Thank you for the question about the magnificence of King Solomon’s temple, “Is it possible that King Solomon’s temple would have been as magnificent as the ancient pyramids of Egypt before the Exodus to Babylon?”
There are scholars who state or doubt the existence of King Solomon or the Temple, but that assumption is slowly being challenged. The digging in the Jerusalem area is revealing some evidence of an earlier kingdom and Temple.
The Jerusalem Post says this, “A 2,600-year-old bulla (seal) from the Kingdom of Judah bearing the inscription “[belonging] to Nathan-Melech, Servant of the King,” unearthed in Jerusalem’s City of David earlier this year, has topped the list of top ten discoveries in biblical archaeology in 2019, compiled by the Bible Archaeology Report (Breaking News, Israel News). One may read more about this finding in that article. There has been other bulla/seals found. The seals themselves do not prove there was a temple but it reflects that someone rule over this land and that there was a King.
If there was a ruler over Jerusalem, wouldn’t it be likely that there would be a temple for worship? The size and beauty of that temple would depend on the greatness of the king and his wealth. In my opinion, the exiled Jews in Babylon could not have built the temple from nothing. It took King Herod 46 years to rebuild it. With a ragged tagged group of returning Jews, could they have built the temple by themselves? Not likely unless something was already there for them to build upon.
The destruction of the Temple was total as well as large portion of the wall by King Nebuchadnezzar. If Nebuchadnezzar took his army to conquer or to put down a rebellion, there must have been something for him to conquer and to carry the captives away to his homeland. I don’t imagine Nebuchadnezzar was interested in some nomad tribes in Canaan. If the Israelites in exile were nomads, there would be nothing for them to return to their homeland. There must be something for them to return to otherwise they would have stay in Babylon.
In comparing the Temple in Jerusalem and the Pyramids in Egypt, it must be noted that King Solomon traded with the Egyptians in buying chariots and horses from them. Thus it is likely that he even married one of the Egyptian princesses. The plans were given to him by King David and with his extensive wealth he was able to build a magnificent temple to YHWH. The Temple on one of the highest point in Jerusalem with its “white” stones, would be an awesome sight for an traveler to the city. I am amazed when I saw the Greek-Roman structures as the Pantheon or the Colosseum even Pompeii. I have never been to Egypt or Israel so I can’t comment on the structures except on the internet.
SUMMARY: King Solomon had the wealth and workers to build a magnificent temple that would have rival the temples of Egypt.
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