The Sign and the Seal. A quest for the Lost Ark of the Covenant

51 For further details see Professor Kenneth A. Kitchen, `Shishak's

Military Campaign in Israel Confirmed', Biblical Archaeology Review, May/June 1989, pp. 32-3. See also Bruce Metzger, David Goldstein, John Ferguson (eds), Great Events of Bible Times, op. cit., pp 94-5.

52 Ibid., p. 95.

53 Ibid., P. 94. This view is also expressed with great authority by Professor Menahem Haran of Jerusalem's Hebrew University in his book Temples and Temple Service in Ancint Israel, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1978, reprinted (with corrections) by Eisenbrauns, Winona Lake, Indiana, 1985, p. 286: 'It may be concluded that the Egyptian army bypassed Jerusalem in the north, proceeding from Aijalon to Beth-horon and Gibeon and from there north-eastwards to Zemaraim and down into the Jordan Valley at Succoth. Shishak's campaign seems to have been mainly directed against the Northern Kingdom. Only one section of his army seems to have overrun the Negeb as far as Arad, without advancing towards the Judean hills. It is thus not impossible that the temple treasuries and those ofthe king's house with "all the shields of gold which Solomon had made" were handed over to Shishak by Rehoboam himself. He thereby succeeded in diverting the Egyptian army from his land. This would be the meaning of his words "he took away" used with reference to Shishak. The story in 1 Kgs 14:25-6 only mentions one particular part of Shishak's route, highlighting it as viewed from Jerusalem.'

54 Professor Menahem Haran, Temples and Torok Servia in Ancient Israel, op. cit., p. 284.

55 Ibid., PP. 284-5. Examples in the Bible of Judaean kings who emptied the treasuries for their own purposes include Ahaz and Hezekiah. See 2 Chronicles 28:24 and 2 Kings 18:15-16.

56 Jerusalem Bible, op. cit., Chronological Table, p. 344. The reign of Jehoash (Joash) is given as 798-783 BC. 2 Kings 14:1 states that the conflict between Jehoash and Amaziah took place in the second year of the reign of Jehoash hence the date 796 BC.

57 2 Kings 14:12-14. The King James Authorized version states 'in the treasures of the king's house'. However, the more accurate and recent translations of the Jerusalem Bible and the New English Bible state, respectively, 'the treasury of the royal palace' and 'the treasuries of the royal palace'. It is clear tha1 the translation 'treasury' or 'treasuries' is the correct one here.

58 Professor Menahem Haran, Temples and Temple Service in Ancient Israel, op. cit., pp. 277 and 285, footnote 19.

59 According to the authoritative chronology provided in the Jerusalem Bible, op. cit. See Chronological Table, p. 346. See also translation of the second book of Kings, pp. 423-4.

60 2 Kings 24:10-13 (amalgam of King James Authorized Version and Jerusalem Bible translations).

61 Professor Menahem Haran, Temples and Temple Service in Ancint Israel, op. cit., p. 287. The King James Authorized Version of the Bible wrongly translated the word hekal with the general 1erm 'temple', thus causing much confusion to subsequent generations of scholars who did not have access to the original Hebrew. The hekal was a specific part of the Temple the outer sanctum which formed the ante-chamber 10 1he Holy of Holies.

62 For details see Chapter 11 above.

63 See Professor Edward Ullendorff, 'Hebraic-Jewish Elements in Abyssinian (Monophysite) Christianity', in Journal of Semitic Studies, vol. I, no. 3,1956, p. 235.

64 Ibid., pp. 235-6: 'The outside ambulatory of the three concentric parts of the Abyssinian church (which is either round, octagonal, or rectangular) is called k'ene mahlet, i.e. the place where hymns are sung and where the debtara or cantors stand. This outer part corresponds to the baser of the Tabernacle or the clam of Solomon's Temple. The next chamber is the k'eddest where communion is administered 10 the people; and the innermost par1 is the mak'das where the tabot rests and to which only priests have access. In some parts of Abyssinia, especially the north, the k'eddest (the qodes of the Tabernacle of hekal of Solomon's Temple) is called 'coda to amen, "place of miracle", and the mak'des is named k'eddusa k'eddusam (the qodes haqqodasim of the Tabernacle and the debir of the Temple). This division into three chambers applies to all Abyssinian churches, even the smallest of them.'

