• Tehth
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    • TEHTH

      or, as commonly anglicized, teth [ט]. The ninth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, used also later, outside the Hebrew Scriptures, to denote the number nine. The meaning of the name is uncertain.

      The sound represented by the letter corresponds to an emphatic English “t,” produced by pressing the tongue strongly against the palate. Its sound differs from that of the letter taw [ת] primarily because of its lack of aspiration after the “t” sound. In the original Hebrew, it appears at the beginning of each verse of Psalm 119:65-72.

  • Tekoa
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    • TEKOA

      (Te·koʹa).

      A town in the territory of Judah that is commonly identified with Khirbet Taquʽa, some ten miles (16 kilometers) S of Jerusalem and lying at an elevation of about 2,700 feet (c. 820 meters). To the E stretches the wilderness of Judah, of which the “wilderness of Tekoa” (where the Ammonites, Moabites and the forces from Mount Seir suffered a crushing defeat during Jehoshaphat’s reign) was apparently a part. (2 Chron. 20:20, 24) King Rehoboam, David’s grandson, rebuilt and fortified Tekoa, and for centuries thereafter the city evidently served as an outpost in the Judean defense system. (2 Chron. 11:5, 6; compare Jeremiah 6:1.) It was the home of Ikkesh, the father of one of David’s mighty men, Ira. (1 Chron. 11:26, 28) From there came the wise woman who, at the direction of Joab, appealed to King David in behalf of Absalom. (2 Sam. 14:1-21) And there, in the ninth century B.C.E., the prophet Amos raised sheep.—Amos 1:1.

      The Tekoa mentioned in the Judean genealogical records (1 Chron. 2:3, 24; 4:5) may have been a son of Asshur. However, Tekoa is not listed in 1 Chronicles 4:5-7 among the seven sons of Asshur’s two wives, suggesting that Asshur, rather than being the father of a son named Tekoa, may have been the founder of the town or of its population.

  • Telaim
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    • TELAIM

      (Te·laʹim) [lambs].

      A site, apparently in Judah, where Saul numbered his forces before striking the Amalekites. (1 Sam. 15:1-4) Telaim appears to be the same as Telem, listed with southern Judean cities, and is usually believed to have been located about twenty-six miles (c. 42 kilometers) W-SW of the southern end of the Dead Sea. (Josh. 15:21, 24) It is also probably to be connected with “Telam.”—1 Sam. 27:8; see TELAM; TELEM No. 2.

  • Telam
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    • TELAM

      (Teʹlam).

      Twelve manuscripts of the Greek Septuagint say that Tela(m) was one of the limits of the dwellings of the Geshurites, Girzites and Amalekites in David’s day. (1 Sam. 27:8) This would appear to connect Telam with Telaim referred to at 1 Samuel 15:4, and Telem in southern Judah. (Josh. 15:21, 24) At 1 Samuel 27:8, the Hebrew Masoretic text reads “from long ago,” which differs from the expression “from Telam” by only two Hebrew consonants.—See TELAIM; TELEM No. 2.

  • Tel-assar
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    • TEL-ASSAR

      (Tel-asʹsar) [hill of Asshur].

      A place inhabited by “the sons of Eden” mentioned along with Gozan, Haran and Rezeph, sites in northern Mesopotamia. (2 Ki. 19:12; Isa. 37:12) Sennacherib boasted, through his messengers, that the gods worshiped by the people of these places had been unable to deliver them from the power of his forefathers. Due to the reference to “the sons of Eden,” Telassar is generally associated with the small kingdom of Bit-adini along the Upper Euphrates. Assyrian monarchs Tiglath-pileser III and Esar-haddon both refer to a Til-Ashuri, but its location is considered to have been near the Assyrian border of Elam. Hence, identification of Tel-assar remains uncertain. The name is a common form of place-name, however.

  • Telem
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    • TELEM

      (Teʹlem) [lambs or oppression].

      1. A gatekeeper among those dismissing their foreign wives in the days of Ezra.—Ezra 10:16, 17, 24.

      2. A city in the southern part of Judah. (Josh. 15:21, 24) It may be represented by Tell Umm es-Salafeh, some twenty-six miles (c. 42 kilometers) W-SW of the southern end of the Dead Sea. It is possibly the same as Telaim, though the two names could have different meanings.—See TELAIM.

  • Tema
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    • TEMA

      (Teʹma) [south country].

      1. A son of Ishmael, and the place where the tribe of Tema’s descendants settled.—Gen. 25:13-15; 1 Chron. 1:29, 30.

      2. Probably the same as modern Taima, an oasis located about 250 miles (402 kilometers) SE of Ezion-geber, where two major caravan routes crossed. (Job 6:19) Tema, along with nearby Dedan, is mentioned in the prophecies of Isaiah (21:13, 14) and Jeremiah (25:15-23). In this latter prophecy Tema was specifically named as among the places whose inhabitants would be compelled to drink of Jehovah’s “cup of the wine of rage.” Babylonian King Nabonidus apparently established a second capital in Tema, leaving Belshazzar at Babylon in charge during his absence.

