Golden Gate
The gate is located on the east side of the old city, leading to the temple, and regarded as the Holiest gate for all faiths. The gate was built in the 6th/7th C AD over the ruins of an ancient gate, and was sealed since the 16th C.
Ezekiel 44 2: "This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut".
Home > Sites > Jerusalem > Golden Gate (Gate of the Mercy)
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Overview:
The Golden gate is located on the east walls of the old city of Jerusalem, leading to the temple mount. It is regarded as a Holy site for all faiths - Jewish (arrival of the Messiah) and Christian (entrance of Jesus on Palm Sunday) and Muslim (site of future resurrection).
The gate was built in the 6th/7th C AD over the ruins of the second temple gate, and sealed since the 16th C.
Location:
The aerial map shows the 8 gates of Jerusalem, with the Golden gate on the right (east side), facing the Kidron valley and Mount of Olives. These are the gates, listed clockwise starting from the west corner:
1. New gate
2. Damascus gate (on the north-western side)
3. Herod's gate (on the north side)
4. Lions' gate (near St. Anna)
5. Golden gate (this site; a closed gate)
6. Dung gate (near the western wall)
7. Zion gate (on the south-west side)
8. Jaffa gate (tower of David)
You can point on the purple points to navigate to the selected site; the white points will be featured in the future.
History of the place:
- First temple
A gate was located on the eastern side of King Solomon's temple (10th C BC), and called the "east gate" ("Kadim" in the Hebrew Bible). Its location was probably at the vicinity of the Golden gate, inside the temple.
- Second temple
The second temple was first built in the 5th C BC by the returnees from the Babylonian exile. The gate, located on its eastern side, was called Shushan (or Susa), named after the ancient Persian capital. It was renovated during the Herodian reconstruction (1st C BC). The gate was destroyed by the Romans during the destruction of the temple in 70AD.
According to Jewish tradition, the Messiah will enter through the gate riding on a white donkey. Ever since the destruction of the temple the Jews pray here to rebuild the gate and allow the spirit of God to return to the city, and the Messiah to pass the gate, asking for mercy and revival of the gate (hence the Jewish name of the gate: Sha'ar Harachamim - Gate of the Mercy).
According to Christian religion, Jesus is the Messiah; according to tradition, he entered through the Golden gate on the Sunday before Passover ("Palm Sunday") riding on a donkey, an event that further angered the Jewish leaders and eventually led to the crucifixion several days later.
- Byzantine
A new gate was built over the ruins of the ancient gate in the 6th by the Byzantines (or in the 7th C by the Arabs). This makes the Golden gate the oldest gate in the present walls.
After the defeat of the Persians (629-630AD) the Byzantine emperor Heraclius entered, barefoot as a Christian pilgrim, through the gate with the remains of the true cross, which he recovered from the Persians and returned to the Church of Holy Sepulchre. This event is ever since celebrated as the Elevation of the Holy Cross celebration, in different dates (March 21, September 14, and other dates).
In the 6th/7thC Byzantine map from Madaba, the eastern gate is shown in the top center (eastern side in the ancient map), and is circled in yellow. It is seen connected by a street to the secondary Cardo.
- Crusaders
The gate was opened twice a year - on Palm Sunday and on the Holy Cross celebration in March. After their defeat in 1187, the gate remained closed.
- Ottomans
The Ottomans built the present walls of Jerusalem in 1540. However, they sealed the Golden gate in 1541 AD in order to prevent the Messiah's entrance, which according to the Jewish tradition will enter this gate. A cemetery was built in front of it, outside the walls, as part of the concept that the Messiah will not pass through a cemetery.
Photos:
A view from the east is seen below, with the sealed Golden gate in its center, and the Golden Dome of the Rock to its left. This photo was taken from the foothills of Mount of Olives, across the Kidron valley.
Click on the photo to view it in higher resolution...
A closer view to the Golden gate is seen below.
A closer view of the sealed gate is seen below, with the double gates. The north side of the gate (on the left) is called the repentance entrance, while the southern side is called the mercy entrance. The sealed gate is dated to the 6th/7th C AD.
Behind that gate is a staircase is the gate house. After then is a staircase that leads to the higher platform of the temple mount. Inside the gate house is a set of ancient columns and decorated capitols.
Biblical References:
(a) Ezekiel 44 1-3:
This text refers to the ancient tradition of the gate in the second temple, dated to the 6th C BC exile in Babylon. According to Ezekiel, God's spirit left the city through the gate, but will return after the Messiah will return through it.
"Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looketh toward the east; and it was shut. Then said the LORD unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut. It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same".
(b) Mark 11 8-11:
Jesus entered to the temple through the Golden gate on Palm Sunday, chanting Psalms verses:
"...And many spread their garments in the way: and others cut down branches off the trees, and strawed them in the way. And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest. And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple:"
(c) John 12 12-15; Zechariah 9,9
Another text about Jesus's entry:
"On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord. And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written, Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass's colt"
Note that the belief of the Messiah's return is described in Zechariah's account of the Messiah (9,9):
"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass".
(d) Luke 19 35-38:
Another text of Jesus entering the city, chanting Psalms verses with his disciples:
"And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their
garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon. And as he went, they spread
their clothes in the way. And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of
the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and
praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen;
Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in
heaven, and glory in the highest.".
(e) Psalms 118 24-26:
These are verses that Jesus and his disciples chanted while entering the temple thru the Golden Gate:
"This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD".
Etymology (behind the name):
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Links:
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Golden gate and the Madaba map - this article by Dan Bahat suggests that the Golden gate was located over an arch on the north-eastern corner of the second temple, not over the ruins of the ancient pre-Herodian gate. Furthermore, the article suggests a later date for the mosaic map (7th-8th C) based on the gate featured on the map.
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