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Although the Royal Arch deals with events at the second Temple at Jerusalem, it really is a retrospect and elucidation of the symbolism preserved for future generations by the three Grand Masters who presided at the building of the first Temple*. The history of the second Temple is not pursued beyond the start of its construction.

 

The first Temple at Jerusalem, King Solomon’s Temple, was completed circa 957 BC, to a pattern based on that of the Holy Tabernacle. The Tabernacle had served as a repository for the Ark of the Covenant during the exodus of the Jews from Egypt, and conformed to a design communicated by God to Moses. According to the Book of Kings, construction of the Temple was completed in the eighth month of Solomon's eleventh year, taking about seven years.

The Bible records that the Tyrians played a leading role in the construction of the Temple. The Second Book of Samuel mentions how King David and King Hiram of Tyre forged an alliance. This friendship continued after Solomon succeeded David, and the two referred to each other as brothers. An account of how Hiram helped Solomon build the Temple is given in 1 Kings (chapters 5–9) and 2 Chronicles (chapters 2–7). In these accounts, Hiram agrees to Solomon's request to supply him with cedar and cypress trees for the construction of the Temple and tells Solomon that he will send the trees by sea: "I will make them into rafts to go by the sea to the place that you indicate. I will have them broken up there for you to take away." In return for the lumber, Solomon sends him wheat and oil. Solomon also brings over a skilled craftsman from Tyre, also called Hiram (or Huram-abi), who oversees the construction of the Temple. Stonemasons from Gebal cut stones for the Temple.

After the building of the Temple, by the 7th century BC, Judah had become a vassal kingdom under the rule of Babylon. Following a revolt by Jehoiakim, King of Judah, the Babylonian King, Nebuchadnezzar, sent his general, Nebuzaradan with a great army to lay siege to Jerusalem. Jehoiakim died during the siege and was succeeded by his son, Jeconiah. In 587 BC Jerusalem surrendered and the Temple, which had stood for nearly 400 years, was plundered by the invading army and the King, together with other prominent citizens and craftsmen and as many as 10,000 of the population were taken captive into Babylon.

Nebuchadnezzar installed Jeconiah's uncle, Zedekiah, as vassal king of Judah, but Zedekiah soon ceased to pay tribute to Babylon and entered into an alliance with Egypt. Then in 589 BC Nebuzaradan again invaded Judah and laid siege to Jerusalem. The city fell and the king fled but was captured on the plain of Jericho, blinded, and taken in chains to Babylon where he died in captivity.

The city and Temple were completely destroyed and most of the remaining people carried off to Babylon, with only a small number left behind to tend to the land.

The overthrow of the Babylonian Empire and accession of the Persian King Cyrus the Great in 559 BC ended the Babylonian captivity. A decree from Cyrus permitted the return of the Jews, estimated to number over 42,000, to Jerusalem. One of their first concerns was to restore their ancient house of worship by rebuilding the destroyed Temple.

On the invitation of the governor, Zerubbabel, the people poured funds into the project. First, they erected and dedicated the altar of God on the spot where it had formerly stood, and they then cleared away the charred heaps of debris that occupied the site of the old temple. At this point in history the events of the Royal Arch take place.

The building of the Second Temple was interrupted following disputes with the Samaritans, during which time Cyrus the Great died. Cyrus was eventually succeeded by King Darius, under whose rule the work of rebuilding the Temple was resumed. The Temple was Consecrated in the spring of 516 BC, more than 20 years after the return from captivity. The Second Temple included many of the original vessels of gold that had been taken by the Babylonians but restored by Cyrus the Great. However, it lacked the Ark of the Covenant, the tablets of stone, the pot of manna, Aaron’s rod and other artefacts lost after the sacking of the First Temple. In the Second Temple, as in the Tabernacle, the Holy of Holies was separated by curtains or veils rather than a wall as in the First Temple.

After the Roman conquest of the Holy Land, the temple built by Zerubbabel was enlarged into a magnificent edifice under Herod the Great, the Romano-Jewish client King of Judea. Herod's Temple was one of the larger construction projects of the 1st century BC.