Chyutin - The New Jerusalem - Ideal City

The New Jerusalem: Ideal City
Author(s): Michael Chyutin

Source: Dead Sea Discoveries, Vol. 1, No. 1 (Apr., 1994), pp. 71-97
Published by: Brill
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THE NEW JERUSALEM: IDEAL CITY
MICHAEL CHYUTIN
Tel Aviv
1. The New Jerusalem Scroll
The Aramaic scroll found in the Qumran caves and named by

Milik "The New Jerusalem" I is a detailed description of a temple
city designed upon an orthogonal grid of streets, in the tradition of
orthogonal cities that began in ancient Egypt and was continued in
the Greek Hippodamian cities and the Roman castrum.
The reconstruction of the scroll that has been published to date
is based on two pages (5Q15), which were found in a relatively
complete state and were completed by Milik with the aid of another
copy of the same scroll that was found in Cave 4 at Qumran and
has not been published, and also fragments of the scroll that have
been published only in part.
In my discussion of the scroll I rely upon Milik's reconstruction
and the fragments that have been published except in those cases
where Milik notes that his reading is not decisive. The text of the
scroll in Aramaic and in English translation has been published by
Fitzmyer and Harrington,2 and in German by Beyer.3 Greenfield4
proposed several corrections to Milik's reconstruction. An attempt
at an architectural reconstruction of the New Jerusalem was made
by Licht,5 with whom I disagree in the reconstruction presented
here. There are minor differences among the reconstructions of the
Aramaic in the various publications.
No full and accepted "official" text of the scroll has as yet been
published, so for my present purpose I have chosen the text pub-
I J.T. Milik, in M. Baillet, J.T. Milik and R. de Vaux, Les 'petites grottes' de
Qumran (DJD 3; Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1962) 184-93.
2 J.A. Fitzmyer and D.J. Harrington, A Manual of Palestinian Aramaic Texts
(BibOr 34; Rome: Biblical Institute Press, 1978) 54-61.
3 K. Beyer, Die aramaischen Texte vom Toten Meer (G6ttingen: Vandenhoeck &
Ruprecht, 1984) 214-22.
4 J.C. Greenfield, "The Small Caves of Qumran," JAOS 89 (1969) 132-35.
J. Licht, "The Ideal Town Plan from Qumran: The Description of the New
Jerusalem," IEJ 29 (1979) 47-59.
? E.J. Brill, Leiden Dead Sea Discoveries 1, 1 (1994)
72 MICHAEL CHYUTIN
lished by Fitzmyer and Harrington, with the addition of the first

line according to Licht (marked 0).
col. 1
0 and he brought me into the city and measured each and

every block, the length and width (of each) was 51 reeds by
51 reeds square
1 [around, three hundred and] fifty-seven [cu]bits in every

[direc]tion. And a peristyle (was) all around the block, a por-
tico of a street, [three reeds] (or) twenty-[one cu]bits. (vacal)
2 And likewise [he showed me the mea]surements of [all the]
bl[ocks. Between block and block (there was) a street,] si[x]
reeds (in) width, (or) forty-two cubits.
3 [And] the great [street]s [that] wen[t] from the east [to the
west]: the wid[th of the street] (was) ten reeds (or) seven[ty
cubits] (for) [tw]o of them; and (for) the third,
4 [which (is) on] the l[ef]t of the temp[le, the mea]surement
(was) of eight[een] reeds (in) width (or) one hund[red and
twen]ty-six cubits. (As for) the wid[th of the streets] that go
from [the] south
5 [to the north-(there are) tw]o of [them]: ni[n]e reeds and

q o]ur cubits (or) sixty-seven cubi[ts] for each street. As for
the cent[ral (street) which (is) in the mid]dle of the city,
6 [the measurement of] its [width] (is) [thir]teen ree[ds] and
one cubit (or) in cubits nin[e]ty-t[wo]. All [the str]ee[ts and
the city (are) pa]ved with white stone.
7 [ ].-[ ]b.[ ].rg[y]' w'[ of]

marble and jasper. (vacat)
8 [And he showed me the measurement of the ei]ghty
[postern-gates]; the wid[th of] the posterns (was) two reeds
(or) [fourteenth cubits].
9 [ a]t each and every gate (there were) two doors
of stone; the width of the [door] (was) [one] reed (or) seven
cubits. (vacat)
10 [And he showed me the measurement of] the twelve [por-

tal]s; the width of their gates (was) three reeds (or) [twenty-
one] cubit[s. At each]
THE NEW JERUSALEM: IDEAL CITY 73
11 [and every gate (there were) tw]o [doors]; the width of the
door[s] (was) one and a half reed[s (or t]en and a half
cubit[s ]
12 [And alongside every gate (there were) two to[wers, one o[n]
the [ri]ght and one on the I[ef]t; (as to) their width and their
length, the measurement (was) the same, five reeds by five
(or)
13 [thirty-five cubits. (As for) the stairway that goes up

alongside] the gate on the inside to the [rig]ht of the towers,
at the top of the to[wers, its width (was) five cubits. The
towers]
14 [and the stairways (were): five reeds by five] and five

cubit[s], (or) in [cubits for]ty, on every side of the gat[e
(vacat) ]
15 [And he showed me the measurements of the gates of the

blocks: their width] (was) two reeds (or) fou[rte]en cubits;
[and the wi]d[th of the measurement, cubits]
16 [And he measured] the wid[th of every thre]shold; two reeds
(or) fourteen cubits; [and its lintel: one cubit. ]
17 [And he measured at every] threshold the do[ors on] it. He

measured inside the thr[esh]old; its length (was) [thirteen]
cubits [and its width ten cubits. (vacat) ]
18 [And he br]oug[ht me in]side the threshold, [and there (was)]
another threshold; and the gate alongside the interior wall
[that was on the right side agreed with the measurement of
the gate]
19 [outside: its width] (was) four [cubi]ts, [its] height seven

