Herod’s Temple

Introduction

Have the pupils ever heard of a king called Herod? Not only is Herod famous for attempting to murder the infant Jesus, he is also famous for what he did to the Temple in Jerusalem.

Main Activity

Herod was an incredible architect who re-designed the Temple about twenty years before Jesus was born. At that time, Jerusalem was under the control of the Romans, who had appointed Herod as king. Herod was not Jewish. Therefore, it is believed that one of the reasons Herod re-built the Temple was to win the acceptance of the Jewish people. Herod's Temple was HUGE!

Show images below:

www.bible-history.com/jewishtemple/JEWISH_TEMPLEHerods_Temple_Illustration.htm

Choose the image tempang.jpg (Captioned Herod's Temple) from www.ebibleteacher.com/imagehtml/jerumodel.html

www.templeinstitute.org/gallery_28.htm

Following discussion, pupils could:

• explain what might have motivated Herod to rebuild the Temple
• write / talk about the biggest building they have ever visited

Extension

Find out about Jesus’ visits to the Temple

Plenary

Continue the Temple timeline