65 This, as I subsequently established, had not been quite the act of senseless vandalism that the English version of the tex1 implied: the phrase 'cut in pieces' was a translation of the Hebrew way-e-qasses, which did sugges1 cutting up but also connoted the stripping of metal plates from overlaid objects. Such a nuance made sense because the Bible stated unambiguously that the 'golden furnishings' that had stood in the hekal had included the 'altar' and 1he 'table of the showbread' both of which had been made of wood overlaid with gold. For a discussion see Professor Menahem Haran, Temples and Temple Service in Ancint Israel, op. cit., p. 287, footnote 23.

66 1 Kings 7:49-50 (Jerusalem Bible translation).

67 If this is not already patently obvious to the reader, then it is made clear in the Jerusalem Bible's translation ofn Kings 8:6 which reads as follows: 'The priests brought up the Ark of the Covenant of Yahweh to its place, in the debir of 1he Temple, that is, in the Holy of Holies, under the cherubs' wings.'

68 As is demonstrated by their treatment of King Jehoiachin (2 Kings 24:11-12), their deportatIon of large numbers of the inhabitants of Jerusalem (2 Kings 24:14-16), and their despolation of the Temple of Yahweh (a Kings 24:13).

69 Research notes provided to the author by David Keys, Archaeology Correspondent of The Independent, London.

70 2 Kings 24:17.

71 2 Kings 25:1.

72 2 Kings 25:1-3. For the dates of these events I have relied on the Chronological Table in the Jerusalem Bible, op. cit., P. 346. There is a small margin of error in the dates allocated. Some archaeologists put the ending of the siege and final destruction of the Temple at 586 BC e.g. see Kathleen Kenyon, Jerusalem: Excavating 3,000 Years of History. op. cit., p. 55.

73 2 Kings 25:8. It is important to stress that the academics disagree as to whether these events took place in 587 or 586 BC.

74 2 Kings 25:8-10, 13-16. A parallel inventory, which does not contradict this one in any way, and which also makes no mention of the Ark, may be found in Jeremiah 52:17-23.

75 The view that the gold and silver items taken by Nebuzaradan consisted only of relatively minor utensils is given additional weight by the text of the parallel list in Jeremiah 52:17-23 which, in verse 19, states explicitly that commander of the guard 'took the bowls, the censers, the sprinkling bowls, the ash containers, the lamp-stands, the goblets and the saucers: everything that was made of gold and everything of silver' (Jerusalem Bible translation). See also Jeremiah 27:18-22 which refers to the objects not taken by Nebuchadnezzar in 598 ac and prophesies

that they will be taken after the second conquest of the city: 'But if they be prophets, and if the word of the Lord be with them, let them now make intercession to the Lord of Hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, go not to Babylon. For thus saith the Lord of hosts concerning the pillars, and concerning the Sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the residue of vessels that remain in the city, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took not when he carried away captive Jeconiah . king of Judah from Jerusalem to Babylon . Yea, thus saith the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that remain in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah and of Jerusalem; They shall be carried to Babylon, and there shall they be until the day that 1 visit them, saith the Lord; then will I bring them up, and restore them to this place.'

76 E.g., Kathleen Kenyon, Royal Cities of the Old Testament, Barne & Jenkins, London, 1971, p. 148: `Probably the Ark vanished in the burning of the Temple, though there is no actual reference to it subsequent to its deposit in the Holy of Holies in the time of Solomon.'

77 2 Kings 24:15-16.

78 2 Kings 25:11, 21.

