The Second Temple Period
The Hebrew Bible ends soon after the construction of the Second Temple. The roughly 500 years in between the end of the Hebrew Bible and the beginning of the New Testament are known as the intertestamental period. During this time, the temple underwent two important stages of development.
First, after about 200 years of independence, Israel was conquered by Alexander the Great and ultimately became part of the Seleucid Empire (after a series of wars during which the Temple was damaged and had to be repaired; c.f., Ben Sira). The Jewish people were generally allowed to manage their own affairs, especially religion…until a king called Antiochus IV pillaged and desecrated the Temple.
This action caused a family of priests known as the Maccabees, or Hasmoneans, to lead a revolt from 167-160 B.C.E. In 164 B.C.E., the Maccabees retook Jerusalem. They repaired and purified the Temple and altar so that worship could resume. Hanukkah celebrates the rededication of the Temple after these repairs. Finally, in 141 B.C.E., Israel gained independence, with the Maccabee family ruling as kings during what is called the Hasmonean dynasty. To prevent future attacks on the Temple, the Hasmoneans slightly expanded the Temple Mount and surrounded it with fortifications.
Unfortunately, these efforts did not stop Romans from plundering the Temple in 63 and 54 B.C.E. As a result of the attack in 63 B.C.E., Israel became part of the Roman Empire. Herod the Great was made its client king in 37 B.C.E. Herod undertook massive building projects all over Israel, including at the Temple, where he significantly expanded the Temple Mount, and completely rebuilt the Inner Temple (though his rebuilding is still considered part of the Second Temple). The work began in 29 B.C.E., and the Temple proper was completed within 18 months. In contrast, the bigger project including the Temple Mount and attached fortress (the Antonia) took about 75 years to complete.
It is this Temple, built under Herod, that appears in the New Testament before the Romans destroyed it in 70 C.E. However, the Romans left the Temple Mountlargely intact. Just over 60 years later, after a brief resurgence of Jewish rule, Romans rebuilt the city of Jerusalem and erected a temple to Jupiter on the Temple Mount. This pagan temple was ultimately destroyed by Rome’s first Christian emperor, Constantine, c. 325 C.E.