The Temple in the City of David: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lw50i9btO3I&list=PLXqaGD7sX9ga5asTGGKhcXZE1klpPbJMJ&index=13

Leeland Jones YouTube video posted on November 17, 2019, Transcribed:

The City of David. Yes! The Temple was in the City of David, and we’re going to show you proof and evidence through the Scriptures, and through Archaeological Discoveries in the area, to show that this is very clear!   We’re Confident of this!

As we look here to the right, we see an excavation site called the Givati Parking Lot {Excavations of the former Givati Parking Lot began in 2007}.  And we’re going to talk about that, and we’re going to talk about Josephus, and we’re going to talk about the Ophel, the Gihon Spring, and the Nathanmelech Seal {discovered March 2019}.

Here we have the City of David Museum, right there.  And then right below that, is this Givati Parking Lot.  Right again, in this area, is a place called the Parbar Gate.  And in 1st Chronicles chapter 26, it says these Gates are WEST of the Temple.

{1 Chronicles 26:18 As for the Parbar {H6503. parbar or parvar} on the west, there were four on the highway and two at the Parbar.}

So what we’re looking at is the Offices, and Facilities, and Gates, that were WEST of the Temple!  So where’s the Temple?

It’s in this direction to our EAST!  But this is a major, major Archaeological Discovery of the SEAL of Nathanmelech!  And, you can see the layers that have been dug to get down to the bottom of where this area is.  Because when Jerusalem was DESTROYED by Nebuchadnezzar, there’s charred remains of wood and everything there, and that we have the evidence of.

Now, as you notice, there’s another layer built on top!   And another layer built on top, and another layer. You can see all these layers, to the Present WALL of the Old City.  This is an Old City Wall, Suleiman 1535!

So this give you an idea of how low the Temple would have been, in proportion to Modern Jerusalem. It’s going to be very, very far down below, everything that we are looking at.  But all around there’s people living, and there’s a Museum, and lots of things.  Very busy area.

{2 Kings 23:9 Nevertheless the priests of the high places came not up to the altar of the LORD in Jerusalem, but they did eat of the unleavened bread among their brethren. 10 And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech.  11 And he took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entering in of the house of the LORD, by the chamber of Nathanmelech the chamberlain, which was in the suburbs {H6503. parbar or parvar}, and burned the chariots of the sun with fire.}

You can see we’re here in 2nd Kings 23, verse 9.  And, in verse 11, we find the Owner of the Seal.   ‘And he took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the SUN.’  We know this is Solomon’s Stables.  ‘At the entering of the,’ now, PAY ATTENTION:

‘At the Entering in of the House of the LORD, BY THE CHAMBER OF NATHANMELECH.’   So we have a Chamber by the House of The LORD!  ‘Nathanmelech the chamberlain, which was in the Suburbs.’  Watch this: this word Suburbs is in the Hebrew is Parbar.  See how it says ‘that the Entering IN at the House of The LORD?’

The Chamber of Nathanmelech, which is in the Parbar, it’s a Structure or Building ATTACHED to the WEST SIDE of Solomon’s TEMPLE!  Let me say that again, ‘A chamber Nathanmelech, the Chamberlain.’  {Parbar} This is part of a Structure or Building ATTACHED to the WEST SIDE of Solomon’s TEMPLE!

We actually JUST FOUND the WEST Location of The TEMPLE!

Now, what we can do, now let’s find where this is.  Now we’re searching for the examples of Strongs Concordance 6503, using the Bible.  This is the first example.  The next we see only other place this is in the Bible, is 1st Chronicles 26, verse 18.  Let’s go there.

We go here, we can see in 1st Chronicles 26, these are the Porters around the Temple, and each position.  Then it says, ‘At Parbar WESTWARD, FOUR at the Causeway and TWO at Parbar.’   These are the Porters that are around the Temple; North, South, East, and West.   In the West Parbar, is actually where we found the Givanti Parking Lot Excavation.

Here is what the SEAL looks like that they discovered in the Chamber of the Western part of the House of The LORD!  The Parbar Gate!

We are facing the Southern Wall, what they call the Temple Mount, BUT we Believe to be Fortress Antonia.  And the ‘windows’ here are Solomon Stables!  This is very important, I hope you get this!  Remember before we had seen Nathanmelech Seal at the Parbar or Western GATES?