79 Psalm 78:1-6.

80 Jerusalem Bible, op. cit., Chronological Table, p. 346.

81 Peter Calvocoressi, Who's Who in the Bible, Penguin, London, 1988, P. 45.

82 Ibid.

83 Ezra 1:7-11.

84 Jerusalem Bible, op. cit., Chronological Table, p. 346.

85 Ibid. See also Ezra 3:8; 5:16.

86 The Jerusalem Bible Chronological Table, op. cit. gives a completion date of 515 BC. The Encyclopaedia Judaism proposes the slightly earlier dates of 520-517 BC. See Geoffrey Wigoder (ed.), The Encyclopedia of Judaism, Jerusalem Publishing House, Jerusalem, 1989, p. 694.

87 Hebrew-English Edition of the Babylonian Talmud, Soncino Press, London, Jerusalem, New York, 1974, Tractate Yoma, 21b.

88 See also Louis Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, op. cit., vol. VI, p. 442: 'The following five things were in the First Temple only: the heavenly fire, the holy oil of anointing, the Ark, the Holy Spirit, and the Urim and Thummim.' Biblical references to the Urim and Thummim can be found in Exodus 28:30; Leviticus 8:8; Ezra 2:63; and Nehemiah 7:65.

89 Zev Vilnay, Legends of Jerusalem, op. cit., vol. I, p. 123. See also Louis Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, op. cit., vol. VI, p. 378: `Solomon, at the erection of the Temple, provided a secret place to be used later for "hiding" holy objects.'

90 Hebrew-English Edition of the Babylonian Talmud, op. cit., Traaate Yoma, 53b.

91 Dates from the Jerusalem Bible, op. cit., Chronological Table, p. 345.

92 Louis Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, op. cit., vol. IV, p. 282. See also Hebrew-English Edition of the Babylonian Talmud, op. cit., Tractate Yoma, 52b. See also C. Roth and G. Wigoder (eds), The New Standard Encyclopaedia of Judaism. W. H. Allen, London, 1970, p. 158.

93 Louis Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, op. cit., vol. III, p. 158.

94 Ibid.

95 Herbert Danby (trans.), The Mishnah, op. cit., p. 158. See also Zev Vilnay, Legnds of Jerusalem, op. cit., p. 122.

96 See entry on the Books of Maccabees in F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone (eds), The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, Oxford University Press, 1988, p. 855.

97 Ibid. In its 'Introduction to the Books of Maccabees' 1he Jerusalem Bible, op. cit., concludes that Maccabees was probably written around 63 BC.

98 2 Maccabees 2:1.

99 Jerusalem Bible, op. cit., p. 605, footnote 2a and 'Introduction to the Books of Maccabees', p. 569.

100 F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone (eds), The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, op. cit., p. 855.

101 Jeremiah was born around 650 BC. The exact date of his death is not known; however it is thought to have occurred within a decade of the destruction of Solomon's Temple. See F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone (eds), The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Churdt, op. cit., pp. 730-1. See also Peter Calvocoressi, Who's Who in the Bible, op. cit., pp.101 2.

102 2 Maccabees 2:1, 4.

103 See Deuteronomy 34:1.

104 Mount Nebo is on the eastern side of the Dead Sea, in the modern state of Jordan, overlooking Jerusalem and Jericho.

105 Because he foretold and welcomed the destruction of the Temple by Nebuchadnezzar, whom he saw as God's chosen instrument for chastising Judah, 'He was frequently in personal danger from his own people, physically assaulted and for several years in hiding' (Peter Calvocoressi, Who Who in the Bible, op. cit., p. 101). See also F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone (eds), The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, op. cit., p. 730: Jeremiah faced 'the hostility of the official representatives of the Jewish religion'.

106 Louis Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, op. cit., vol. IV, p. 320: 'The Holy Ark, the altar of incense, and the holy tent were carried by an angel to the mount whence Moses before his death had viewed the land divinely assigned to Israel. There Jeremiah found a spacious cave in which he concealed these sacred utensils.'

107 For further details on the Wailing Wall and on the current politico-religious status of the Temple Moun1 the reader is referred to the appropriate entries in Geoffrey Wigoder (ed.), The Encyclopedia Judaism, op. cit., pp. 696-7 and 727-9.

108 See Meir Ben-Dov, In the Shadow of the Temple: the Discovery of Ancint Jerusalem, Harper & Row, New York, 1985, p. 24.

