom stood idle till the eleventh hour. Christ also taught in the ample spaces of the Temple courts (John vii. 14); and in the last days of his ministry, at any rate, used to retire from the city before the gates were closed at sunset (Luke xxi. 37). Whether he ever lodged within the city we cannot tell, but that he had no home there and no friend in whose house he was sure of a welcome, may perhaps be inferred from the fact that a guest-chamber had to be engaged when he desired to eat the Passover (Mark xiv. 12).