“Awake, Why Sleepest Thou, O Lord ? Arise, Cast Us Not Off For Ever” (Ps. 44 :24): On Jerusalem Temple Orientation, Dedication and the Sunrise, p. 253

The Temple of Zerubbabel was inaugurated on Adar 3rd, year six of King Darius. It did not follow neither the inauguration date of the Tabernacle (Nisan 1st or Adar 23rd), nor that of Solomon’s Temple (Tishri 7th). Why did the Returnees decide upon this date? Contemporary Babylonian Astronomical Calendars indicate that this lunar date corresponded to March 12, 515 bce according to the Julian Solar Calendar. The azimuth of the sunrise above the Mount of Olives on that same day, relative to a beholder standing at the temple portal was 99.7ᵒ. This exactly befits the orientation of the temple façade, as preserved in the long axis of water cistern no. 5 underlying the upper platform of Haram al-Sharif. This water cistern points to the exact location of the altar and the Temple, and its orientation. Hence, the inauguration date was determined by the sunrise at that same day. A survey on the practice of facing the sun in the Jewish cult, both in the public and in private sphere during the Second Temple period and even before is also given in the article.