Editing Second Temple (section)

=== Renovations under Herod ===
[[File:19_Shrine_of_the_Book_005.jpg|thumb|270x270px|Herod's Temple as imagined in the [[Holyland Model of Jerusalem]]; east at the bottom]]
In c. 20/19 BCE,{{Efn|This dating is based on Josephus' account in [[Antiquities of the Jews]] (XV, 380), which states that construction began in Herod’s eighteenth regnal year. In [[The Jewish War]] (I, 401), he gives a different date—Herod's fifteenth year—but scholars, including Bahat, consider this less likely.{{sfn|Bahat|1999|p=58}}}}{{Sfn|Bahat|1999|p=38}} [[Herod the Great|Herod]], king of Judaea, began an ambitious renovation of the Second Temple. The old temple built by [[Zerubbabel]] was replaced by a magnificent edifice. Herod's Temple was one of the larger construction projects of the 1st century BCE.<ref name="War">Flavius Josephus: ''The Jewish War''</ref> Josephus records that Herod was interested in perpetuating his name through building projects, that his construction programs were extensive and paid for by heavy taxes, but that his masterpiece was the Temple of Jerusalem.<ref name="War" /> Later, the [[sanctuary shekel]] was reinstituted to support the temple as the [[temple tax]].<ref>{{bibleverse|Exodus|30:13}}</ref>

According to [[Josephus]], the construction of the Temple itself took about a year and a half, while the porticoes and outer walls required a further eight years.<ref>Josephus, ''Antiquities of the Jews'', XV, 420–421</ref>{{Sfn|Bahat|1999|p=38}} During the works, Herod was careful not to offend religious sensitivities:{{Sfn|Bahat|1999|pp=38–39}} ten thousand laborers and a thousand priests were specially trained for the construction, daily offerings continued uninterrupted,<ref>''Antiquities of the Jews'', XV, 382–7</ref> and modesty partitions were erected to shield sacred rituals from view.<ref>Mishnah, ''[[Eduyot (Talmud)|Eduyot]]'', 8:6</ref>{{Sfn|Bahat|1999|pp=38–39}} While the main structures were largely completed during Herod's reign, construction at the complex continued for decades, possibly until the 60s CE, as reflected in the [[New Testament]]'s mention of 46 years of work<ref>[[Gospel of John]], 2:20</ref> and Josephus' reference to additions under the procurator [[Lucceius Albinus]] (c. 62–64 CE).{{Sfn|Bahat|1999|pp=38–39}}