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A commonly reported claim (at least in fundamentalist/evangelical circles) is that, in the huge temple fire when the Romans invaded Jerusalem in 70 AD, a large amount of gold work melted and ran between the temple stones. Supposedly, this caused the Romans to tear the temple area apart stone by stone looking for the gold, and it is claimed that this represents the fulfillment of a prophecy in Mark 13:2 and other verses.

I've been unable to confirm a source for this claim. Several sites returned in a Google search claim it's in Josephus. It doesn't seem to be in Wars of the Jews, although the siege, attack, and temple fire are described in vivid detail. One claimed source was A World History of the Jewish People, but although I found that book (a different edition) I couldn't find any reference to this story. I had no success with several encyclopedias of Judaism. It might be in the Talmud, but I wouldn't even know where to start looking. Has anyone else heard this claim? Do you know if it's a real event, or an urban legend? Herod's temple is no longer there, of course, but I think this claim about the gold is pure historical fantasy.

Writer@Large

Terminology nitpick: that is not, by definition, an "urban legend." It's historical legend.

Carry on.

--W@L

Toto

Josephus is the only source for the destruction of the Temple. It was probably a creative reading of Josephus.

You might get a better response to this in BCH.