Editing Second Temple (section)

====Court of the Gentiles====
The Court of the Gentiles was primarily a [[bazaar]], with vendors selling souvenirs, sacrificial animals, food. Currency was also exchanged, with Roman currency exchanged for [[Tyrian shekel|Tyrian]] money, as also mentioned in the New Testament account of [[Jesus and the Money Changers]], when Jerusalem was packed with Jewish pilgrims who had come for Passover, perhaps numbering 300,000 to 400,000.<ref>[[E. P. Sanders|Sanders, E. P.]] ''The Historical Figure of Jesus''. Penguin, 1993. p. 249</ref><ref name="ActJ">[[Robert W. Funk|Funk, Robert W.]] and the [[Jesus Seminar]]. ''The Acts of Jesus: The Search for the Authentic Deeds of Jesus.'' HarperSanFrancisco. 1998.</ref>

Above the [[Huldah Gates]], on top the Temple walls, was the [[Royal Stoa (Jerusalem)|Royal Stoa]], a large [[basilica]] praised by Josephus as "more worthy of mention than any other [structure] under the sun"; its main part was a lengthy Hall of Columns which includes 162 columns, structured in four rows.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mazar |first=Benjamin |date=1979 |title=The Royal Stoa in the Southern Part of the Temple Mount |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3622363 |journal=Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research |volume=46/47 |pages=381–387 |doi=10.2307/3622363 |issn=0065-6798 |jstor=3622363}}</ref>

The Royal Stoa is widely accepted to be part of Herod's work; however, recent archaeological finds in the Western Wall tunnels suggest that it was built in the first century during the reign of Agripas, as opposed to the 1st century BCE.<ref>{{cite web |title=Israel Antiquities Authority |url=http://www.antiquities.org.il/Article_eng.aspx?sec_id=25&subj_id=240&id=1882&hist=1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210305094222/http://www.antiquities.org.il/Article_eng.aspx?sec_id=25&subj_id=240&id=1882&hist=1 |archive-date=2021-03-05 |access-date=2017-01-09}}</ref>