  • Temanite
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    • TEMANITE

      A term generally understood to refer to a native of Teman in Edom. An early Edomite king, Husham, came from the “land of the Temanites,” and Eliphaz, one of Job’s three companions, was a Temanite. (Gen. 36:31-34; Job 2:11; 4:1; 42:7) That Eliphaz came from Teman in Edom is suggested by the understanding that the land of Uz, where Job lived, was near Edom. Some scholars, however, believe that there is a possibility that the Eliphaz named in the book of Job was, not from Teman, but from Tema, a place identified with an oasis on the Arabian Peninsula about 250 miles (402 kilometers) SE of Ezion-geber.—Job 6:19.

  • Temple
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    • TEMPLE

      [Heb., heh·khalʹ, temple, palace; Gr., hi·e·ronʹ, temple; na·osʹ, sanctuary, a dwelling (specifically, of a god), temple]. Temples, literal, visionary and symbolic, are described in the Scriptures, the primary ones being the temples built by (1) Solomon, (2) Zerubbabel and (3) Herod the Great, and (4) the visionary temple of Ezekiel and (5) the spiritual temple.

      SOLOMON’S TEMPLE

      King David entertained a strong desire to build a house for Jehovah, to contain the ark of the covenant, which was “dwelling in the middle of tent cloths.” Jehovah was pleased with David’s proposal, but told him that, due to the fact that he had shed much blood in warfare, his son (Solomon) would be privileged to do the building. This was not to say that God did not approve David’s wars fought in behalf of Jehovah’s name and His people. But the temple was to be built in peace by a man of peace, foreshadowing the Great Temple Builder and Prince of Peace Jesus Christ.—2 Sam. 7:1-16; 1 Ki. 5:3-5; 8:17; 1 Chron. 17:1-14; 22:6-10.

      Cost

      Later David purchased the threshing floor of Ornan (Araunah) the Jebusite on Mount Moriah as the temple site. (2 Sam. 24:24, 25; 1 Chron. 21:24, 25) He amassed 100,000 talents of gold, one million talents of silver, and copper and iron in great abundance, besides contributing from his personal fortune 3,000 talents of gold and 7,000 talents of silver. He also received as contributions from the princes, 5,000 talents and 10,000 darics of gold and 10,000 talents of silver, as well as much iron and copper. (1 Chron. 22:14; 29:3-7) This total, 108,000 talents and 10,000 darics of gold and 1,017,000 talents of silver, would be worth $5,623,273,830 at current values. His son Solomon did not spend the entire amount in building the temple; the remainder he put in the temple treasury.—1 Ki. 7:51; 2 Chron. 5:1.

      Workmen

      King Solomon began building the temple in the fourth year of his reign (1034 B.C.E.), in the second month, Ziv, following the architectural plan that David had received by inspiration. (1 Ki. 6:1; 1 Chron. 28:11-19) The work continued over a seven-year period. (1 Ki. 6:37, 38) In exchange for wheat, barley, oil and wine, Hiram king of Tyre supplied timbers from Lebanon and skilled workers in wood and stone, and one special expert, also named Hiram, whose father was a Tyrian and his mother an Israelitess of the tribe of Naphtali. This man was a fine workman in gold, silver, copper, iron, wood, stones and fabrics.—1 Ki. 5:8-11, 18; 7:13, 14, 40, 45; 2 Chron. 2:13-16.

      In organizing the work, Solomon conscripted 30,000 men out of Israel, sending them to Lebanon in shifts of 10,000 for a month, with a two-month stay at home between shifts. (1 Ki. 5:13, 14) As burden bearers he conscripted 70,000 from among the “alien residents” in the land, and as cutters 80,000. (1 Ki. 5:15; 9:20, 21; 2 Chron. 2:2) As foremen over the work Solomon appointed 550 men and apparently 3,300 as assistants. (1 Ki. 5:16; 9:22, 23) It appears that, of these, 250 were Israelites and 3,600 were “alien residents” in Israel.—2 Chron. 2:17, 18.

      Length of “cubit” used

      In the following discussion of the measurements of the three temples built by Solomon, Zerubbabel and Herod, we shall calculate them on the basis of the cubit of 17.5 inches (c. 44.4 centimeters). However, it is possible that they used the longer cubit of about 20.4 inches (51.8 centimeters).—Compare 2 Chronicles 3:3 (which mentions a “length in cubits by the former measurement,” this perhaps being a longer measure than the cubit that came to be commonly in use), and Ezekiel 40:5; see CUBIT.

      Plan and materials

      The temple, a most magnificent structure, followed the general plan of the tabernacle. The Holy and Most Holy were of the same proportions, but their inside dimensions were twice those of the tabernacle. The Holy was forty cubits (c. 58.3 feet; 17.8 meters) long and twenty cubits (c. 29.2 feet; 8.9 meters) wide and high. The Most Holy was a cube twenty cubits on a side. (1 Ki. 6:20; 2 Chron. 3:8) Additionally, there were roof chambers that were approximately ten cubits (c. 14.6 feet; 4.4 meters) high, since the building reached a height of thirty cubits (c. 43.8 feet; c. 13.3 meters). (1 Ki. 6:2; 1 Chron. 28:11) There were also other buildings around it, containing storage chambers, dining rooms, and so forth.—1 Ki. 6:4-6, 10.

      Materials used were primarily stone and wood. The floors of these rooms were overlaid with juniper wood, the inside walls were of cedar engraved with