Description
In Luke 2.41-52 we read of Jesus’ first visit to the Temple. In this reconstruction drawing, we see young Jesus (in blue) on the steps of the Temple Terrace (hel) with the rabbis. This terrace bounded the wall of the Temple Courts on its southern, western and northern sides. It was 10 cubits (5.25m, 17 feet) wide, and was reached by a flight of steps of half a cubit high and deep. According to Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 88b, members of the Temple Sanhedrin would come out of the Chamber of Hewn Stone on Sabbaths and festival days to teach on the hel. Young Jesus must have eagerly made use of this opportunity.
