I have no problem with Hebrews, Muslims, Buddhists or any other religious group. I do have a problem with people who misrepresent fiction for fact. I note you mention not fact, but make bold statements with no mention of source or anything. You also confuse Hebrews with Israelites, which are two different categories. The inhabitants of ancient, like modern, Israel weren´t all Jews, so your suggestion that I be antisemite has no foundation.
I assume you are referring to the First Temple, about which very little is known. Not even it´s exact location is certain, as it was completely destroyed. So, stating that it´s build cost equivalates something in the range of $ 3 billion dollars (of whatever year) is nothing but wild speculation. But let´s take this specualtion serously for a moment. How much do you think the Great Pyramid (a much larger structure) would have cost? Surely that would be a multiplication of that $ 3 billion. It makes one wonder where Solomon got such a huge amount of bullion, in an age that didn´t even know currency (which was first used in the Middle East in Lydia, in the 8th century BC). Also ofcourse, the First Temple stood for approx 4 centuries, and was built over a millennium after the Great Pyramid - which it still stands.
Now about monotheism. You seem to think the ancient Israelites of Solomon´s times were all virtuous Jews. Well, they were not. Just check your Bible. In fact, Orthodox Judaism hadn´t even been formulated yet when the Temple was built. That happened only after the Babylonian exile. You know, the Babylonians that destroyed the Temple.
In that same Bible (actually the Torah) you can find that King Solomon requested the aid of King Hiram of Tyre to provide both the quality materials and skilled craftsmen. It doesn´t mention payment of any kind, merely the request of aid. Now if Solomon really had the equivalent of $ 3 billion dollars (of whatever year), surely he could have simply bought (in this case bartered for) the materials and hired the skilled craftsmen - which, apparently, weren´t present in Israel.
Once again, the Great Pyramid. This wasn´t built by foreign labour, but by Egyptian craftsmen, who were housed and cared for - and got paid. (There are inscriptions relating to this, including reference to daily rations of bread and beer.) Plus ofcourse, the Great Pyramid was only the first and greatest of a long line of pyramids, that ultimately inspired even the Nubians to built their own Nubian-type pyramids, some 2 centuries after the building of the Temple.
I assume you are referring to the First Temple, about which very little is known. Not even it´s exact location is certain, as it was completely destroyed. So, stating that it´s build cost equivalates something in the range of $ 3 billion dollars (of whatever year) is nothing but wild speculation. But let´s take this specualtion serously for a moment. How much do you think the Great Pyramid (a much larger structure) would have cost? Surely that would be a multiplication of that $ 3 billion. It makes one wonder where Solomon got such a huge amount of bullion, in an age that didn´t even know currency (which was first used in the Middle East in Lydia, in the 8th century BC). Also ofcourse, the First Temple stood for approx 4 centuries, and was built over a millennium after the Great Pyramid - which it still stands.
Now about monotheism. You seem to think the ancient Israelites of Solomon´s times were all virtuous Jews. Well, they were not. Just check your Bible. In fact, Orthodox Judaism hadn´t even been formulated yet when the Temple was built. That happened only after the Babylonian exile. You know, the Babylonians that destroyed the Temple.
In that same Bible (actually the Torah) you can find that King Solomon requested the aid of King Hiram of Tyre to provide both the quality materials and skilled craftsmen. It doesn´t mention payment of any kind, merely the request of aid. Now if Solomon really had the equivalent of $ 3 billion dollars (of whatever year), surely he could have simply bought (in this case bartered for) the materials and hired the skilled craftsmen - which, apparently, weren´t present in Israel.
Once again, the Great Pyramid. This wasn´t built by foreign labour, but by Egyptian craftsmen, who were housed and cared for - and got paid. (There are inscriptions relating to this, including reference to daily rations of bread and beer.) Plus ofcourse, the Great Pyramid was only the first and greatest of a long line of pyramids, that ultimately inspired even the Nubians to built their own Nubian-type pyramids, some 2 centuries after the building of the Temple.
