<P> The Hebrew name given in the Hebrew Bible for the building complex is either Beit YHWH (House of Yahweh, or Jehovah), Beit HaElohim "House of God", or simply Beiti "my house", Beitekhah "your house" etc . The term hekhal "hall" or main building is often translated "temple" in older English Bibles . In rabbinical literature the temple is Beit HaMikdash, "The Sanctified House", and only the Temple in Jerusalem is referred to by this name . </P> <P> The Hebrew Bible says that the First Temple was built in 957 BCE by King Solomon . According to the Book of Deuteronomy, as the sole place of Israelite sacrifice (Deuteronomy 12: 2 - 27), the Temple replaced the Tabernacle constructed in the Sinai Desert under the auspices of Moses, as well as local sanctuaries, and altars in the hills . This temple was sacked a few decades later by Shoshenq I, Pharaoh of Egypt . </P> <P> Although efforts were made at partial reconstruction, it was only in 835 BCE when Jehoash, King of Judah in the second year of his reign invested considerable sums in reconstruction, only to have it stripped again for Sennacherib, King of Assyria c. 700 BCE . The First Temple was totally destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE (425 BCE according to historical Jewish sources), when they sacked the city . </P> <P> According to the Book of Ezra, construction of the Second Temple was authorized by Cyrus the Great and began in 538 BCE, after the fall of the Babylonian Empire the year before . It was completed 23 years later, on the third day of Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the Great (12 March 515 BCE), dedicated by the Jewish governor Zerubbabel . However, with a full reading of the Book of Ezra and the Book of Nehemiah, there were four edicts to build the Second Temple, which were issued by three kings . Cyrus in 536 BCE, which is recorded in the first chapter of Ezra . Next, Darius I of Persia in 519 BCE, which is recorded in the sixth chapter of Ezra . Third, Artaxerxes I of Persia in 457 BCE, which was the seventh year of his reign, and is recorded in the seventh chapter of Ezra . Finally, by Artaxerxes again in 444 BCE in the second chapter of Nehemiah . Also, despite the fact that the new temple was not as extravagant or imposing as its predecessor, it still dominated the Jerusalem skyline and remained an important structure throughout the time of Persian suzerainty . Moreover, the temple narrowly avoided being destroyed again in 332 BCE when the Jews refused to acknowledge the deification of Alexander the Great of Macedonia . Alexander was allegedly "turned from his anger" at the last minute by astute diplomacy and flattery . Further, after the death of Alexander on 13 June 323 BCE, and the dismembering of his empire, the Ptolemies came to rule over Judea and the Temple . Under the Ptolemies, the Jews were given many civil liberties and lived content under their rule . However, when the Ptolemaic army was defeated at Panium by Antiochus III of the Seleucids in 198 BCE, this policy changed . Antiochus wanted to Hellenize the Jews, attempting to introduce the Greek pantheon into the temple . Moreover, a rebellion ensued and was brutally crushed, but no further action by Antiochus was taken, and when Antiochus died in 187 BCE at Luristan, his son Seleucus IV Philopator succeeded him . However, his policies never took effect in Judea, since he was assassinated the year after his ascension . </P>

When was the temple destroyed by the babylonians