[cubits]. And the doors on it (were) two. Before this [g]ate
(was) [the threshold for entrance; its width (was) one reed]
(or) seven
col. 2
1 [cubits], its [leng]th, as one enters (?), two reeds (or)

fou[rt]een cubits; and its height two reeds (or) four[teen]
cubits. [A gate]
2 op[posite (the) gat]e, opening to the interior of the block,

agreed with the measurement of the outside gate. On the left
of this entrance he showed [me a stairwell]
74 MICHAEL CHYUTIN
3 going around [and mounting up]. Its width and its length
(had) one measurement: two reeds by t[w]o (or) fourteen
cubits. And (the) ga[tes opposite (the)]
4 gates agreed with its measurement. (There was) a column in

the midst of the interior of the stairwell that went [around]
and mount[ed up] on it; its width and [its] leng[th (were six
cubits by six],
5 square. (As for) the stairway that mounted up at its side, its
width (was) four cubits; and it went around [and w]ent [up
(to) a height of [tw]o re[eds] to [ (vacat)].
6 He brought me [inside] the block and showed me in it
houses from gate to ga[te, fifteen (of them): eig]ht in on[e
direction to the corner]
7 [and se]ven from the c[or]ner up to the other gate. Their

width (and) the length (?) of the hous[es (were) three reeds]
(or) twent[y-one cubits; and their width (was)]
8 two [re]eds (or) fourteen cubits. And similar to this (were)
all the rooms. [Their height (was) t]wo [reeds] (or)
four[teen] cu[bi]ts. Their gates
9 [at the middle] (were) t[wo] reeds (or) fourte[en] cubits (in)
width. [And he measured the wid]th of the middle of the
house and the inside of the ro[oms; four]
10 [cubits long and a height of one reed (or) seven cubits. He
showed me the measurement of the houses] for dining (?):
The hall (was) nine[teen] cubits (in?) [their length]
11 [and their width (was) tw]elve [cubits]. (In each) house

(there were) [tw]enty-t[w]o couch[es; and ele]ven windows
enclosed abo[ve (the) couches;]
12 [and alongside of it the outer gutter. And he measured]..y
of the window: Its height (was) two [cub]its, [its width X
cubits], and (as for) depth (it was) the width of the wall. [The
height of the first (was)]
13 [X cubits; and (of) the other, X cubits. He measured the

boun]da[r]ies of (the) platfor[ms: Their length] (was) nine-
teen [cubits] and [their] width [twelve cubits]
14 [ 1. [ ]. and their hei[ght

opened b. [ two reeds (or) four-]
15 [teen cubits; and their width] (was) thr[ee cubits; and they
(were) [t]en [ ] long [ one and a half
cubits; and its height on the inside]
2. The Metrology of the Scroll
Before turning to the architectural reconstruction of the descrip-

tion given in the scroll, I must discuss the metrology used by its
author. The scroll gives the measurements in cubits, and also in a
reed which consists of seven cubits. The metrology used in biblical
times and the period of the Second Temple is the Egyptian
metrology.6 The Egyptian units of length are the short cubit, which
consists of 6 palms of 4 fingers each, and the long, or royal, cubit,
which consists of 7 palms, or 28 fingers. The accepted length of the
royal cubit is 525 mm. In Ezekiel (41:8) this cubit is termed a
"'noble'" [AV: "great"] cubit.
The reed measurement mentioned in the New Jerusalem Scroll
is different from the unit in Ezekiel, since it is a "noble reed" con-
sisting of 7 cubits, and not 6 as in Ezekiel. The "nobility" or
augmented character of this unit is evident from the numerical
values, since it contains (72 - 49) palms and (142 = 196) fingers. The
length of this reed is 3,675 mm.
The long-distance metrology that was practiced inJudea, or is at
least known from the period of the Second Temple and later, was
the Greek and Roman metrology, which is based on the stadion
unit. In a comprehensive study of Egyptian metrology I proved that
the stadion was originally an Egyptian measurement of length- I
stadion = 352 cubits = 11 x 32 cubits-and hence the influence of
the Egyptian metrology on the Greeks and the Romans.' The Alex-
andrian stadion was 352 x 0.525 = 184.8 meters in length.8
The perimeter of Cheops' pyramid is 5 x 352 = 4 x 440 cubits,
which are 5 stadia.9 In the Mishnah the stadion is also called a D'-
(ris), and is divided into 6 nReIntD (peltra'ot). St. Jerome, inter-
preting the term oin (Num. 33:21), notes that in Jub. 10:2 1 its
meaning is the stadion measurement. The Alexandrian stadion was
6 G. Barkay and A. Kloner, "Jerusalem Tombs," BAR 12/2 (1986) 47-59.

