After having a brush with the conflict and chaos that is connected with the holiest piece of real estate in the world, I have decided to take a step back to get a historical, linguistic perspective on what most people call the Temple Mount. I always find value in understanding the name of a place through the language of those closest to it. In Hebrew, the Temple Mount is called Har haBayit (“Mount of the House”) and in Arabic it is called Haram al-Sharif (“Noble Sanctuary”).
For those who claim that the present Temple Mount has no connection to its biblical foundation, language comes to the rescue. When the Roman Emperor Hadrian decided to “rebuild” Jerusalem in 135 C.E. he had Continue Reading…
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