109 Ibid., p. 25.

110 Ibid., pp. 19-20.

111 See Geoffrey Wigoder (ed.), The Encyclopedia of Judaism, op. cit., p. 695 and 481-3.

112 Meir Ben-Dov, In the Shadow of the Temple, op. cit. See in particular Chapter 2, 'Remains from the Kingdom of Judah'. The rest of this excellent book, from p. 57 forward, is devoted to the finds relating to other periods.

113 Ibid., pp. 16-18. See also Neil Asher Silberman, Digging for God and Country: Exploration, Archaeology and the Secret Struggle for the Hoy Land 1799-1917, Knopf New York, 1982, pp. 89-99.

114 Neil Asher Silberman, Digging for God and Country, op. cit., pp. 89-99.

115 Ibid., p. 93.

116 Ibid., pp. 94-7.

117 Meir Ben-Dov, In the Shadow of the Temple, op. cit., p. 18.

118 Kathleen Kenyon, Digging up Jerusalem, op. cit., p. 31.

119 See Neil Asher Silberman, Digging for God and Country, op. cit., pp. 180-8. In general 1 am indebted to this useful and informative woidrk. for 1he account of the Parker expedition that follows.

120 Ibid.

121 Kathleen Kenyon, Digging up Jerusalem, op. cit., p. 30.

122 See 'Tom Crotser has found the Ark of the Covenan1 or has he?', Biblical Archaeology Review, May/June 1983, pp. 66-7.

123 Ibid., pp. 66-7.

124 Ibid., p. 66.

125 Ibid., p. 67.

126 Ibid., p. 68, quoting UPI reporter Darrell Day.

127 Ibid., p. 68.

128 Ibid., p. 68.

129 Ibid., p. 68. 130 Ibid., pp. 68-9.

131 Ibid., p. 69.

132 Richard Elliott Friedman, Who Wrote the Bible?, Jonathan Cape, London, 1988, p. 156.

133 Ibid.

Chapter 15 Hidden History

1 Richard Elliott Friedman, Who Wrote the Bible?, Jonathan Cape, London, 1988, p. 156.

2 Sir E. A. Wallis Budge, The Quen of Sheba and her Only Son Menelik: being the 'Book of the Glory of Kings' (Kebra Nagast), Oxford University Press, 1932, pages 99 and 100. See Chapter 3, n. 94 above.

3 Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, Loeb Classical Library (Heinemann), London, 1934, books V-VIII, p. 665.

4 1 Kings 10:2.

5 E. A. Wallis Budge, A History of Ethiopia, Nubia and Abyssinia, London, 1928, Preface.

6 See David L. Edwards, A Kg to the Old Testament, Fount Paperbacks, London, 1989, pp. 209-11, in particular p. 210.

7 Ibid. See also Richard Elliott Friedman, Who Wrote the Bible?, op. cit., p. 146.

8 1 Kings 8:6-8 (emphasis added). New English Bible translation, Oxford and Cambridge University Presses, 1970, p. 384.

9 See David L. Edwards, A Key to the Old Testament, op. cit., p. 210.

10 William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act III, Scene 2, line 25.

11 Julian Morgenstern, 'The Book of the Covenant', in Hebrew Union College Annual, vol. V, 1928, reprinted by KTAV Publishing House, New York, 1968, p. 29, footnote 37.

12 1 Kings 8:9 (Jerusalem Bible translation).

13 Deuteronomy 10:5 (New English Bible translation). The Jerusalem Bible translation states: 'and there they stayed'; the King James Authorized Version states: 'and there they be'.

14 Julian Morgenstern, 'The Book of the Covenant', op. cit., p. 29, footnote 37.

15 Ibid. Emphasis added.

16 Louis Ginzberg, Legnds of the Jews, Jewish Publication Society of America, Philadelphia, 1909, vol. IV, p. 282.

17 Hebrew-English Edition of the Babylonian Talmud, Soncino Press, London, Jerusalem, New York, 1974, Tractate Yoma 53b.

18 John Oates, Babylon, Thames & Hudson, London, 1988, p. 128.

19 Ibid., pp. 126-9.

20 2 Chronicles 34:33 (Jerusalem Bible translation); 2 Chronicles 35:2-3 (King James Authorized Version translation).