Now those trees are in an area called the Ophel, and this is where we found the Nathanmelech SEAL!  Down below, there use to be a parking lot there, but down below, we have the Chambers of the ENTERING IN of The House of The LORD!  And this is exactly what we’re reading verbatim, in 2nd Kings chapter 23, verse 11, ‘And he took AWAY the Horses that the kings of Judah had GIVEN to the SUN, at the ENTERING IN of The House of The LORD.’

‘By the Chamber of Nathanmelech’, so you’re looking at the Chamber of Nathanmelech, and you’re looking at Solomon’s Stables there with the windows in the Southern portion of the FORTRESS ANTONIO!  ‘And he burned the Chariots of the Sun with FIRE.’  So this is Josiah, and Josiah is REMOVING all of the Idolatry in Jerusalem, and one of his officers is Nathanmelech, who is WEST in the Temple!

But hopefully you can UNDERSTAND that the Modern Day Place they call Solomon’s Stables, is in fact the Horse Gate!  Nehemiah described this, and here we are on top of the Fortress Antonia which they call the Temple Mount, and these are the Gates in the Entry from the top going down into a huge area of these Doors are about 20-25 feet high, into what they call Solomon’s Stables.

So this is the Horse Gate, this is EAST, and this is where Josiah REMOVED the Horses that they had GIVEN to the SUN!  And we know that from Nehemiah this is EAST!  And now what you are looking at is the EAST WALL, and as we just take a step up, and we turn, we can look back at Solomon’s Stables, and we can also see in the distance the Dome of the Rock.

So the Dome of the Rock, of course, is on top of this, is a Roman Fortress!

Now, we’re going to follow Josephus and what he describes as a couple Walls.  One of them goes from Tower Hippicus over on to the West.  And then there’s another one from Tower Hippicus that heads to the South.  We’re going to walk through the Old City of Jerusalem, at this time, and we’re going to find this Essene Gate:

That’s what you are looking at now in the photograph, and we’re gonna stop by these places that he described.  Now, people consider this to be the Hippicus Tower, which it very well may be.  It dose have Herodian stones and period-correct Architecture time of Herod.

So what it says on this, I’m facing the West, it began at the Tower Hippicus and extended South.   So now we’re walking South to a place called Thetso {?}.  So we’re not sure exactly where that is, but we’re starting with the Tower, we’re heading South, and we’re going to the Gate of Essenes.

Now this is very important to us, because Josephus is describing this Wall, this Wall would be to our right side.  We’re walking South, and we’re following this Path.

Now we’re doing this Path because it’s eventually going to lead us to the Western Colonnade of the Temple, that’s clearly what he says in his Writings.  So what we’re doing is, we’re in the Armenian section of the Old City of Jerusalem, and on our right would had been the ancient Herod’s Palace.  And we’re continuing, and you can see there’s a lot of tourists, and a lot of activity.

But as we continue we’re gonna turn slightly to our right, and we’re going to see the PRAETORIAN!  This was the place, right there, where Jesus Christ was interrogated by Pontius Pilot.

And so still this Wall is continuing, and to our right was Herod’s Palace, which it continues. Now we’re on the other side of the Wall, that’s Mount Zion, and we’re in this open area of the Greek Orthodox.  And, now what we’re doing, is we’re walking towards where the Wall or where the road would had led us to the Essene Gate.

Now where we were is, this is the area called Herod’s Palace.  And up here we were looking at the Gate, Hippicus Gate, and we were walking down through the road, you can see the cars here.

It continues down, and then it comes to a place called the Essene Gate.  And where that is, we’re going to show you, but it’s essentially in this area right here. We do have the remnants of the Essene Gate, that Josephus described.

So we’ve gone Hippicus Tower, or one of the Towers there, this whole area here is Herod’s Palace.

Coming down the road, and then in this area we have the Excavation, which we’ll look at.

Before you is the Essene Gate.  Wow, this is amazing!  This is a site that is part of the Protestant Cemetery, and we have a DRAINAGE Channel!  And all the descriptions of a Roman road, at that period.

