Page:The House of the Lord.djvu/17



CHAPTER I A PRE-VIEW OF THE SUBJECT

Both by derivation and common usage the term "temple," in its literal application, is of restricted and specific meaning. The essential idea of a temple is and ever has been that of a place specially set apart for service regarded as sacred, and of real or assumed sanctity; in a more restricted sense, a temple is a building constructed for and exclusively devoted to sacred rites and ceremonies.

The Latin Templum was the equivalent of the Hebrew Beth Elohim, and signified the abode of Deity; hence, as associated with Divine worship, it meant literally the .

Structures regarded in their entirety as sanctuaries,