while the porticoes and outer walls required a further eight years. During the works, Herod was careful not to offend religious sensitivities: ten thousand laborers and a thousand priests were specially trained for the construction, daily offerings continued uninterrupted, and modesty partitions were erected to shield sacred rituals from view.

Both Rabbinic tradition and Josephus preserve accounts reflecting popular views that Herod's construction of the Temple was divinely supported, with miraculous signs symbolizing God's approval and