The Huldah Gates ( he, שערי חולדה, ''Sha'arei Hulda'') were one of the Gates of the Old City of Jerusalem leading into the

Jerusalem Temple The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two now-destroyed religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusa ...

compound in the Hasmonean period and were named as such in the

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Tor ...

. The term is currently being used for the remains of two later sets of gates, the Triple Gate and the Double Gate, known together as the Huldah Gates, built as part of the much extended

Herodian Herodian or Herodianus ( el, Ἡρωδιανός) of Syria, sometimes referred to as "Herodian of Antioch" (c. 170 – c. 240), was a minor Roman civil servant who wrote a colourful history in Greek titled ''History of the Empire from the Death o ...

Temple Mount The Temple Mount ( hbo, הַר הַבַּיִת, translit=Har haBayīt, label=Hebrew, lit=Mount of the House f the Holy}), also known as al-Ḥaram al-Sharīf (Arabic: الحرم الشريف, lit. 'The Noble Sanctuary'), al-Aqsa Mosque compou ...

, situated in Jerusalem's Old City. Both sets of gates were set into the

Southern Wall The Southern Wall ( ''HaKotel HaDromi'') is the retaining wall of the Temple Mount at the southern end. It was built during King Herod's expansion of the Temple Mount platform southward on to the Ophel. Construction The Southern Wall is in le ...

of the Temple compound and gave access to the Temple Mount esplanade by means of underground vaulted ramps. Both were walled up in the Middle Ages. The western set is a double-arched gate (the Double Gate), and the eastern is a triple-arched gate (the Triple Gate). There still are a few Herodian architectural elements visible outside and inside the gates, while most everything else of what we see today is later, Muslim-period work.

Etymology

The name "Huldah gates" is taken from the description of the Temple Mount in the

(Tractate of Midot 1:3).Encyclopædia Judaica (ed. 1972), vol. 15, pp. 963-4 Two possible etymologies are given for the name: "Huldah" means "mole" or "mouse" in Hebrew, and the tunnels leading up from these gates called to mind the holes or tunnels used by these animals. Alternatively, in a possible folk etymology, the

First Temple Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple (, , ), was the Temple in Jerusalem between the 10th century BC and . According to the Hebrew Bible, it was commissioned by Solomon in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inherited by th ...

prophetess

Huldah Huldah ( he, חֻלְדָּה ''Ḥuldā'') was a prophet mentioned in the Hebrew Bible in and . According to the Bible, she was a prophetess. After the discovery of a book of the Law during renovations at Solomon's Temple, on the order of King ...

was said to have held court in this area and, indeed, her tomb was placed here by some as well.

Identification

Accepted opinion amongst scholars is that the Mishna's description (see under

Etymology Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...

) refers to the sanctified area of the Temple Mount in the Hasmonean period. Therefore, calling the gates found in the current southern wall "Huldah" would be an anachronism, as the base of that wall is part of Herod's post-Hasmonean extension of the Temple Mount.

Archaeology

The 19th century excavations of the area by

Charles Warren General Sir Charles Warren, (7 February 1840 – 21 January 1927) was an officer in the British Royal Engineers. He was one of the earliest European archaeologists of the Biblical Holy Land, and particularly of the Temple Mount. Much of his mi ...

Encyclopædia Judaica (ed. 1972), vol. 9, p. 1525 discovered an erratic series of passageways under the triple gate, some leading below the wall and beyond the Mount's southern edge. The purpose and age of these passages are unknown, and more recent archaeologists have not been allowed to investigate due to the political volatility of the site. The passageways from both gates are now used by the

waqf A waqf ( ar, وَقْف; ), also known as hubous () or '' mortmain'' property is an inalienable charitable endowment under Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot of land or other assets for Muslim religious or charitab ...

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

Description

Both the Double and Triple Gates of the Herodian time allowed access to the Temple Mount esplanade via a vestibule followed by underground vaulted ramps. They have both been blocked since the Middle Ages, and the underground access routes have been partially or fully reconstructed during the Umayyad and later reconstructions and repair work.

Double Gate

The Double Gate was blocked by the construction of a medieval tower in front of it, probably during Fatimid era. Today a small library is established within the remains of this medieval-era fortification tower. Of what we see today, which is part of the right (eastern) gate, the lintel and the relieving arch above it are Herodian, while the intricately carved cornice is

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...

. Only the eastern portal of the twin, now blocked, gate is partially visible today. Inside the Double Gate there is a vestibule with large columns (at least three) supporting two pairs of domes. The central columns and two more flanking the steps are Herodian, and have recently been reinforced with concrete frames. The domes though seem to be from an early seventh-century (Early Muslim) reconstruction. When the

Al-Aqsa Mosque Al-Aqsa Mosque (, ), also known as Jami' Al-Aqsa () or as the Qibli Mosque ( ar, المصلى القبلي, translit=al-Muṣallā al-Qiblī, label=none), and also is a congregational mosque located in the Old City of Jerusalem. It is situate ...

was built, the old steps were blocked, and the eastern aisle lengthened so that new steps from its end would exit north of the mosque, so essentially the exit on the Temple Mount moved eastwards somewhat. The mosque's

al-Khataniyya Library The al-Aqsa Library ( ), also known as the al-Aqsa Mosque Library ( ), is the assemblage of books in the al-Aqsa Compound (). Locations The library has two components: (Several photos of the buildings from the outside) * The main library: ...

was also established in the remains of the Fatimid-era fortification tower, today entered through the western portal of the twin gate.

Triple Gate

The Triple Gate was blocked in the 11th century. The western

jamb A jamb (from French ''jambe'', "leg"), in architecture, is the side-post or lining of a doorway or other aperture. The jambs of a window outside the frame are called “reveals.” Small shafts to doors and windows with caps and bases are known ...

is Herodian, while the rest of what we see today is

. Inside the Triple Gate, in Herodian times there must have been a passageway identical to the one inside the Double Gate. Its remains now connect to the so-called "

Solomon's Stables Solomon's Stables ( he, אורוות שלמה, ar, المصلى المرواني) is an underground vaulted space now used as a Muslim prayer hall by the name of El-Marwani Mosque, some 600 square yards (500 square metres) in area, at the bottom ...

", initially a pillared Herodian substructure of his enlarged Temple esplanade, with some Herodian elements still visible, but repeatedly repaired and rebuilt over the centuries and used since 1996 as a mosque. The interior of the Triple Gate is similar to that of the Double Gate, though the longer aisle is to the west, and its third aisle, on the east, forms the western boundary of the vaulted area known as ''

''.

Gallery

File:PikiWiki Israel 4050 huldas steps.jpg, Staircase leading to the Double Gate File:The Double Gate IMG 0082.jpg, Visible part of the Double Gate (a medieval tower is hiding the left, western part) File:Eastern gate of huldah L.jpg, The walled-up Triple Gate File:A. Salzmann - Huldah Gates - Jerusalem.jpg, Triple Gate in 1855 photo

References

{{Coord, 31, 46, 33.4, N, 35, 14, 11.8, E, type:landmark_scale:5000, display=title Gates in Jerusalem's Old City Walls Temple Mount Historic sites in Jerusalem Establishments in the Herodian kingdom Archaeological sites in Jerusalem Buildings and structures in Jerusalem