7 M. Chyutin, Egyptian Canonical Design (forthcoming).
" P. Bat Shiloh (Naveh), "Stadion," Encyclopedia Hebraica (Tel Aviv:
Encyclopedia Publishing Company, 1957) 5.474 (in Hebrew).
9 P. Tomkins, Secrets of the Great Pyramid (Harmondsworth: Penguin Books,
1973) 196.
76 MICHAEL CHYUTIN
evidently the stadion in use in Israel during the Second Temple

period.'0 The ris measurement is mentioned in fragments of the
New Jerusalem Scroll, and also in the Temple Scroll.
3. Description of the Town Plan
The NewJerusalem is an orthogonal city built as a grid of streets

encompassing square residential blocks which in the text are called
Onmo. The city is divided into two main parts: a residential area,
which is discussed in the main fragment that has been preserved,
and the temple area, about which there remain hints in the same
fragment, and in fragments that do not combine into a complete
picture but do contain a description of an altar and ceremonies of
sacrifice, and also a mention of two podia of the temple, one of
which is 120 cubits in length." The dimensions of the rn'TnD are
51 x 51 reeds, i.e., 357 x 357 cubits, 5 cubits longer than the ris
(1: 1). The grid of streets is hierarchical-i.e., there are main streets
(WIMIMI, "great s[treets]") (1:3) and secondary streets (;IMV). In the
east-west direction there are three main streets (1:3-4). The chief
main street of the city is north of the temple and south of the
residential area, thus dividing between them, and its width is 18
reeds = 126 cubits. There are two secondary main streets, 10
reeds = 70 cubits in width, north of the chief street. Between the
main streets, in the east-west direction, are typical streets that are
6 reeds = 42 cubits in width, the number of which is not detailed in
the scroll (1:2).
The north-south direction is lower in the hierarchy than the east-
west direction, and it too has three "great s[treets]" and a number
of secondary streets, alleys, which in the scroll are called prv'=n
("a portico of a street") (1:1), which is different from the term piW
that is applied to other streets.
The main median street in this direction is 92 cubits in width.
The two secondary main streets are 72 cubits wide. These three
main streets have a measurement that is not in whole reeds, while
the width of the prrnn is 3 reeds = 21 cubits (1: 1; see Table 1).
'? M. Broshi ("Visionary Architecture and Town Planning in the Dead Sea
Scrolls," El 23 [1992] 291, n. 16 [in Hebrew]) claims that the ris is 420 cubits,
about 210 meters, which accords with the claim by Starcky (see n. 25, below), and
Garcia Martinez (see n. 20, below). This is a measure greater than the stadion
(184.8 m).
"' See Fitzmyer, Harrington, A Manual, 52-54, frg. 8.
Table 1
East-West North-South
Hierarchy Width Width Hierarchy
(cubits) (cubits)
'0i:) j'7 126 > 92 R:MIn) PIV

Rn:n:n jp'W 70 > 67 WMI:21) PIV
42 > 21 PIV-M0
A description of the Jerusalem that is to be built as an orthogonal

city with a hierarchy of streets appears in the Midr. )Eika Rab. 1. 2.
The terminology here is different from that in the New Jerusalem
Scroll, apart from the term "p:rv", which means street.
[In] the great city, Rabbi Samuel taught, there were twenty-four
nflnr5 [avenues] and in each mnft twenty-four NOIrnt [roads] and in
each RnMO twenty-four j [streets] and for each -1m twenty-four
D'ppv [alleys] and for each jp? twenty-four courtyards and in each
courtyard twenty-four houses and each courtyard would emit people
twice the number of those who came out of Egypt.
In the Aramaic documents from Elephantine there also appears

a hierarchy of streets, among them oz'r nr-e, n5n Inv, piv or
OPIV. It would appear that WDT5 rlC1 ("royal road" or "king's
way") is the chief street of the city, on which the temple stands,
similar to the description in the new Jerusalem: "east of it is the
temple of YHW the God and the royal road is between them." 12
The RZ50 jp' is likely to be identical to the RD50 rlI or a main
street lower in the hierarchy. The "p'tt or ap'7ltt is a secondary street.
The main dispute on the subject of the reconstruction of the city
plan turns around the interpretation of a passage in the scroll (1:1):
"And a ' jnr' [was] all around the tnl'lnD, a p,trn9: of three reeds
[or] twenty [-one] cubits". Greenfield"3 claims that p:' means a
free open space and perhaps a passage, and not a peristyle, as Milik
interprets it. Likewise, Greenfield14 also interprets p1rMV71"I as an
open place or public place, while Milik reads it as a portico. Green-
field's interpretation, though it has a logic to it, is surprising,
12 B. Porten, Jews of Elephantine and Arameans of Syene (Jerusalem: Hebrew

University) 26-27 and also 4-5, 16-17, 40-45, 62-63, 70-71 (in Hebrew).
13 Greenfield, "The Small Caves of Qumran," p. 134: "Part that was left
free," "left open."
"I "The Small Caves of Qumran," 133: "open areas", "public places."
78 MICHAEL CHYUTIN
because actually he does not distinguish between the meaning of

