Sources & Citations

This guide keeps four kinds of claim distinct — the biblical text, what archaeology can reconstruct, what readers interpret, and the Latter-day Saint frame — and credits the body of scholarship behind each rather than a lone name. Every scripture is quoted from the text itself (LDS/KJV), and since no remains of Solomon’s Temple have ever been excavated, every depiction is inference grounded in the sources below. Deepens, not debunks.

Scripture

The Holy Bible, King James Version, and the Latter-day Saint editions of the standard works (Book of Mormon; Doctrine and Covenants; Pearl of Great Price). All quotations are checked against the text, never from memory.
The Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra 15a (on the authorship of Kings).

The Temple and the Ancient Near East

John Monson, on the temple of ‘Ain Dara (Syria) as the “closest Solomonic parallel” — Biblical Archaeology Review (2000).
Victor Hurowitz, on Tell Tayinat and the Levantine “long-room” temple type — Biblical Archaeology Review (2011); and “Inside Solomon’s Temple,” Bible Review 10.2 (1994).
Elizabeth Bloch-Smith, “Who Is the King of Glory? Solomon’s Temple and Its Symbolism” (1994).
The Anchor Bible Dictionary, “Temple, Jerusalem” (Carol Meyers).
H. W. Catling, Cypriot Bronzework in the Mycenaean World (Oxford, 1964) — the wheeled bronze cult-stands that parallel the Temple’s lavers.
Comparative architecture and small finds: the Iron-Age six-chambered gates at Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer; horned incense altars at Arad and Megiddo.
Leen Ritmeyer, The Quest — reconstruction reference (this guide uses original art rather than reproducing it).

Jerusalem and the City of David

Ronny Reich and Eli Shukron — the excavations at the Gihon Spring and Warren’s Shaft.
Eilat Mazar — the “Large Stone Structure” (palace hypothesis) and the Jeremiah-era bullae of Zedekiah’s officials.
The Siloam Inscription and Hezekiah’s Tunnel; the monumental Pool of Siloam (rediscovered 2004).
The Temple Mount Sifting Project (begun 2004).

Commentary and Ancient Interpreters

Mordechai Cogan, I Kings (Anchor Bible commentary).
Josephus and Philo — the earliest symbolic readings of the Temple.

Latter-day Saint Scholarship

On the Feast of Tabernacles setting of King Benjamin’s address: John A. Tvedtnes, “King Benjamin and the Feast of Tabernacles”; Terrence L. Szink and John W. Welch; Bradley J. Kramer; and Lynda Cherry.
Lynne Hilton Wilson — the reading of the Ark’s missing manna and rod.
On the Mulek / Phoenician question: John L. Sorenson (BYU Studies, 1990), Hugh Nibley, the Book of Mormon Onomasticon (BYU), and the Scripture Central “Evidence” series.
Daniel Smith, Messages of Christ (Scripture Central) — the embedded videos, used with permission.
Published largely through FARMS / the Neal A. Maxwell Institute, BYU Studies, the Interpreter Foundation, and Scripture Central.

Images, Maps, and Art

Original to CFM Corner (created for this guide): the temple reconstructions (exterior, interiors, furnishings, the floor plan), the Jerusalem map, and the dedication scenes (Solomon’s dedication, King Benjamin’s gathering, and the Kirtland Temple) are original digital artwork. Some scenes were composed with the aid of AI image tools and finished by hand; all are original works made for this guide, with no third-party rights to clear.

Used under license, via Wikimedia Commons (resized for the web; attribution also shown in each page caption):

City of David scale model — CC BY-SA 4.0.
Siloam Inscription — CC0 (public-domain dedication).
Gihon Spring — Lewis B. Paton (1907), public domain.

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