3. _Her'od's Temple._ The second temple having become dilapidated, Her'od the Great undertook its restoration on a magnificent scale. The work was begun about B. C. 20 and was not completed until A. D. 64. In the lifetime of Je'sus it was not yet finished (John 2. 20). This temple was destroyed by the Ro'mans under Ti'tus, A. D. 70. Its site is now occupied partially by the Dome of the Rock, miscalled the Mosque of O'mar, in Je-ru'sa-lem. [Illustration] II. =The Situation.= The city of Je-ru'sa-lem stood upon hills separated by three valleys radiating in a fanlike order, from a point at the southeast. Northward runs the valley of the Kid'ron; northwest the valley of the Ty-ro'poe-on, now almost obliterated; almost westward, with a curve northward, the valley of Hin'nom. Between the valley of the Kid'ron and the valley of the Ty-ro'poe-on were two hills--on the north Mount Mo-ri'ah, and a little to the south a spur of lower elevation known as O'phel. On Mount Mo-ri'ah stood the temple, on O'phel the buildings of Sol'o-mon's palace. Later the temple area was enlarged to include both these hills. West of Mo-ri'ah, across the Ty-ro'poe-on valley, was Mount Zi'on, upon which the principal part of the city stood. III. =The House of the Lord.= This was a building not large, but magnificent and costly; made of stone and cedar, and decorated lavishly with gold and precious stones. It consisted of four parts: 1. _The Porch_, a lofty tower facing the east. Two pillars, either in the tower at the entrance or standing apart before it, are named (1 Kings 7. 21). The interior dimensions of the porch were about 30 feet from north to south, and 15 feet east and west[14] (1 Kings 6. 3). 2. _The Holy Place_ was west of the porch, and was a chamber 60 feet long by 30 wide, and perhaps 30 feet high. In it stood, on the north, the table for "the showbread"--that is, the twelve loaves shown before the Lord; on the south, the golden candlestick, or lampstand[15]; and at the western end the golden altar of incense. 3. _The Holy of Holies_, or "the oracle" (1 Kings 6. 19, 20), was a cube, each dimension being 30 feet. It had no windows, but received a dim light through the veil which separated it from the adjoining room. This place was entered by the high priest only, and on but one day in the year, the day of atonement. The only article of furniture in the room was the Ark of the Covenant, containing the two stone tables of the law. The Ark doubtless was destroyed with the first temple, and in the second and third temples its place was indicated by a marble block, upon which the blood was sprinkled. [Illustration: THE TEMPLE]