pt' and p lfl. From what is written in B. Bat. 406 - nni
NP'IjV ("in the NjMV and in the Rfl"t"), it is clear that these are
not identical terms but complementary ones, and in my view they
mean something like "in street and in alley" -a hierarchical
distinction.
If the p-:' and the pl' nn:'l are the same, then the p-fln
encompasses each bfnl'fD with an open space of 21 cubits in addi-
tion to the streets between every two on?nlD(s). This lacks any
planning logic whatsoever, as Licht notes,"5 and therefore he pro-
poses a peripheral street around the entire complex, which is both
the p,'IVn-M and the pV. This interpretation, too, raises problems,
especially since there is no need for this street in the area of the
king's way, the width of which, 126 cubits, is adequate. So the logic
which disqualified the solution of an extra space around each
Rno is valid here too.
To decipher the meaning of the passage we have to examine the
planning options which were available to the author of the scroll for
the development of the grid of streets, models for which can be
found in the planning of cities ancient and modern (fig. 1).
Alternative 1: to set two rows of Orl'TlD adjacent to each other

between streets in such a way that each WNFnD will have one
entrance from the main street, as was done with the rows of houses
in the Egyptian town of Kahun (fig. 1.1).
Alternative 2: to place streets between two rows of fln?rD, so that

one can enter each anmrlI from one street or from both, as was
done with the rows of houses in the Egyptian slave city next to
Amarna (fig. 1.2).
Alternative 3: to place each onlnD in such a way that it is encom-

passed by four streets-two ordinary streets and two alleys. This
alternative was chosen by the author of the scroll, and is the one
that maximizes spaciousness and ventilation (fig. 1.3).
The author of the scroll addresses an audience of readers who are

familiar with the kinds of cities and with the terminology in use,
" Licht, "The Ideal Town Plan from Qumran," 48, 51.
I~ ~ ~~~~~~~~~ -2I
4t 4, 4, -4f 4, 4, L
1 11S1 1F11 1-2
If lb lblb lb lb lb
tttttrtcl ~~~~1-3
D PARAZITA
Fig. 1. Alternatives for planning the grid of streets
80 MICHAEL CHYUTIN
and therefore he begins by introducing the kind of city and the

general technical solution that he has chosen. This is the niflD "V?y
("city of blocks'")-a technical term that appears in Esth 9:19. The
nflnD or etl"TD are not adjacent, but are distanced from each other,
i.e., they have a "`pt= all around" on all sides. The p'fl"n
(alleys) are 3 reeds wide, and the regular streets (j1MV) are 6 reeds
wide. Afterwards he describes the dimensions of the main streets,
the IM1:Y, from east to west and from north to south. One could
ask why the author does not state the directions of the ',M-MIM and
the p1V streets. This question has a clear answer, for the regular
streets belong to the hierarchy of the king's way, which is east-west,
and the alleys to the hierarchy of the secondary direction.
In the surviving fragments of the scroll the author does not state
the general dimensions of the city or the number of On"IrD or
regular streets or alleys, so that primafacie it is difficult to determine
the dimensions of the city. The hint that leads to a decipherment
of the dimensions lies in the measurements of the streets and the
Rnl'fl. As I have noted, the author makes use of the reed measure-
ment which he translates into cubits in each case. This seems a
rather surprising and redundant thing to do, since he could have
used the reed measurment by itself. The reason for the use of the
double measurement is explicable by the fact that the widths of the
main north-south streets (92 and 67) are not in whole reeds, a fact
that raises some questions. Broshi'6 pointed out that the width of
the streets in Jerusalem and other ancient orthogonal cities is a
standard one, and in hierarchical proportions of whole and simple
numbers, and we would have expected proportions of that kind in
a description of an ideal city such as the one in the scroll. It would
appear that the author of the scroll had need of these measurements
in order to obtain the general measurements of the city. These are
not multiples of a reed but of a longer measure, the ris, which is 352
cubits and is not divisible into whole reeds. We have to seek the
combination which will allow us to obtain general length and
breadth measurements of the city that will correspond to the ris
unit.
Licht's reconstruction'7 describes an almost square city con-
sisting of 12 x 12 = 144 OrlniO. I accept his reconstruction for the
"6 M. Broshi, "Standards of Street Width in Roman-Byzantine Jerusalem,"

IEJ 27 (1977) 232-235.
"I Licht, "The Ideal Town Plan from Qumran," 50.
eastern and western side, because according to my calculations this

side is 14 ris = 4928 cubits. 8 In detail:
12 RmmD 12 x 357 = 4284 cubits

9 regular streets 9 x 42 = 378 cubits
2 secondary main streets 2 x 70 = 140 cubits
1 chief street-the kings way 1 x 126 = 126 cubits
Total 14 ris = 14 x 352 = 4928 cubits
For the northern and southern sides, the first possible combination
in ris units is that of 20 RMM, as detailed below:
20 on'ro 20 x 357 = 7140 cubits

18 p-nw i alleys 18 x 21 = 378 cubits
2 secondary main streets 2 x 67 = 134 cubits
1 chief street 1 x 92 = 92 cubits
Total 22 ris = 22 x 352 = 7744 cubits
We should notice that the total width of the regular streets (P7ltt)
is equal to the total width of the alleys (uri':), 54 reeds = 378
cubits. It would appear that the residential area of the city has
dimensions of 14 x 22 ris, and a proportion of 7:11 (fig. 2). Joined
to this, evidently, is the temple area, with dimensions of 8 x 22 ris,
and a proportion of 4:11, which completes the city plan as a square
with the dimensions of 22 x 22 ris (fig. 3). The residential area of
the New Jerusalem comprises 240 knnr.
4. The Description of the Gates
After the description of the city streets and their dimensions,

