Akedah and The Final Temple Altar

Akedat Yitzchak (binding of Isaac)

Temple Zero as Akedah: A Reexamination of Mount Moriah’s Sanctity

Mishneh Torah, The Chosen Temple 2:1 - The altar is placed extremely precisely and may never ever be placed anywhere else as it says "This is the Altar for the offerings of Israel." And it was in the temple that Isaac was bound as it says "and go to the land of Moriah" and it says "Solomon built the temple on Mt. Moriah." 

הַמִּזְבֵחַ מְקוֹמוֹ מְכֻוָּן בְּיוֹתֵר. וְאֵין מְשַׁנִּין אוֹתוֹ מִמְּקוֹמוֹ לְעוֹלָם. שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (דברי הימים א כב א) "זֶה מִזְבַּח לְעוֹלָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל". וּבַמִּקְדָּשׁ נֶעֱקַד יִצְחָק אָבִינוּ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (בראשית כב ב) "וְלֶךְ לְךָ אֶל אֶרֶץ הַמֹּרִיָּה". וְנֶאֱמַר בְּדִבְרֵי הַיָּמִים (דברי הימים ב ג א) "וַיָּחֶל שְׁלֹמֹה לִבְנוֹת אֶת בֵּית יהוה בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם בְּהַר הַמּוֹרִיָּה אֲשֶׁר נִרְאָה לְדָוִיד אָבִיהוּ אֲשֶׁר הֵכִין בִּמְקוֹם דָּוִיד בְּגֹרֶן אָרְנָן הַיְבוּסִי":

The location of the Akedat Yitzchak (binding of Isaac) and its connection to the eternal altar site in Jewish tradition has sparked debate, particularly with the archaeological discovery of a Middle Bronze Age (circa 2000–1500 BCE) rock-cut-temple complex in the City of David, dubbed Temple Zero. This article explores the hypothesis that Temple Zero could be the Akedah’s site, as referenced in the Rambam’s Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Beit HaBechirah 2:1, without contradicting the traditional identification of Mount Moriah with the Temple Mount, by leveraging the topological unity of the mountain ridge, the evolving concept of Zion, the mystical scope of the Even HaShtiyah (Foundation Stone/Rock), and the expanded boundaries in Ezekiel’s vision of the Third Temple (Ezekiel 40–48).

The Rambam states that the altar’s location is "extremely precise" and unchangeable, linking the Akedah (Genesis 22:2) to the site of Solomon’s Temple on Mount Moriah at Ornan’s threshing floor (II Chronicles 3:1), traditionally the site of the Temple Mount’s Even HaShtiyah. Most likely, he uses "in the temple" (וּבַמִּקְדָּשׁ) during Isaac's time (circa 1800–1700 BCE) to denote Mount Moriah’s sanctity, not a physical structure. However, the blog Israel’s Hidden Ancient Facts proposes that Temple Zero, near the Gihon Spring in the City of David, is the true Akedah site, citing its westward-facing altar and matzevah (standing stone), dated to 1615–1445 BCE, and its burial by circa 1550 BCE, which left it undisturbed for the past 3500 years (per Weizmann and Cambridge’s carbon dated, ash layer studies).

Mount Moriah is a single limestone ridge encompassing the Temple Mount and City of David. This topological unity supports Temple Zero as part of Mount Moriah, potentially sanctified by the Akedah site. The Even HaShtiyah, traditionally the rock under the Dome of the Rock, is mystically described as Mount Moriah itself (Zohar, Vayera 97b, Midrash Tanchuma, Pekudei 3), broadening its scope to include Temple Zero. Zion, coined by David as the fortified stronghold, City of David (II Samuel 5:7), aligns with Temple Zero’s location. This suggests David sought a pre-existing Israelite heritage site, though its natural burial, well prior to his arrival, prevented its discovery, leading him to establish his altar on the Temple Mount (II Samuel 24:18), which he declared as the national altar (II Chronicles 3:1).

Ezekiel’s vision (Ezekiel 40–48) expands the Third Temple’s sacred zone to include the City of David (Ezekiel 48:10–20), supporting Temple Zero’s sanctity within Mount Moriah. This allows the Akedah altar at Temple Zero to be distinct from Solomon’s altar on the Temple Mount, as the Rambam’s "never changes" principle may apply to Temple Zero’s sanctity without requiring congruence with Solomon’s site (II Chronicles 3:1). However, halachic tradition (Mishnah Middot 3:1, Rambam, Hilchot Beit HaBechirah 2:2) and Ezekiel’s precise altar specifications (Ezekiel 43:13–17) prioritize the Temple Mount’s Even HaShtiyah for the Third Temple, limiting Temple Zero’s role to a patriarchal temple.

The synthesis proposes that Temple Zero was the Akedah’s altar, sanctified by and within Mount Moriah’s mystical Even HaShtiyah and original Zion. Its burial led David to establish the eternal altar on the Temple Mount, the Rambam’s "future site." This preserves Mount Moriah’s sanctity and Ezekiel’s expanded zone, but challenges the Rambam’s unified altar concept due to the 500–700-meter distance between sites. Without further evidence linking Temple Zero to the Third Temple’s altar, the Temple Mount remains the halachic focus, though Temple Zero offers a compelling case for Akedah’s historical location.