You can see the wearing of the stone of the Ancient Gate.  And we do know this to be the Gate of Essenes that Josephus described.  He said there was a Community in Jerusalem, of about 50 people that were part of the Qumran Community, so they were that sect of Judaism.   And here is the area where they have similar architectural things, area here, that we find out in the Dead Sea Scrolls.

So before there was a Gate, and then as it passes along, it continues to this road. Now we’re pointing this out, because Josephus says that this Gate is where the Wall was.  And from here, it would head towards something called Solomon’s Pool.  We don’t exactly know where that is, but before Solomon’s Pool, it goes to the Pool of Siloam, which we ‘do’ in fact KNOW.  We’ll take a look at that briefly.

But as we look here, and we zoom in, you see there to our right is the road, meeting ALL the descriptions of the Roman Road of this time period of Herod’s temple.  And the drainage channel is also visible from other sections here.  So this is the Gate of Essenes.  It’s in a place called Mount Zion!  And, what we’ll do is then continue to follow this path to the Pool of Siloam.

So, see here the Citadel?  One of these is the Tower, and this is the road.

We walk down the road, and then we came to this area, and was here, this area here, where we saw the Essene Gate.  It’s not marked here.  But then it comes to Solomon’s Pool, which we are uncertain of.  And then it comes to the Pool of Siloam, which you can see right there.

So now that the ‘bottom’ of the City of David.  Then it says the Ophel.  So the Ophel is this area.  It says Ophel Archaeological Garden here, but it actually include this entire area!

Now let’s also make note of Solomon’s Stables, that’s in bottom Southern and Eastern Corner of Fortress Antonio.

So what have we done?  We’ve started here {Tower of David}, we walked down the road, we’ve come to the Essene Gate.  From the Essene Gate, we’ve gone to the Pool of Siloam. Pool of Siloam, we’ve then come to the Ophel, which connects to the Eastern part of the Temple.

This City of David marker there, that is David’s Palace!

Pool of Shiloah {Siloam}.  And what we can see here, is this is the Pool it was dug, it was discovered.  You can see the steps going down, and this is 2nd Temple period.

And let’s look at this.  This is the Famous Story, when the man went into the water.  But they have here the Pool of Siloam, in Hezekiah’s time.  So it looked something like this, with steps going down and a large Pool.

We are here in the most exciting place, the Ophel.  You can see the ruins behind me, the road.

And where we are is right next to the Southern portion of the Roman Fortress, and we have some of the MOST STARTLING DISCOVERIES here in a place called the Ophel!  There’s lots of Truth & Evidence, and things that we find going back to the 1st Temple.

Now we’re looking down below at the area called the Ophel.  And this is significant to us, because it CONNECTS to the EAST GATE of The Temple!  So we follow Josephus route, we went around the Southern Wall of the Old City Jerusalem, and we ended up here!

Now in this road that you see before you, just on the other side is where the Temple would have been!  But there are many discoveries here, but it’s called the EAST Gate of the Ophel. Nehemiah 3:26 ‘Moreover the Nethinims dwelt in the Ophel, in the place over against the Water Gate towards the EAST, even unto the Wall of the Ophel.’

{Nehemiah 3:26 Moreover the Nethinims dwelt in Ophel, unto the place over against the water gate toward the east, and the tower that lieth out.}

So Josephus describes Solomon built up a High East Wall, and that would have been a precipice down below.

Now I believe it is in this area where the Bulla of Isaiah and Hezekiah were discovered.  In this area here, right next to the road, and right next to the jar pots.

And here we have it’s stating, ‘The meeting place of three fortification elements from the First Temple {period (tenth–sixth centuries BCE): a wall of large stones that is part of the Small Tower — most of it is hidden beneath the street — and above it, the Byzantine tower (1), a corner of the royal structure (2), a straight wall that continues northeast (3).’}

{‘The gate house comprises four rooms of identical size, flanking a central passage paved with tamped chalk.}  It’s plan is characteristic of the First Temple (tenth-sixth centuries BCE) and is similar to that of the gate houses exposed at Megiddo, Be’er Sheva’ and Ashdod.  The excavator, Eilat Mazar, suggests identifying the gate house here with the ‘water gate’ ……and the temple servants living on Ophel {this is the Nethinim} repaired to a point opposite the Water Gate on the east and the projecting tower.’  (Nehemiah 3:26)

East is this way.  So what we have here is a large Tower, potentially the Water Gate, but it’s this area, the Ophel, where the Nethinim lived!

