Moving the Blog

I'll be living in Jerusalem for the next year, so I've started a new blog focusing on Jerusalem and Israel. I have decided to combine Pronaos with my Jerusalem blog for simplicity. I will still be posting many things about ancient temple traditions, but will also included other things I find interesting in Jerusalem. If you want to follow my Jerusalem blog, see the following:

http://hamblinofjerusalem.blogspot.com/
My basic blog with numerous photos.

http://www.youtube.com/user/HamblinOfJerusalem
Videos

http://picasaweb.google.com/HamblinWJ
My Picassa web albums

http://twitter.com/Hamblinwj
Narcissistic Tweets, (whatever the heck they are).

http://www.panoramio.com/user/3474976
Panorama photography.

For the next year I will rarely, if ever, post to Pronaos. When my year in Jerusalem is up, I'll return to using the Pronaos blog.

Middle Bronze walls of Jerusalem discovered

Video and text here

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/09/04/israel.wall.discovered/index.html#cnnSTCVideo

This would have been the wall at the time of Melchizedek and Abraham.

Playing with my grandsons

is funner than blogging.

10,000 hits

Well Pronaos has been up for nearly a year and we've just had our 10,000th visit. (I suspect half of those are me.) Our latest guest was from Kyrgyzstan. I'm going to be travelling for a few weeks so the blog will be on hiatus until early September. (Sent from my iPhone)

New Model of the Temple

Here are some more articles and pictures.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1249418531667

http://helektov.wordpress.com/2009/08/04/temple-model-to-overlook-the-kotel/

New Model of the Temple

To be on display near the Western Wall (Kotel)

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/132683

Rebuilding the Altar?

The Temple Institute have begun construction on a new altar, though not on the Temple Mount.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/132664

64% of Israelis want the Temple rebuilt

Based on a poll discussed here.

Priestly inscription from time of Jesus discovered

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/132655

Temple Mount closed (temporarily)

Attempts by some Jews to ascend the Temple Mount on Tisha b'Av were stopped by Israeli police.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1248277936884&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

This generally happens several times a year when Third Temple movements try to enter the Temple Mount.

Dome of the Rock

Here's a nice site and photographs on the Dome of the Rock, which most scholars believe is the site of Solomon's Temple

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/israel/jerusalem-dome-of-the-rock.htm

Gigapan of the Salt Lake Mormon Temple

William Hamblin has posted a 400 megapixel photo of the east wall of the Salt Lake Temple on "Gigapan," including close-ups a of a dozen symbolic architectural features.

http://share.gigapan.org/viewGigapan.php?id=28886

360 VR Panoramas of LDS Temple Square

Photographed by William Hamblin. See online here.

Put your mouse over the image, and left click and drag to move around in the panorama. Zoom in and out using the shift and option or control keys. There is a little less distortion if you zoom in a bit.

Tweeting God at the Western Wall (Kotel)

You can now send an email, which will be printed and placed in the cracks of the Western Wall of the Temple for you.

See here and here.

Tweet your Prays @ The Kotel

Seems somehow inappropriate and yet inevitable. OK, I'll admit I tried it.

(But it leads to the inevitable question: Can you "follow" God on Twitter?)

Tisha B'av (Ninth of Av)

Tisha B'Av (the ninth day of the month of Av) is a Jewish holy day of fasting and mourning for the destruction of the Temple. This year it falls from sunset on July 29 through sunset on July 30.

The Temple Mount Faithful, a militant group agitating for Israeli takeover of the Dome of the Rock and the reconstruction of Temple, is planning a demonstration and their annual attempt to march onto the Temple Mount. Such demonstrations have always been stopped by Israeli police in the past.

Evangelical Interpretations of Prophecies of Future Temple

Randall Price, an eschatologically oriented Evangelical, summarizes his interpretation of prophecies of a future temple.

http://www.prophezine.com/PZArticles/TIMEFORATEMPLEByRandallPrice/tabid/919/Default.aspx

New National Park East of Temple Mount

Israel proposes to build a new national park to the east of the Temple Mount. This area is near a Muslim cemetery, and the decision will undoubtedly increase tensions related to the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1246443861841&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Connections between Temple and Dome

Summary of evidence that Muslim traditions at the Haram al-Sharif and Dome of the Rock are linked to earlier Jewish temple traditions.

Unfortunately I was unable to identify the original source of Dr. Sharon's article. If anyone knows the reference, please let me know.

See also

Hamblin and Seely, Solomon's Temple: Myth and History

Conference on Temples in the Ancient Near East

Alas it is in Germany. But it looks very interesting!

Temples and Ascent

A recent presentation given by Daniel Peterson is summarized by Bryce Hammond on his great blog.