Court of the Gentiles

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bar-kochba-coin-small.jpg Jesus preached in the Court of the Gentiles which Herod's builders had doubled in size and surrounded with an elaborate Hellenistic portico. This model at the Holy Land Hotel is a Scholar's conception showing how the site may have looked in Jesus' day.

 

Josephus the Jewish historian wrote about the warning signs that were on the barrier that separated the court of the gentiles from the other courts in the Temple. Not until recent times did archaeologists actually discover one. Its seven line inscription read as follows:

 

NO FOREIGNER

IS TO GO BEYOND THE BALUSTRADE

AND THE PLAZA OF THE TEMPLE ZONE

WHOEVER IS CAUGHT DOING SO

WILL HAVE HIMSELF TO BLAME

FOR HIS DEATH

WHICH WILL FOLLOW

 

First Century Jerusalem

Bible History Online