Golden Gate (Jerusalem)
Golden Gate | |
---|---|
باب الذهبي; שער הרחמים | |
Alternative names | Gate of Mercy |
General information | |
Town or city | Jerusalem |
Coordinates | 31°46′44″N 35°14′13″E / 31.77889°N 35.23694°E |
The Golden Gate or Gate of Mercy (
The gate has been sealed since 1541, the most recent of several sealings. Its interior can be accessed from the Temple Mount.
In Jewish tradition, the Messiah will enter Jerusalem through this gate, coming from the Mount of Olives.[5][2] Christians and Muslims generally believe that this was the gate through which Jesus entered Jerusalem.[5]
Names
Each of the two doors of this double-gate has its own name: Bab al-Rahma ('Gate of Mercy') for the southern one, and Bab al-Taubah ('Gate of Repentance') for the northern one.[5]
Another Arabic name is the Gate of Eternal Life.[citation needed]
In the Mishnah (Middot 1:3), the eastern gate of the Second Temple compound is called the Shushan Gate (שער שושן). If the Golden Gate does preserve the location of the Shushan Gate, the concept being based of an exposed ancient arch, most possibly of a former gate, which lies directly beneath the blocked entranceway of the Golden Gate.[6], this would make it the oldest of the current gates in Jerusalem's Old City Walls. Jewish and Christian tradition attributes its construction to King Solomon,[7] but there is no archaeological or historical evidence of its being that old. The modern Hebrew name of the Golden Gate is Sha'ar HaRachamim (שער הרחמים).[citation needed]
History
Early history
The Golden Gate is located in the northern third of the
The 1st-century historian,
The present gate
The construction date of the present-day Golden Gate is unknown, as
According to some scholars, the present gate was built circa 520 AD, during the Byzantine period, as part of Justinian I's building program in Jerusalem, on top of the ruins of the earlier gate in the wall.[13] An alternative theory holds that it was built in the later part of the 7th century by Byzantine artisans employed by the Umayyad Caliphs.[14]
The Dutch archaeologist
The sealing of the gate
Closed by the Muslims in 810, reopened in 1102 by the Crusaders, it was walled up by
Suleiman may have taken this decision purely for defensive reasons, but in
Ottoman Era
During the
The Ottoman Turks transformed the walled-up gate into a watchtower.[14]
Modern history
Access to the Golden Gate from within the Temple Mount was sealed off by
In February 2019, the interior of the gate was reopened for Muslim worshipers from the Temple Mount. However, the gate itself still remains sealed.[28]
Description
The Golden Gate is a rectangular stonework structure with two decorated facades. Unlike other gates in al-Aqsa enclave, the eastern façade was not built level with the wall of the enclave, but projects two meters out from the wall.
The Golden Gate has two passages. The two bays are reflected in its plan and main elevations; two doorways are followed by a double passage covered by three pairs of domes. On the ground floor level a vaulted hall is divided by four columns into two aisles, which lead to the Door of Mercy, Bab al-Rahma, and the Door of Repentance, Bab al-Taubah; an upper floor room has the two roof domes as its ceiling.[14]
Originally, the eastern facade of the Golden Gate had two large doorways, separated by a column. Each doorway measures 3.90 metres in width, supporting a semicircular arch with a decorated frieze. The doorways in the eastern facade were blocked up in the Ottoman period. It is noticed that some features in the decoration of the Golden Gate bear a close resemblance to the decoration in other non-Muslim buildings that existed in the Levant.