21 2 Chronicles 35:19 (cf. 2 Chronicles 35:1-3).

22 This date is arrived at by simple mathematics. since it is known nhat Josiah came to power in 640 BC (see Jerusalem Bible, Eyre & Spottiswoode, London, 1968, Chronological Table, p. 345), the eighteenth year of his reign must therefore have been 622 BC.

23 Jeremiah began his prophetic ministry in 626 BC see Geoffrey Wigoder (ed.), The Encyclopaedia of Judaism, Jerusalem Publishing House, Jerusalem, 1989, p. 380. 1 attribute the date of 626 BC to the verses quoted because they are recognized by leading biblical scholars as being amongst `Jeremiah's earliest prophecies'. See Menahem Haran, Temples and Temple Service in Ancient Israel, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1978, reprinted in 1985 by Eisenbrauns, Winona Lake, Indiana, p. 281.

24 Jeremiah 3:16-17 (Jerusalem Bible translation).

25 Jeremiah's authorship of the book of Jeremiah is not in doubt although he probably dictated it to an amanuensis. See, inter alia, Geoffrey Wigoder (ed.), The Encyclopaedia of op. cit., pp. 380 1; Jerusalem Bible, op. cit., Introduction to the book of Jeremiah, p. 1067; F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone (eds), The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, Oxford University Press, 1988, pp. 730-1.

26 Menahem Haran, Temples and Temple Service in Ancint Israel, op. cit., p. 281.

27 See Jerusalem Bible, op. cit., Chronological Table, pp. 344-5. The fifteen kings between Solomon and Josiah were Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa, Jehosophat, Jehoram, Ahaziah, Athaliah, Joash, Amaziah, Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh and Amon.

28 The Holy Bible, King James Version (Electronic First Edition, Km), Franklin Computer Corporation, New Jersey, 1989. Throughout my research 1 made exhaustive use of this marvellous investigative instrument.

29 See Numbers 12:10 and discussion in Chapter 13 above.

30 The occurrences were: Exodus 25:22, Numbers 7:89; 1 Samuel 4:4; 2 Samuel 6:2; and 1 Chronicles 13:6.

31 2 Kings 7:3.

32 Jerusalem Bible, op. cit., Chronological Table, p. 345.

33 2 Chronicles 26:16.

34 2 Chronicles 26:19.

35 See Leviticus 0:1-2.

36 See Chapters 12 and 13 above for a fuller discussion.

37 2 Chronicles 26:21-3.

38 Geoffrey Wigoder (ed.), The Encyclopedia of Judaism, op. cit., p. 575: 'the precise dating of individual psalms is impossible.'

39 F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone (eds), The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, op. cit., p. 1139. See also Geoffrey Wigoder (ed.), The Encyclopedia of Judaism, op. cit., pp. 574-6; and Stephen Bigger (ed.), Creating the Old Testamnt: The Emergnce of the Hebrew Bible, Blackwell, Oxford, 1989, pp. 254-8.

40 Ezekiel 10:2; Ezekiel 10:6; Ezekiel; 10:7.

41 For the dating of Ezekiel see 'The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel', The Cambridge Bible Commntary, Cambridge University Press,

42 Ezekiel 81-3: 'thespirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem.'

43 Ezekiel 10:20-2, especially 21.

44 Ezekiel 10:1,15,20.

45 Ezekiel 10:19,5.

46 Isaiah 37:16; 2 Kings 19:15.

47 Isaiah 37:14-16.

48 2 Kings 19:14-15.

49 Biblical scholars are unanimous that chapters 1-39 of the book of Isaiah, including this chapter of course, were written by Isaiah himself. See Geoffrey Wigoder (ed.), The Encyclopedia of Judaism, op. cit., p. 369. See also Jerusalem Bible, op. cit., 'Introduction to Isaiah', p. 970. See also Peter Calvocoressi, Who's Who in the Bible, Penguin, London, 1988, pp. 87-8. Some of the later chapters in Isaiah, from 40 onwards, were certainly written later. The antiquity of chapter 37, however, the one in which the reference to 'between the cherubims' crops up, is not in doubt. Moreover since the chapter refers to a known historical event Sennacherib's invasion it can be dated fairly precisely to 701 BC (see Jerusalem Bible, Chronological Table, p. 345; and F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone (eds), Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, op. cit., p. 715.

