One of the questions I am frequently asked is where the Beautiful Gate of the Temple was located. This gate is mentioned in the New Testament (Acts 3.2,10) as the place where the lame man was begging. After he was healed by Peter and John “he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God” (Acts 3.8).
The “Beautiful Gate” is not mentioned in other historical sources. Many scholars have accepted Thackeray’s comment on Josephus’ description of the Nicanor Gate, or the Corinthian Gate as he called it (War 5.201,204), that it “probably” was the gate of Acts 3.2,10. Edersheim was of the same opinion.
The Nicanor Gate (Middot 1.4, 2.3,6; Yoma 3.10, etc.) was certainly beautiful, but the question is, would the lame man have been allowed to enter so far into the Temple Courts? This appears not to have been the case, as once he was healed, he entered into the Temple Courts (Acts 3.8), so the Nicanor Gate could not have been the Beautiful Gate. According to Acts 3.11 the healed man and Peter and John were in Solomon’s Porch, which is to the east of the Court of the Women.
Others have suggested that the Beautiful Gate must have been one of the outer gates of the Temple Mount. Because of its proximity to Solomon’s Porch, some have suggested that the Shushan Gate in the Eastern Wall of the Temple Mount, may have been the Beautiful Gate, as it had a beautiful representation of Shushan the Palace (Middot 1.3).
According to Mishnah Kelim 1.8, nobody with an issue of any kind was allowed into the Temple Mount. Although the lame man need not have had an issue, his infirmity may have put him in the same category. Another point to consider is the fact that he was begging. To get the best results, one would want to be where the traffic was greatest, which is another argument which would rule out the Nicanor Gate, as not many people were allowed to go through this gate. It would also rule out the Shushan Gate, which was mainly used for ceremonial purposes.
A more likely location would have been the Double Gate in the southern wall of the Temple Mount, which I have described in my book The Quest, Revealing the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, pp. 67-74. A 210 feet (64 m) wide monumental stairway led up to this gate from the lower plaza. Because of its monumental proportions, this gate was probably used by most of the pilgrims going to worship at the Temple.
The ceiling inside the passageway has beautifully carved domes, which have survived up to today. Most of the worshipers went up to the Temple Courts through this gate, which was certainly beautiful and very effective for begging purposes, as suggested on p. 74 of the above mentioned book.
We suggest then that Peter and John healed the lame man at the Double Gate and from there he went “walking and jumping” to Solomon’s Porch.
Somebody has some cleaning up to do! It shows how much they care for their deceased relatives.
Thank you for your enlightenment. While studying this scripture, i got stuck at the question of why it was called beautiful and what was so beautiful about begging.
Which gate would Peter & John most likely chosen to enter?
Eileen,
Most likely through the Double Gate which was known as the Beautiful Gate.
Could it be the temple was built behind the golden gates giving a direct entry into the temple, and not on the Muslims present dome of the rock site. This would solve any further conflict. Archaeologists need to test for possible building foundations.
That is not the way we work in archaeology. Any testing on the Temple Mount at present would increase the conflict rather than solve it.The location of the Temple could only be found by taking all the archaeological remains and the historical descriptions into account.
Very interesting to read your research and knowledge. Just wondering about the fact that the lame man’s friends had to carry his body to his post every time so that he could gain money to live. Don’t suppose they liked carrying him up the steepest longest staircase, I’m of two minds as to whether I would regularly carry my friend, now 40 years old, to the most used gate, the easiest to access gate…. perhaps they just dumped him at the periphery and went on their own way up the staircase. No wonder he was so happy to actually make it even to Solomon’s Porch!! Glory Halleluyah!!
Dear Leen,
Have you responded to the article by Raya Shani and Doron Chen, “On the Umayyad Dating of the Double Gate in Jerusalem” (2001)? See: https://archnet.org/system/publications/contents/5133/original/DPC1866.pdf?1384788427
I was searching out to determine if the gate itself was actually called, “Beautiful,” as some texts identify it. Others use it as an adjective, describing the appearance of the gate. Where is tge gate that was replced by bricks? Maybe the reference of “Beautiful” was not a physical reference, but a Spiritual one concerning that which was to come, as in a river of life flowing through it.
The man was there for God’s purpose,not his. So the best place for begging may not be the proper analysis. It is important that the man was lame from birth so that it could not be claimed it was a setup. I would think that the man was at whatever gate the priests used so that they recognize him easily and knew that he had been lame since birth. To me if you know which gate the priest used then you know which gate is the beautiful gate.
The Nicanor gate make no sense. Why would he enter the Nicanor gate into the court of Israel, then turn around and go back through the same gate, through the court the of women, and out to Solomon’s Porch? It would make more sense the the gate was located before Solomon’s porch.
The double gate is the most logical explanation I’ve heard yet.
I have been blessed by the extensive research and detail invested in this article; as well as the many comments and responses. Of course there was a specific gate that the man was carried to daily, this is obviously expressed in the scripture. I also believe that there is a beauty lies in the miracle. The healing that God wrought in the life of this lame beggar who had been carried to this place daily. I have had miraculous experiences in various places over the years. When I return to those places and recall the beauty of the experiences; THAT PLACE, is the most beautiful place in the world at that moment.
I really appreciate the research and thought that went into this article. It totally makes sense to me out of all the theories I’ve heard. Thanks for taking the time to help us to better understand scripture!
Enjoy reading everyone comments the scriptures does say he was carried there . So the men who would carry him was only allowed to carry him to the gate no other ones because of the Jews and so on. But yes this was for the glory of God ..
And is there any chance that a term “Beautiful Gate” is referring to the Triple Gate? I read about it here: http://www.generationword.com/jerusalem101/47-southern-temple-wall.html
Maybe it could be a good compromise between Double Gate and Golden Gate since Triple Gate is closer to the Solomon’s Porch and having more arches than Double Gate could be even more impressive (but I wonder what is the opinion of the article’s author)
Dawid,
I still believe, as do many others, that the Double Gate is the best candidate as that was the mian entrance to the Temple Mount. The Triple Gate gave access to large storerooms and was used mainly by priests.
Please, where was the beautiful gate facing, was it facing the King’s palace or where?
The Double Gate, which I believe was the Beautiful Gate, faced the City of David which lay to its south.
Wow. Great information. I’m learning a lot from this piece