Dome of the Rock. Original Site of Solomon's Temple It is generally understood that this is the place where Abraham came to offer Isaac, in the mount of the LORD three days from Beersheba (Genesis 22:4, 14). It is where Solomon began to build the temple in 966 B.C. Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to David his father, at the place that David had appointed, on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. (2 Chronicles 3:1 ESV) The temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C., but rebuilt under the leadership of Joshua and Zerubbabel after the return from Babylonian exile (520-516 B.C.). Herod the Great basically built a new temple during his reign. The Romans destroyed Jerusalem, including the temple, in A.D. 70. Centuries later, between 687 and 691, the Qubbet es Sakhra, (Dome of the Rock) was built on the orders of the Ommayad caliph, Abd el Malik. The building has been restored numerous times, but “the monument has preserved its original majestic proportions and harmonious design” (The Middle East, Hachette, 1966). The association of this site with both Abraham and David ties together two of the great texts of the Old Testament (Genesis 12; 2 Samuel 7) and makes it especially significant for those who believe the Bible.