The Temple in Arad

As the Bible tells us, the kings of Judah did not all suppress worship outside the Jerusalem Temple. The Temple in Arad may have been founded by the Kenites (see Judges 1:16; 4:11), who were related to Moses by marriage. Apparently it existed from close to the time of Solomon until not long before the Jerusalem Temple was destroyed; it may have been closed down in connection with king Josiah’s religious reforms. The Ark was surely never there, but as far as we can tell from its remains, the Arad Temple had points of resemblance to both Moses’ Tabernacle and Solomon’s Temple. For more details see the article “Arad” in the Encyclopedia Judaica, vol.3, cols.243-249.