Transcript What is a Temple?: A Preliminary Typology

John M. Lundquist, PhD
John M. Lundquist, PhD
From Temples in the Ancient World: Symbols
and Ritualism [1994], pp. 83-117
John M. Lundquist, PhD
From Temples in the Ancient World:
Symbols and Ritualism [1994], pp. 83-117
This paper originally appeared in H. B. Huffman, F. A.
Spina, and A. R. W. Green, eds., The Quest for the
Kingdom of God: Studies in Honor of George E.
Mendenhall (Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns, 1983).
Proposition 1. The temple is the
architectural embodiment of the cosmic
mountain.
Teotihuacan—Temple of the Sun and Avenue
of the Dead.
Teotihaucan—Avenue of the Dead to Temple
of the Moon.
Proposition 2. The cosmic mountain
represents the primordial hillock, the place
that first emerged from the waters covering
the earth during the creative process.
Pyramids at Giza
Benben Stone
Proposition 3. The temple is often associated
with the waters of life that flow forth from a
spring within the building itself--or rather
the temple is viewed as incorporating
within itself or as having been built upon
such a spring.
Prambanan Temple Complex, Java, Indonisia
Cross Section of the Shiva Temple in Prambanan
Bas Relief from Nineveh – Temple and Water
Bas Relief from Nineveh – Temple and Water
Proposition 4. The temple is built on
separate, sacral, set-apart space.
Temple of Kukulkan in Chichen Itza, Mexico.
Proposition 5. The temple is oriented
toward the four world regions or
cardinal directions, and to various
celestial bodies such as the polar star.
Angor Wat (meaning “Temple City” or “City of Temples”),
in Cambodia
Angor Wat is a replica of the universe with the
temple complex and . . .
. . . its water moat representing the cosmic
world.
Proposition 6. Temples, in their
architectonic orientation, express the
idea of a successive ascension toward
heaven.
Saqqara—The Step Pyramid of King Djoser
Borobodur Temple in Indonsesia
Borobodur Temple in Indonsesia
Proposition 7. The plan and measurements
of the temple are revealed by God to the
king, and the plan must be carefully
carried out.
Gudea of Lagash, a
Sumerian King
Gudea with
Architecutal plans
of a temple on his
lap.
Gudea with
Architecutal plans
of a temple on his
lap.
Gudea of Lagash Cylinders
Proposition 8. The temple is the central,
organizing, unifying institution in ancient
Near Eastern society.
Proposition 9. Inside the temple, images of
deities as well as kings, temple priests, and
worshipers are washed, anointed, clothed,
fed, enthroned, and symbolically initiated
into the presence of deity, and thus into
eternal life. Further, during the New Year
rites, texts are read and dramatically
portrayed that recite a pre-earthly war, the
victory in the war by the forces of good, led
by a chief deity, the creation and
establishment of the cosmos, cities,
temples, and social order. The sacred
marriage is also carried out at this time.
The Parthenon in Athens
The Parthenon in Athens
Statue of Athena
(reconstructed)
Proposition 10. The temple is associated with
the realm of the dead, the underworld, the
afterlife, the grave.
Egyptian Book of the Dead
Proposition 11. Sacral, communal meals are
carried out in connection with temple ritual,
often at the conclusion of or during a
covenant ceremony.
Proposition 12. The tablets of destiny ("tablets
of the decrees") are consulted both in the
cosmic sense by the gods, and yearly in a
special chamber, in the Eninnu temple of
Gudea's time.
Proposition 13. There is a close interrelationship
between the temple and law in the ancient Near
East.
Proposition 14. The temple is a place of
sacrifice.
Proposition 15. The temple and its ritual are
enshrouded in secrecy.
Temple of Isis on the Island of Philae
Aswan, Egypt
Temple of Isis on the Island of Philae
1. The temple is the architectural embodiment of the
cosmic mountain and primordial hillock.
2. The temple is often associated with the waters of
life.
3. The temple is associated with the tree of life.
4. The temple is built on separate, sacral, set-apart
space.
5. The temple is purposefully oriented toward the
cardinal directions or and to various celestial
bodies such as the polar star.
6. Temples, in their architectonic orientation, express
the idea of a successive ascension toward heaven.
7. The plan and measurements of the temple are
revealed by God to the king, and the plan must be
carefully carried out.
8. The temple is a central, organizing, unifying
institution in the society it was built.
9. Inside the temple, images of deities as well as
kings, temple priests, and worshipers are washed,
anointed, clothed, fed, enthroned, and
symbolically initiated into the presence of deity,
and thus into eternal life.
10. The temple is associated with the realm of the
dead, the underworld, the afterlife, the grave.
11. Sacral, communal meals are carried out in
connection with temple ritual, often at the
conclusion of or during a covenant ceremony.
12. The tablets of destiny ("tablets of the decrees")
are consulted both in the cosmic sense by the
gods, and yearly in a special chamber, in the
Eninnu temple of Gudea's time.
13. There is a close interrelationship between the
temple and law in the ancient Near East.
14. The temple is a place of sacrifice.
15. The temple and its ritual are enshrouded in
secrecy.
16. God’s word is revealed in the temple, usually in
the holy of holies, to priests or prophets attached
to the temple or to the religious system that it
represents.
Hugh Nibley
The Temple in Antiquity (1984), pp. 19-37
What makes a temple different from other buildings
is not its sacredness, but its form and function. ...
What is that form? We can summarize a hundred
studies of recent date in the formula: a temple,
good or bad, is a scale-model of the universe. ...
.