So EAST from this Tower, is in this direction.  And that’s the SouthEast Corner of the Roman Fortress.

{17:15 – 18:02 min mark, video on this map}

{18:03 min mark}  Down by the Kidron Valley, we’re going to the Gihon Spring.  Now where is that outside?  As the Valley drops we can see some trees here, a building here, and approximately where this Palm Tree, down below is the Gihon Spring. Approximately, that’s where the Gihon Spring is. And proximity to the Kidron Valley, and of course the City of David is behind us here.

Here we are at the source of what some consider to be the source of the Gihon Spring. If so, this would have been possibly where Solomon was ‘anointed’, at the Gihon Spring.  We’ll see, of course right here we don’t have water, we’ll see the water shortly, but the significance of this is multifaceted; where we have Solomon anointed King.

{1Kings 1:33 The king also said unto them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring him down to Gihon: 34 And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel: and blow ye with the trumpet, and say, God save king Solomon.

‘This pool was carved into the rock 3,800 years ago and was fed by waters from the nearby Gihon Spring.  It served as Jerusalem’s wartime water source in the city’s early days, to be used in times of siege.  Some speculate that King Solomon was crowned King of Israel in this very spot (1 Kings 1:32-40).  Towards the end of the First Temple period, the pool was filled with earth and simple homes were built upon it.  Hundreds of bullae (seal impressions), and thousands of fish bones found buried in the debris that filled the pool, attest to the vibrant trade ties that existed between the Kingdom of Judah and the Kingdoms of Israel and Phoenicia, and to the opulent dietary habits of the inhabitants of Jerusalem in those days.’}

If we look at the sign, we could see the verse here in 1st Kings, where Zadok the Priest ANOINTED him King over Israel.  In this very spot, they found remains of many more Bulla, and many other things in the place that had filled with earth from Temple structures and homes above.

Here is the SOURCE of the Gihon Spring, and we’re going into the Tunnel.

We are at the end of the Gihon Spring.  And as we exit, we have a very, very important Paleo Hebrew Inscription.  You are standing at the place where the Shiloah Inscription, written approximately 2700 years ago during the reign of King Hezekiah, was discovered.’

And here in this, this is the Replica, it’s not the original.  But we have Paleo Hebrew, Hezekiah describing this Gihon Spring in this Tunnel.   So we’ve walked through the Tunnel, and as we leave, we exist out to the Pool of Siloam.  We go up the stairs here, and when we go out:

Here we have the Pool!  And that’s where we came from. Beautiful, isn’t it?

Now what do we mean by a bulla?  A bulla is a Seal Impression, and here is an example of one. This was large, but typically it would be on a Ring, but it was the size of a tip of your finger.  This one says City of David, on one side, and this is the Seal Impression of King Hezekiah.  It’s a copy, of course, but this is the Seal Impression that was found in the Ophel.

We saw the Ophel is CONNECTED to the EAST of The TEMPLE.  And, we have the Seal of Nathanmelech, and Nathanmelech is to the WEST of The TEMPLE.  So, there can be NO confusing it’s Location, when we have physical Signs in STONE: Hezekiah, and also the Seal and Bulla of Nathanmelech would actually show us the WEST GATE PARBAR, or Parbarium {?}, that’s the WEST GATES of The TEMPLE, as we’ve shown you.

And, the Ophel, which Josephus describes as the Ophelis {?} CONNECTED to the EAST of The TEMPLE.  So these Bulla Seals Impressions actually show us it’s Location!

{THE MINISTER JEHUCAL MADE HIS MARK: “And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, to the prophet Jeremiah, saying: ‘Pray now unto the Lord our God for us'” (Jeremiah 37:3)}

Here we have a Seal, this is very significant.  This is called a Bulla, see, ‘At this spot, a bulla, an imprint in clay used to seal documents.’

So we have a Bulla, this is a particular Scribe.  It’s very small, the size of your fingertip, and it would Seal a document.

Now here is our Seal that says, City of David, and we are in a House or Palace of David, and it is in THIS area that many of these Seals were found.