another urban element is described, the 'KVD' (Milik: "postern-
gates"), the width of which is two reeds (1:8). This is connected to
the inn gates that have two doors of stone a reed in width (1:9).
The scroll gives the number of ttrrr, which Milik reads as 80,19
although it is noted that his reading is not completely clear. Garcia
Martinez20 gives the number as 480. There are differences of opin-
"8 Later in the reconstruction, Licht adds to this length two streets of 21 cubits
each, which we do not find acceptable.
19 Milik, Les 'petites groues,' 189.
20 F. Garcia Martinez, Qumran & Apocalyptic (STDJ 9; Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1992)
190.
82 MICHAEL CHYUTIN
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. n 1 s n s A n n r ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~C4 =
1 3 3 S9 ES3 ER9 t:: = Ea _~~~~~~~~~~~~QWA -
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3HFffl B = =F=: =:= _ Ei ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~cl
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N
Fig. 3. The New Jerusalem-Plan of the city
ion about the meaning of Nt'WV. Greenfield2' claims that these are
O"VM), small doors in gates, as in m. Mid. 1.7; 2.6; 3.4. Milik22
says they are small passages in the ramparts external to the gates.
Greenfield notes that "WEW" in Ugaritic means "WZW" and he
21 Greenfield,"The Small Caves of Qumran," 134: "a door in a gate."

22 Milik, Les 'petites grottes', 188.
84 MICHAEL CHYUTIN
connects this to the description of the Jerusalem of the end of days

in Isa. 54:12: "I will make your battlements [jl:rTV] of rubies,
your gates of precious stones, the whole encircling walls of gems."
Here, too, the nlVMV are an element that is separate from the
gates, and connected to them like the RoWDV in the New Jerusalem
Scroll. I accept Milik's view that the RNW'' are elements external
to the gates, perhaps paved plazas in front of the gates that serve
as a meeting-place. Such plazas appear not infrequently in ancient
cities, e.g., the external plazas outside the gates of the Old City of
Jerusalem today. It is likely that special steps led up to these gates,
as in the description of the gates of the temple in Ezek. 40:6-26. In
the light of Garcia Martinez' interpretation, it would seem that
there were 480 'VDt= connected to the gates of the eNNM. Since
on my reconstruction there are 240 Nn'nD in the city, this means
that each orlri had two /'CDW and two gates.
After the enumeration of the K'WDV comes the enumeration of
12 large gates (1:10). The motif of 12 gates recurs in descriptions
of the ideal cities and temples: in the description in Ezek. 48:33-34,
in the outer and middle courtyard of the temple in the Temple
Scroll,23 and in the description of the heavenly Jerusalem in the
New Testament (Rev. 21:12-14). In all these sources the number
of the gates is connected to the names of the sons of Jacob or the
tribes of Israel, according to the author's purposes.
Likewise, in another unpublished fragment of the New
Jerusalem Scroll there is a description of a wall whose dimensions
are 140 x 100 ris, with 12 gates24 which are also named after the
sons ofJacob.25 The 12 main gates of the city are described in detail
( 1:10-14) (fig. 4). Their external dimensions are evidently 40 x 101
cubits, and they contain an inner gate measuring 21 x 40 cubits in
which there are two doors, each 1.5 reeds wide. Beside each gate
are two towers measuring 35 x 35 cubits, and a stairway around the
towers 5 cubits in width, so that the measurements of the towers
23 Y. Yadin, The Temple Scroll (3 vols.; Jerusalem: IES, 1977) (in Hebrew), v.
I., p. 214.
24 Beyer (Die aramaischen Texte) cites frg. 51 which notes the existence of 12 gates
in the great wall.
25 J. Starcky, "Jerusalem et les manuscrits de la mer morte," Le monde de la bible
1 (Nov-Dec. 1977) 38-40.
The Now Jerusalem Nablus N-I
t j Q + . 2 1 4 0
5- d!<
P I an
________ !31 _ 5__M._ 1 2.S?
15 . _ _ 15_ 2 _.4_
Cross Section
Fig. 4. The City Gate
come to 40 x 40 cubits.26 A gate similar to these has been found in