The openings of the Golden Gate lead to a rectangular domed vestibule, measuring 20.37 metres (66.8 ft) in length and 10.50 metres (34.4 ft) in width (interior wall measurements). At that time, the hall consisted of six shallow domes, which have elliptical shape, two of which were changed later. These domes are separated by arches of an elliptical shape springing from two pilasters at the entrances and two central columns. Each dome in the Golden Gate is constructed over a square plan, so special stones are required to form the successive stone circles that form the dome. Architecturally, the spatial treatment of the gate is somewhat interesting; shifting the facade 2 metres out of the wall indicates a clear definition of its location. The most important question concerning this gate is the matter of motive.[3]
Symbolism
Since the early times of Muslim rule over the holy region Bayt al-Maqdis, some Muslims, such as ‘Ubadah ibn al-Samit, linked the eastern wall of the enclave with the Last Day. According to Ibn Kathir, this wall is not the wall mentioned in the Quranic verse "so a wall will be put up betwixt them, with a gate therein" [57:13], but it was mentioned by some commentators as an example for the clarification of the meaning of the verse. Since that time, this example probably encouraged Muslims to bury their dead immediately outside the eastern wall of the al-Aqsa enclave. In any case, if the name "al-Rahmah" (Mercy) truly exists since the construction of the gate, this suggests that the gate is part of an overall concept based on the idea related to the place, specifically the Rock, as that of the Last Day. Then it can be argued that Bab al-Rahmah symbolises a gate in paradise or an entry to Mercy (Ratrout, 2004, p. 293). Whatever the construction motive of Bab al-Rahmah might have been, it was built during the early Islamic period, and it is the most significant gate of the enclave.[29]
According to
In Christian
It is also said that Jesus, riding on a donkey, passed through this gate on Palm Sunday, in fulfillment of the Jewish prophecy concerning the Messiah (Ezekiel 44:1-3). The Synoptic Gospels appear to support this belief by indicating Jesus came down from the direction of the Mount of Olives and immediately arrived at the Temple Mount (Mark 11:1, 11:11). The Gospel of John alternatively suggests the Pharisees were watching the arrival, possibly from the Temple Mount.[3] Those who believe the "Golden Gate" to be a fulfillment of a prophecy in the book of Ezekiel (44:1-3) spiritualize these words (i.e., using Typical, Figurative or Allegorical interpretation).
However, Biblical scholars using the Historical-Grammatical method of interpretation (basically, reading a book for the meaning its author intended) point out that the context of chapters 40-46 do not refer to either a city gate during the time of Jesus nor one today, but rather to a temple gate in which "the glory of the LORD filled the temple (43:5 RSV)" and "will dwell in the midst of the people of Israel for ever (43:7 RSV)".[37][38] Thus, as Dyer points out, some interpret chapters 40 ff. of Ezekiel as "prophesying about the church in a figurative sense; he did not have a literal temple in mind." Whereas others see these passages as referring to a "still-future literal temple."[39]
In Christian culture
Honoring the Jewish tradition (see above) and inspired by
The metaphor also features heavily in the personalist phenomenology of Pope John Paul II, his Theology of the Body, a collection of reflections on this theme Crossing the Threshold of Hope were written to encourage the Roman Catholic faithful facing the challenges of materialism and increasing secularism and published on the cusp of the new millennium in 1998. The threshold between the earthly and heavenly realms symbolized by the Golden Gate represents the Mystical Body of the Church, often viewed as the Bride of Christ.
In
Topography east of the Old City
The Golden Gate is one of the few sealed gates in
-
Golden Gate from within the Temple Mount, in the 19th century.
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Golden Gate in the 1920s
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Golden Gate as seen from inside the Temple Mount
References
- ISBN 978-1-137-38812-4, retrieved 2021-12-27
- ^ a b "Gate of Mercy - Shaar HaRachamim". Israel Forever Foundation. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
- ^ a b c d "Bab al-Dhahabi". Archnet. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
- ^ "IRCICA / ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE DATABASE". ircicaarchdata.org. Archived from the original on 2015-09-28. Retrieved 2015-09-27.
- ^ a b c "The Golden Gate". Jerusalem Municipality. Archived from the original on 2021-10-27. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
- ^ Ritmeyer, K., & Ritmeyer, L. (1989). "Reconstructing Herod's Temple Mount in Jerusalem" (PDF). Biblical Archaeology Review. 15 (6): 23–42.
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Kaplony, Andreas, 2002. The Haram of Jerusalem 324- 1099, Temple, Friday Mosque, Area of Spiritual Power, Franz Steiner Verlag Stuttgart
- ^ Ritmeyer, K., & Ritmeyer, L. (1989). "Reconstructing Herod's Temple Mount in Jerusalem" (PDF). Biblical Archaeology Review. 15 (6): 23–42.
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Josephus, Antiquities 15.424
- ^ Mishnah (Parah 3:6; Middot 1:3)
- ^ Tosefta Parah 3:7
- ^ Ratrout, Heitham, 2004. The Architectural Development of al-Aqsa Mosque In Islamic Jerusalem In The Early Islamic Period Sacred Architecture in the Shape of ‘The Holy’, Al-Maktoum Institute Press. p.261-295.