Here is an example of some, the one here on our far right is Gemariahu. And this is the area where this was found, and we find him in Jeremiah chapter 36.

{Jeremiah 36:10 From the chamber of Gemariah son of Shaphan the scribe, which was in the upper courtyard at the opening of the New Gate of the house of the LORD, Baruch read from the scroll the words of Jeremiah in the hearing of all the people.}

When Baruch read the Book and the words of Jeremiah, in the House of the LORD, ‘In the chamber of Germariah the son of Shaphan the scribe, at the higher court at the entry of the New Gate of the LORD’s House.’   So this is GATE, a Scribe Gate by the New House.

{Jeremiah 36:11 When Micaiah son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the LORD from the scroll, 12 he went down to the scribe’s chamber in the king’s palace, where all the officials were sitting: Elishama the scribe, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Achbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials.}

Verse 11, ‘…And the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, when he heard the Book, and the words of the LORD, he went down into the King’s House, into the Scribe’s Chamber.’  So the King’s House is in close proximity to the Temple.  We find this in Nehemiah 2:8, ‘When they gave me timber and beams for the Gates of the King’s Palace.’

{Nehemiah 2:8 And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.}

And what we’re looking at, is the Place considered to be the Palace, the King’s House.  And it was next to or pertained to The Temple.  The Palace which pertained to the House.  So, that’s what’s so important about these Scrolls, or these Seals, is that they actually SHOW US ‘where’ the Palace was, and the King, and the Palace of the King was very close to The Temple.

So, this other Seal from Gemariah shows us this.

Now here what we’re doing is we’re looking at this area where the Temple would have been.  There is the Givati Parking Lot with the trees.  And there is the Ophel, at the base of the Fortress Antonio. Some of you may ask, ‘Leeland, what does the Temple look like Now?’

Well, you’re looking at it right now.  It’s just somebody’s house!   There’s fruit trees, and just someone is living there.  It’s right between the City of David Museum, and the Ophel.

So this is a playlist on, Where’s The Temple?   This is the Most information!  I do encourage you to watch other video’s. ~ Leeland Jones

David’s Palace, the King’s House in the City of David: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5u6o_Y8BD3E

Scribes Chamber in City of David and Qumran: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojT5AK1nbUI&t=0s

True Temple Location, playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXqaGD7sX9ga5asTGGKhcXZE1klpPbJMJ

Amazing Temple Discovery! Parbar Found in Givati!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adtNyATL4Tw&t=0s

Givati Parking Lot dig: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Givati_Parking_Lot_dig

Ophel: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophel

Nathan-melech: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan-melech

The Walls of Jerusalem: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walls_of_Jerusalem

The Temple in the City of David: https://overcominglymedisease.com/the-temple-in-the-city-of-david/

Leeland’s Notes: 2 Kings 23:11 And he took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entering in of the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathanmelech the chamberlain, which was in the suburbs, and burned the chariots of the sun with fire.

Jer 31:40 unto the corner of the Horse Gate toward the East

Josephus – This wall began in the north at the so-called Hippicus Tower [one of the three towers built by Herod for his Upper Palace citadel] and went [east] on to the Xystos, and reaching the Council House ended at the western Colonnade of the Temple. On the other side facing west, it began at the same starting point [Hippicus Tower], extended [south] through a place called Bethso to the Gate of the Essenes and turned thereafter facing south [but going east] towards the Pool of Siloam. From there it went again, now facing east [but going north], towards Solomon’s Pool, and reaching as far as a certain place, which is called Ophlas [the Ophel], where it was joined to the eastern Hall of the Temple.

The Ophel is described as the East Gate Neh 3:26. Moreover the Nethinims dwelt in Ophel, unto the place over against the Eater Gate toward the East, and the tower that lieth out……. even unto the wall of Ophel. 28 From above the horse gate

Jer 36:10 Then read Baruch in the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the Lord, in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the higher court, at the entry of the New Gate of the Lord’s House, in the ears of all the people. 11 When Michaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, had heard out of the book all the words of the Lord, Then he went down into the king’s house, into the scribe’s chamber: and, lo, all the princes sat there, even Elishama the scribe,

Neh 2:8 that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into.

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