Nablus.27
After the description of the 12 main gates comes the detailed des-
cription of the gates of the Nn"T) (1:15-2:5). As I have noted, in
26 The measurements of the gates as indicated are not in whole reeds, which is
somewhat strange, although we have seen that the width of the main north-south
streets is also not in whole reeds.
27 Z. Herzog, The City Gate in Eretz Israel and the Neighboring Countries (Ph.D.
dissertation, Tel Aviv University, 1976) 210 (in Hebrew).
86 MICHAEL CHYUTIN
front of the gates are the N"VDt>, which are 2 reeds = 14 cubits in
width (1:8). It was also noted there that the gates have two stone
doors one reed in width (1:9). Each i'rlD has two gates, so the
total number of KnrnD gates is 2 x 240 = 480, the same as the
number of fWMDV. The gates open onto the alleys (n':-7'), so
they face east-west. The overall dimensions of the gate are 28 x 42
cubits = 4 x 6 reeds, so that their length is equal to the dimensions
of the gates mentioned in another fragment of the scroll28 (fig. 5).
The gate is composed of an entrance, the external dimensions of
which are 14 x 28 cubits, so that the width of the gate is identical
to the width of the blVtDt. The thickness of the longer walls is 2
cubits, so that the inner width is 10 cubits. The shorter walls are
1 cubit thick, so that two halls are created with a 1 cubit partition
between them. The interior dimensions of the halls are 10 x 12
cubits and 10 x 13 cubits. On either side of the entrance are towers,
like those of the chief gates of the city. The dimensions of the towers
are identical to the dimensions of the entrance, 14 x 28 cubits, and
the sum total of the dimensions of the gate, as noted, comes to 6 x 4
reeds. On the left side of the gate, in the side tower, is a spiral stair-
case, with overall interior dimensions of 14 x 14 cubits, a square
pillar at the center, of 6 x 6 cubits, and steps 4 cubits wide, so that
the overall width is 4 + 6 + 4 14 cubits. A similar spiral staircase
is described in the temple outlined in the Temple Scroll.29 Also
noted is the division of the rooms in the towers, 7 cubits wide and
14 cubits long, and these in my opinion are external measurements
including walls. The dimensions of the main entrance and exit
doors in the gates are 7 x 7 cubits, and they are made of stone. The
dimensions of the inner doors are 4 x 7 cubits, and the overall
height of the gate including its ceiling is 14 cubits, like the height
of the residential houses in the bfl'rM.
My reconstruction of the gate is one of the possible options,
although its general dimensions are clear both from the reconstruc-
tion of the Rnr1 that follows and also from the dimensions that
appear in the description. A similar gate has been found in excava-
tions at Carchemish and Yavneh.30
28 Fitzmyer, A Manual, 50, New Jerusalem, 5QJN ar (5Q15) frg. 3 (p. 61).
29 Yadin, The Temple Scroll, 1.163-68 (on 30:4-31:9).
30 See n. 29 above.
Pa r a z i ta g at e CCarchemish
1 4 - 1 4 14
f-- ~~~-+-- -
4 6 4 215 7 152 14 - t
Pla n 3 5t 7 3 5_
Side Elevation
Fig. 5. Parazita Gate
5. The WVlMt
The aNtrI (1:0-1) is a square block of 51 x 51 reeds. Entry to it

is from the alleys in two gates from the north and south direction
(fig. 6). The dimensions of the gates, as we have seen, are 6 x 4
reeds, and a way 6 reeds in width, equal to the width of the gates,
88 MICHAEL CHYUTIN
I I b I d I I I
tIL.2 E 21 j2 5 ESI1 SFb55111

house in U- -Ahrw noesd fth a n h ae n
on the other side (2:6-7). Between the rows of houses run alleys 19c
&~~~~~Fg 6.Pln
cubits in width, of
which in the scroll tharzt
are perhaps called entnD m~~~o,
like the plrnn: (fig. 7).~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~C
conet the an consituts a kin of central sqaefr th
~'f. In the ~fl' thr are 8 4 row of conete hoss,wt 15,
21 th hous 121 coryr 21212re1 28 x 21 cuis This+2 121 cur s1
Th huss recortar srutues(ig. 8), and o the dimension
ofntect thouem and courtyarde ar 28n xo2 cubits.ahi structre isrth

dividd. Ininthe
divTided themidlen
middletoer
itherarartwro-storeyneced
twowstofreyeced houses
houses with
with dieninso
dieninso
View of a Parazita
View of o Alley (omoh britha)
Fig. 7. Views of a Pa-azita
90 MICHAEL CHYUTIN
\e/V i ow o-f - house-_ - _- |
Sec t i on A-A
Al
8.5 4 8.5 21
Courtyard C- Courtyard
214 1 3
T-T-4--
Xh-I I =1 1
Al -_
Ground Floor - Dinning FIrst Floor - Rooms
Fig. 8. A typical house in the New Jerusalem
21 x 14 and a courtyard of identical size. The height of the house

up to its roof is 14 cubits and the height of each storey including
the ceiling is 7 cubits. The thickness of the walls is one cubit
(2:7-10).
The lower storey serves as a dining-room (2:10-11), and its
interior dimensions are 19 x 12 cubits.3" The dining-room has a
door onto the courtyard, 14 cubits in width, which is almost in the
middle of the elevation. Attached to the walls of the dining-room
are 22 couches, the dimensions of which are 1 x 2 cubits (2:1 1).32
Above each pair of couches is a "sealed window" (p"I I1'too); there
are 11 of these. They are probably wall recesses characteristic of
this type of building, and not windows that open to the outside,
because the dining-room opens onto the courtyard and does not
require additional ventilation.
The upper storey, which is reached by stairs, is of the same
dimensions as the lower storey and is divided into rooms that are
4 cubits long, or wide. These may be square rooms of 4 x 4 cubits,
with a corridor separating them (2:8-9). These rooms have win-
dows measuring 2 x 1 cubits, and their width is the same as the
width of the wall. Hence, they open onto the street and the court-
yard, and it is not said that they are sealed (2:12). The courtyard
has a wall facing the street, one or two cubits in width. In the scroll
the courtyard is called onn (Milik translates "platform") (2:13),
which is the word the Targum used to translate the nn " (a
fence or outer wall) around the garden in the description of the tem-
ple in Ezek. 42:12. The interior length of the courtyard is 19 cubits
and its width is 12 or 13 cubits, depending on the width of the outer
wall.
The residential building described is a typical Israelite house,33
that included a courtyard and a two-storey lateral house. This type
of house with a frontal courtyard34 first appears in the Chalcolithic
period. In the early Bronze Age it becomes the dominant type of
residential house, and continues to exist throughout the Bronze
31 (21-2 - 19); (14-2 - 12), and see the dimensions of the gates at the entrance
to the ?n'rl.
32 This measure does not appear in the scroll, but emerges as necessary from
the reconstruction that requires 22 couches.
33 Y. Shiloh, "The Four-Roomed House-A Type of the Israelite House" EI
11 (1973) 279 (in Hebrew).
34 E. Gilboa, "Residential Structures in Eretz-Israel During the Iron Age I"
(M.A. thesis, Tel Aviv University, 1987 [in Hebrew]).
92 MICHAEL CHYUTIN
Fig. 9. Residential houses, Megiddo, Layer XII
Age. During the Iron Age the courtyard is an inseparable part of