- ^ Bahat, Dan (1999). "The Golden Gate and the Date of the Madaba Map". The Madaba Map Centenary 1897-1997. Jerusalem: 255.
- ^ a b c Eliyahu Wager (1988). Illustrated guide to Jerusalem. Jerusalem: The Jerusalem Publishing House. p. 32.
- ^ Ritmeyer, L. (11 March 2019). "The Golden Gate of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem - The interior of the Golden Gate in the 1970's". History, Image Library, Jerusalem, News, Temple Mount. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
- Mishne Torah(Beit haBechirah 6:1)
- ISBN 9781596364684.
- ^ "The Gates of Jerusalem, Israel". Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-03-22.
- ^ Stories of The Prophets, Ibn Kathir, page 474
- ^ Stories of the Prophets
- ^ The Kohen's Purity
- ^ OCLC 741174009. (Reproduced from Ariel: A Journal for the Knowledge of the Land of Israel, volumes 64-65)
- ^ "The Undiscovered Gate Beneath Jerusalem's Golden Gate".
- ^ "The Solomonic Nature of the East Gate".
- ^ "Exclusive New Photos of Ancient Jerusalem's Eastern Gate".
- Times of Israel. Associated Press. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
- Times of Israel. Retrieved 2019-02-25.
- Times of Israel. Associated Press. Retrieved 2019-02-25.
- ^ Ratrout, Heitham, 2004. The Architectural Development of al-Aqsa Mosque In Islamic Jerusalem In The Early Islamic Period Sacred Architecture in the Shape of ‘The Holy’, Al-Maktum Institute Academic Press, p. 295
- ^ AJE – Jerusalem 3000 – The Golden Gate Archived 2003-08-22 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Some would identify it with the Gate Beautiful." from the caption under a picture of the Golden Gate in Charles F. Pfeiffer, Howard F. Vos, and John Rea, eds., Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia (Chicago: Moody Press, 1975); Vol. 1, p. 656.
- ^ For example: Rt. Rev. Samuel Fallows, ed., The Popular and Critical Bible Encyclopaedia (Chicago: The Howard-Severance Co., Copyright 1901; 1922 printing); Volume 2, p. 938. https://archive.org/details/popularcriticalb02fall/page/938/mode/2up
- ^ "The Golden gate has significance for Christianity as well and, during the Crusader Kingdom, processions from Bethany to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday always entered the Temple area through the Golden gate which became associated, albeit incorrectly, with the Beautiful gate." — Solomon H. Steckoll, The Gates of Jerusalem (New York: Frederick A. Praeger, Publishers, 1968); p. 31.
- ^ "...and farther inside the Temple area is the site of the Gate Beautiful, (Greek, Ὡραία [Hōraia; beautiful] whence Latin, aurea, "Golden" Gate), scene of Peter's great healing miracle (Acts 3:1-10)." — J.B. Payne, "Jerusalem," in The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, Merrill C. Tenney, ed., Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1975, 1976; Vol. 3, p. 488.
- ^ Solomon H. Steckoll, The Gates of Jerusalem, p.32.
- ISBN 9780521172837.
- ^ Cf. Charles Lee Feinberg, The Prophecy of Ezekiel, The Glory of the Lord (Chicago: Moody Press, 1969), "It is popularly believed that this gate is the present walled up Golden Gate in Jerusalem, but expositors of the prophecy do not make this identification," p. 257.
- ^ H.A. Ironside, Ezekiel the Prophet (Neptune, N.J.: Loizeaux Brothers, Inc., 1949), "Many today have thought they saw in the “Golden Gate” so-called, on the east of the temple-area, the fulfillment of this prophetic vision. But the east gate here is clearly that of the temple seen by the prophet. By way of that gate the glory returned to fill the house," pp. 307-308
- ^ Charles H. Dyer, “Ezekiel” in John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, eds., The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Old Testament (Victor Books: Wheaton, IL, 1985), p. 1303.
External links
- Golden Gate History
- Media related to Golden Gate (Jerusalem) at Wikimedia Commons
- Golden Gate (Jerusalem). Madain Project
- The Golden Gate of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Ritmeyer Archaeological Design
- Israeli history photo of the week: The Golden Gate. American Colony collection in the Library of Congress
- Photos of the Golden Gate at the Manar al-Athar photo archive