Solomon's Porch

Biblical Text

Solomon's Porch appears three times in the New Testament.

• John 10:23: In winter, at the time of the Feast of Dedication (the festival commemorating the dedication of the Temple), "Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch." The Jews then gathered around Him and demanded that He tell them plainly whether He was the Christ (John 10:24). Jesus answered, "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30), and the Jews took up stones to stone Him.
• Acts 3:11: Peter and John healed a man lame from birth at the gate of the Temple. The astonished people ran together "in the porch that is called Solomon's," and Peter preached to them there (Acts 3:12–26).
• Acts 5:12: Many signs and wonders were wrought through the apostles, and the believers "were all with one accord in Solomon's porch."

Background

The Korean term haenggak (行閣), used in Korean Bibles for this structure, originally refers to a long, corridor-like building constructed in front of or alongside a larger structure. The Greek word in the New Testament is stoa (στοά), denoting a colonnade whose roof is supported by columns and which is open on one side. Some Korean translations render it as "Solomon's Colonnade" (jurang, 柱廊).

This colonnade stood along the edge of the outer court of the Jerusalem Temple, which Herod had greatly expanded. Many identify it as the eastern colonnade. Because the outer court was a broad space that even Gentiles could enter, it served as a public area where people gathered to converse or to hear teaching.

Scripture does not explain why the colonnade bore the name of Solomon. The first-century Jewish historian Josephus is known to have recorded a passage connecting the Temple's eastern colonnade with construction from Solomon's time. Solomon's Temple, however, was destroyed by Babylon. Scholars therefore differ on whether the colonnade was an actual remnant of a structure from Solomon's era or whether the name was attached to it by tradition. The colonnade was destroyed along with the Temple by the Roman army in AD 70.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

In the Gospel of John, Solomon's Porch appears as the place where Jesus publicly declared who He was. At the Feast of Dedication, which commemorated the dedication of the Temple, Jesus declared in the very midst of the Temple that He and the Father are one. Many interpreters see this scene as connected to the broader movement of John's Gospel, which presents Jesus as the true Temple.

In Acts, it appears as the place where the early church in Jerusalem gathered openly within the Temple and proclaimed the gospel. This also fits with the record that the believers continued daily in the Temple (Acts 2:46).

Interpretation and Points of Discussion

• Exact location: Scripture says only that it was "in the temple." Its identification as the eastern colonnade is an inference based on Josephus's account and on studies of the Temple's layout.
• The mention of winter: Because John's account notes that "it was winter" (John 10:22–23), interpreters often add that Jesus went to the colonnade to take shelter from the wind and cold. This is the interpreters' conjecture, not a reason the text itself gives.
• Was it the early church's regular meeting place?: On the basis of Acts 5:12, some describe this place as the established meeting place of the early church. The text, however, reports only that the believers gathered there; it does not say how often or in what form those gatherings took place.