50 See Jerusalem Bible, op. cit., 'Introduction to the Book of Isaiah', p. 970. See also F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone (eds), The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, op. cit., p. 715.

51 Isaiah 6:1-3, and Jerusalem Bible, op. cit., p. 970.

52 Jerusalem Bible, op. cit., Chronological Table, p. 345, for dates.

53 F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone (eds), The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, op. cit., p. 715. See also Handbook to the Bible, Lion Publishing, London, 1988, p. 376. See also the Encyclopedia of Judaism, op. cit., p. 369. 'Modern scholars maintain that the book of Isaiah is a composite work written by more than one prophet, and that only chapters 1-39 are the words of Isaiah.' The verse quoted above falls safely within this range, in chapter 37 of Isaiah.

54 Isaiah 37:6-7. See also Handbook to the Bible, op. cit., p. 376; The Encyclopedia of Judaism, op. cit., p. 369.

55 Isaiah 37:14.

56 Isaiah 37: 17-20.

57 Isaiah 37:33,35.

58 Isaiah 37:36-7.

59 See, for example, Paul Johnson, A History of the Jews, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1988, p. 73.

60 Ibid.

61 See Chapters 12 and 13 above.

62 Isaiah 37:14. 'The house of the Lord' is of course a synonym for the Jerusalem Temple (compare Jerusalem Bible translation of the same verse).

63 Isaiah 37:14.

64 1 Kings 3:15.

65 2 Samuel 6:5.

66 Deuteronomy 10:8.

67 Dates from Jerusalem Bible, op. cit., Chronological Table, p. 345.

68 2 Kings 21: 2-7.

69 Jerusalem Bible, op. cit., p. 419. See also Irving M. Zeitlin, Ancint Judaism, Polity Press, Cambridge, 1986, p. 173.

70 1 Kings 6:19 (Jerusalem Bible translation). With specific reference to the Ark, Solomon had asked: 'But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee: how much less this house that I have builded? Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, 0 Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee today: that thine eyes may be open towards this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said "My name shall be there".' Kings 8:27-9. See also 2 Samuel 6:2: 'the Ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the Lord of Hosts that dwelleth between the cherubims.' (Emphasis added.)

71 E.g. see 1 Chronicles 28:2.

72 2 Kings 21:16 (Jerusalem Bible translation).

73 2 Kings 21:20-1, 23-4.

74 2 Kings 223.

75 2 Chronicles 34:3.

76 2 Chronicles 34:3.

77 2 Kings 23:6 (amalgam of King James Authorized Version and Jerusalem Bible translations).

78 2 Chronicles 34:7.-8.

79 2 Kings 22: 6.

80 Professor Menahem Haran, Temples and Temple Service in Ancient Israel, op. cit., pp. 277, 278, 288, 281.

Chapter 16 Door of the Southern Countries

1 Jill Kamil, Upper Egypt, Longman, London and New York, 1989, p. 35.

2 Ibid., p. 36.

3 Bezalel Porten, Archives from Elephantine: the Lift of an Ancient Jewish Military Colony, University of California Press, Berkeley, Los Angeles, 1968, p. 1 10. 'The length of the Temple was at least sixty cubits. A width of approximately twenty cubits may be inferred from the presence of two buildings lying northeast of the Temple.' An ancient cubit measured eighteen inches see Dr J. H. Hertz (ed.), The Pntateuch and the Haftorahs, Soncino Press, London, 1978, p. 327. The Jerusalem Bible, footnote (b) p. 887, concurs Jerusalem Bible, Eyre & Spottiswoode, London, 1968).

4 Bezalel Porten, Archive: from Elephantine, op. cit., p. 110.

5 1 Kings 6:2: 'the length thereof was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits.'