Court of the Gentiles

Biblical References

The "Court of the Gentiles" refers to the large outermost court of the Jerusalem temple in New Testament times. The name itself does not appear in the Bible. It is a later designation, given because Gentiles (non-Jews) were also permitted to enter it.

• Cleansing of the temple: The Gospels record that Jesus drove out those who bought and sold, along with the money changers, from the temple courts (Matthew 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-17; Luke 19:45-46; John 2:13-16). This cleansing of the temple is commonly thought to have taken place in the Court of the Gentiles.
• Solomon's porch: "Solomon's porch," mentioned in John 10:23, Acts 3:11, and Acts 5:12, is understood to have been one of the colonnades (roofed walkways) surrounding this outer court.
• Revelation: Revelation 11:2 speaks of "the court which is without the temple" and says that "it is given unto the Gentiles."

Background

In the late first century BC, Herod the Great greatly enlarged the Temple in Jerusalem, expanding the temple platform. Most of the enlarged area was taken up by the outer court. Moving inward, access became increasingly restricted, proceeding through the Court of the Women, the Court of Israel, the Court of the Priests, and finally the sanctuary.

A low balustrade separated the outer court from the inner precincts. Before it stood inscriptions in Greek warning that any Gentile who passed beyond it would be put to death. Such an inscription has been recovered in modern excavations, confirming that these warnings actually existed. The uproar described in Acts 21:27-29, which arose from the mistaken belief that Paul had brought Trophimus the Ephesian into the temple, is related to this regulation.

Animals for sacrifice were sold in this court. Money changing, by which money was exchanged for the currency the temple accepted for the temple tax, is also known to have taken place there.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

In Mark 11:17 Jesus quotes the words "My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer." This saying comes from Isaiah 56:7 and is an Old Testament promise concerning the day when Gentiles, too, would come to God. In the parallel accounts in Matthew and Luke, the words "of all nations" are absent.

The New Testament teaches that the division between Jews and Gentiles is broken down in Christ. Ephesians 2:14-17 describes Christ as having "broken down the middle wall of partition."

Interpretations and Debates

• The meaning of the temple cleansing: One interpretation focuses on Mark's emphasis on "all nations" and reads the event as a protest against merchants occupying the only space where Gentiles could pray. Another sees it as a symbolic act foreshadowing judgment on the temple itself, noting that in Mark the account of the cursing of the fig tree comes both before and after this event. Still another interpretation, focusing on the phrase "den of thieves" (quoting Jeremiah 7:11), sees it as a critique of corrupt temple administration.
• The "middle wall" and the balustrade: Some interpret the "middle wall of partition" in Ephesians as an allusion to this warning balustrade. Others hold that it is simply a metaphor for the law and the enmity between the two groups, not a reference to an actual structure. The text does not identify a specific wall.
• What the text does not say: The explanation that "Gentiles could not pray because of the marketplace" is often added, but the Gospels do not state this directly. Moreover, since the Court of the Gentiles refers to a feature of Herod's temple, the term cannot simply be applied to the temple of Solomon.

In Korean Churches

In Korean Protestant preaching, the Court of the Gentiles is frequently mentioned in sermons on the temple-cleansing passages, together with the phrase "the house of prayer for all nations." It is sometimes applied to teach that the church should be open to unbelieving neighbors and newcomers.