the house, whereas in earlier periods the yard was added to the
longer side of the house, where the entrance was situated. The
structure of the house and the yard is astonishingly similar to the
residential houses in Megiddo at Stratum XII (fig. 9).35 The
dimensions of the houses at Megiddo are about (20 x 16) cubits,
with the yard taking up half of the area. The length of the houses
in Megiddo is similar to that of the houses in the New Jerusalem,
but their width is smaller, a fact that attests to the degree of
spaciousness that the author of the scroll wished to describe in the
ideal city.
It would appear that during the talmudic period a house of this
kind was called an Egyptian courtyard house, in contrast to a
Tyrian courtyard house, which is a house with a Greek atrium.36
From the Aramaic documents from Elephantine it appears that in
this city, too, the residential houses were built around a distinctive
courtyard typical of Egyptian building, and was called by the name
"n'nn".37 These were two-storeyed houses38 with stairs from the
courtyard leading up to the second floor.39 The houses had doors
and open window^rs.40 Each house unit had a large hall and rooms.4
From the courtyard a gate opened out onto the street.42
35 M. Ben-Dov, "Residential Houses in the Middle and Late Bronze Ages"

The Architecture of Ancient Israel (Jerusalem: 1987) 87 (in Hebrew).
36 S. Kreuss, Kadmoniut Hatalmud (Berlin: Benjamin Harz, 1925) 1/2. 391 (in
Hebrew).
37B. Porten, Jews of Elephantine 49, line 5; 59, lines 4, 13, 15.
38 Jews of Elephantine 45, line 8; 69, line 12.
39 Jews of Elephantine 51, line 13; 59, lines 4, 8, 10; 63 line 3.
42 Jews of Elephantine 5, line 12; 49, line 6; 63, line 3; 69, line 13; 71, line 21.
The total number of residential houses in a NnlnD is

15 x 8 = 120, and since in the city there are 12 x 20= 240 tnnD,
the number of houses in the city is 120 x 240 = 2 x 1202 = 50 x 242
= 28,800. It is interesting that multiples of 242 also appear in the
description of the future Jerusalem in Midrash 'Eika. Rab. 1.2,
where the number of houses was much higher (246).
According to the present reconstruction, it is clear that the
onnmD is an unwalled residential block in which the houses them-
selves serve as a wall to protect the complex. As Ezekiel writes
(38:11), "1 will invade a land of nITnD ["open towns"], I will fall
upon a tranquil people living secure, all of them living in unwalled
towns and lacking bars and gates" (NJPS). Possibly towns of this
kind, built as a network of Rn)'ThD with streets between them,
were called rInrE "1? ("unwalled towns" [Esth. 9:19]). Plato,
describing the ideal city in Laws, offers a similar description of an
ideal unwalled city, with its uniform buildings serving as its walls:
No, if men must have a wall of sorts, they should construct their
own dwellings from the outset in such a fashion that the whole town
forms one unbroken wall, every dwelling house being rendered
readily defensible by the uniformity and regularity with which all face
the streets. Such a town, with its resemblance to one great house,
would be no unpleasing spectacle.43
The description of the town corresponds with Zechariah's vision

of the future Jerusalem (2:5-9):
I looked up, and I saw a man holding a measuring line. "Where are
you going?" I asked. "To measure Jerusalem," he replied, "to see
how long and wide it is to be." But the angel who talked with me
came forward, and another angel came forward to meet him. The
former said unto him, "Run to that young man and tell him:
'Jerusalem shall be peopled as a city without walls [nnl],so many
shall be the men and cattle it contains. And I Myself-declares the
Lord-will be a wall of fire around it, and I will be a glory inside
it.' "
The New Jerusalem Scroll evidently contained more descriptions

of the RMnD, the houses and the gates, and perhaps also of the
temple, as appears from the fragments published in the past and
41 Plato, Laws 779.
94 M1CIiAEL CHYUTIN
also the new fragments published by Garcia Martinez,44 but I am

unable to combine these into a coherent picture that adds to this
reconstruction.
6. The Mystical Geometry of the New Jerusalem
The planning of ideal cities always involved a geometrical

