The first temple only. There probably was a second temple that Herod the Great replaced.
The evidence is archaeological. Jerusalem, in the 10th century BC was a miniscule little shithole of perhaps 1,000 people...or, it was even less than that.
If you want to read up on the evidence for that I suggest:
http://jesusneverexisted.com/solomon.htm
Oh, btw...about your marvelous "first temple."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ain_Dara_temple
It's in Syria...probably destroyed by the Assyrians...but when your boys got around to writing their nonsense out they had a fine model.
The evidence is archaeological. Jerusalem, in the 10th century BC was a miniscule little shithole of perhaps 1,000 people...or, it was even less than that.
If you want to read up on the evidence for that I suggest:
http://jesusneverexisted.com/solomon.htm
Quote: Supposedly, an Israelite empire flourished in the 10th century BC, during a time of temporary weakness of both Assyria and Egypt. Yet the fabled empire of David and Solomon remains just that: a fable, unsupported by any evidence – and empires normally leave a great deal of evidence. Archaeology is unequivocal: there was never the wealth, population, political cohesiveness, or literacy in the tiny settlement around Jerusalem to have ever dominated its more developed northern neighbors.
Oh, btw...about your marvelous "first temple."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ain_Dara_temple
Quote:There are many features in common with Solomon's Temple as described in the Book of Kings. The layout of Dara is similar to that of the Biblical temple, which was also of a long room plan with the three room configuration of a portico at the entrance followed by the main chamber with the shrine. The difference is in the antechamber, which is an add-on in the Ain Dara temple. The size of the Solomon temple was 120 feet (37 m) by 34 feet (10 m) while that of the Ain Dara is 98 feet (30 m) long by 65 feet (20 m) wide without side chambers. Other similarities include: location on a high raised site overlooking a city; erected on a raised platform, with a narrow portico and a roof supported on pillars flanked by reliefs on the walls, and carvings of similar motifs; and the raised podium. In brief, 33 of the architectural elements found in Ain Dara are tallied with 65 of the features mentioned in the Biblical description of Solomon's Temple.
It's in Syria...probably destroyed by the Assyrians...but when your boys got around to writing their nonsense out they had a fine model.
