<P> The only source of information on the First Temple is the Tanakh . According to the biblical sources, the temple was constructed under Solomon, during the united monarchy of Israel and Judah . The Bible describes Hiram I of Tyre who furnished architects, workmen and cedar timbers for the temple of his ally Solomon at Jerusalem . He also co-operated with Solomon in mounting an expedition on the Red Sea . 1 Kings 6: 1 puts the date of the beginning of building the temple "in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel". The conventional dates of Solomon's reign are circa 970 to 931 BCE . This puts the date of its construction in the mid-10th century BCE . Schmid and Rupprecht are of the view that the site of the temple used to be a Jebusite shrine which Solomon chose in an attempt to unify the Jebusites and Israelites. 1 Kings 9: 10 says that it took Solomon 20 years altogether to build the Temple and his royal palace . The Temple itself finished being built after 7 years . During the united monarchy the Temple was dedicated to Yahweh, the God of Israel, and housed the Ark of the Covenant . Rabbinic sources state that the First Temple stood for 410 years and, based on the 2nd - century work Seder Olam Rabbah, place construction in 832 BCE and destruction in 422 BCE (3338 AM), 165 years later than secular estimates . </P> <P> The exact location of the Temple is unknown: it is believed to have been situated upon the hill which forms the site of the 1st century Second Temple and present - day Temple Mount, where the Dome of the Rock is situated . </P> <P> According to the Tanakh, the Temple was plundered by the Neo-Babylonian Empire king Nebuchadnezzar II when the Babylonians attacked Jerusalem during the brief reign of Jehoiachin c. 598 BCE (2 Kings 24: 13). A decade later, Nebuchadnezzar again besieged Jerusalem and after 30 months finally breached the city walls in 587 BCE, subsequently burning the Temple, along with most of the city (2 Kings 25). According to Jewish tradition, the Temple was destroyed on Tisha B'Av, the 9th day of Av (Hebrew calendar). </P> <P> The Temple of Solomon is considered to be built according to Phoenician design, and its description is considered the best description of what a Phoenician temple looked like . The detailed descriptions provided in the Tanakh are the sources for reconstructions of its appearance . Technical details are lacking, since the scribes who wrote the books were not architects or engineers . Nevertheless, the descriptions have inspired modern replicas of the temple and influenced later structures around the world . </P>

Description of solomon's temple in the bible