reasoning for determining the city's general dimensions. The
choice fell on a geometry of perfect bodies and planes, such as the
square, the rectangle possessed of special qualities, the hexagon,
octagon or circle, which served as a mystical mandala.45 The ideal
geometric planning generally also involved a use of number
mysticism, which was part of the arithmetic and geometry of the
ancient world.
The biblical and Israelite tradition of ideal planning indicates a
preference for orthogonal planning in such a way that the bounds
of the temple, the city, and the country are generally square or rec-
tangular, and the design is modular. The courtyard of the taber-
nacle has the dimensions of 50 x 100 cubits, in a proportion of 1:2,
and is divided into square courtyards of 50 x 50 cubits. The design
is in modules of 5 cubits. The 48 cities of the Levites are square-
1000 x 1000 cubits, and their bounds are square-2000 x 2000
cubits (Num. 35:4-5). The description of the temple, the division
of the country and the holy portion in Ezekiel are also square, for
the dimensions of the outer courtyard of the temple are 500 x 500
cubits, its bounds are 100 x 100 reeds = 600 x 600 cubits, and it is
designed with a module of 12.5 cubits. The dimensions of the holy
offering are square, and its division among priests, Levites and the
city are all designed with the module of the dimensions of the tem-
ple, 500 cubits. For Solomon's temple too, a square courtyard is
mentioned, and Josephus, in his War, tells a strange story about a
prophecy that the city and the temple will be conquered after the
temple becomes square.46 In the description of the temple in the
Temple Scroll,47 there are three square courtyards with the dimen-
sions of 2802; 4802; about 16002 cubits, while the bounds of the tem-
"4 F. Garcia Martinez, "The Last Surving Columns of 11QNJ" in The Scrip-
tures and Scrolls (ed. F. Garcia Martinez, A. Hilhorst, C.J. Labuschagne; Leiden:
E.J. Brill, 1992) 178-92.
45 H. Rosenau, The Ideal City (London: Methuen, 1983) 9-21.
46 Josephus, War 6.5.3 (? 311).
"I Y. Yadin, The Temple Scroll, 1.138-215.
pie are 18002 cubits; 4 here too the design is modular, but more
complicated. The talmudic tradition prefers a square city, for it is
written: "he squared the city and made it like a square table." In
the Babylonian Talmud, in the discussion of the sabbath bounds,
we read: "he who squared the city made it like a kind of square
table and returns and squares the bounds and makes them like a
kind of table." The talmudic description of the city of Rome says
that its measurements are square: 300 x 300 parasangs.49 When the
Talmud determines the measurements of the future Jerusalem (b.
B. Bat. 75.6), it gives its measurements as "three and thirty."
Without relating to the interpretation, a measure appears here that
is a multiple of 11, as in the description of the New Jerusalem in
the scroll.50
A clear description of the connection between mathematics and
the design of cities is cited by Aristophanes in his play The Birds,
where he puts the design of the city in the hands of the renowned
Greek mathematician and astronomer Meton. The city is round
and divided into sectors in a manner resembling Plato's model in
Laws,51 and evidently draws its inspiration from Meton's model of
the cosmos. It is especially interesting that Meton connects the
dimensions of the city with the problem of squaring the circle:
"With this straight ruler I set to work to inscribe a square within
this circle; in its centre will be the market-place, into which all the
straight streets will lead, converging to this centre like a star, which
although only orbicular, sends forth its rays in a straight line from
all sides.''52
In this reconstruction of the New Jerusalem I have proved that
the dimensions of the residential area are 14 x 22 ris, and have
assumed that in the light of the square tradition of biblical and
talmudic design, the temple complex will have the dimensions of
8 x 22 ris, so that the city as a whole will be a square of 22 x 22 ris.
These dimensions point to a use of number mysticism in the
48 1 1QT 40:8. The precise measurement is 1590 or 1604, and the author of the
scroll, seeking to arrive at a measurement that suits his numerical expectations,
also mentioas the approximation of 1600.
49 T. 'Erub. 6.10 (p. 145) and Bar. b. 'Erub. 56.5.
50 The text in the Talmud refers to the thirty-three sides in the temple according
to Ezekiel (41:6), while the interpretation tries to see this as (3 x 30).
'I Plato, Laws 744-746.
52 Aristophanes, The Birds, in The Complete Greek Drama (ed. J.W. Oates and
E.O'Neill; New York: Random House, 1938) 2.772 (1005).
96 MICHAEL CHYUTIN
arithmetic and the geometry of the city's design. In the dimensions

of the New Jerusalem there is a proposal for a solution to the
problem of squaring the circle in a manner similar to the attempts
of the Greek mathematician Meton as described by Aristophanes.
The numerical series 8:14:22 = 4:7:11 is known in mathematics as
a Lucas series, and is connected to the problem of the golden sec-
tion.53 The ratio between the second and third members of this
series, ir*/2 = 11/7, is a familiar approximation in the ancient world
for the value of ix, which appeared in the design of the pyramids in
ancient Egypt more than 5000 years ago54 and was known to the
Greek mathematicians of the Hellenistic period.
In a comprehensive, unpublished study on the canon of Egyptian
painting and sculpture, I point to the widespread use of the -X* pro-
portion and its multiples. It is beyond the scope of this article to
expatiate on this subject, but for the sake of demonstration I will
point to the resemblance that exists between the geometric design
of the New Jerusalem and the slave village at Amarna (fig. 10)."5
Beyond the configurative similarity between the structure of the
village and its buildings and the Rnl1TD, it should be noted that the
design of the village is modular, with 28 x 28 modules, and the
dimensions of the side of the village are 132 cubits = 11 x 12
cubits = 3/8 ris, so that the design module is 33 palms = 2n'/3
cubits. The design of the slave village at Amarna points to the use
of mathematical and design traditions similar to those in the ideal
design of the New Jerusalem.
S3 "Number Games and other Mathematical Recreations," Encyclopedia Britan-

nica. Macropedia 13, 1978, 349-350. A Lucas series is the series of additive numbers
(1, 3, 4, 7, 11, 18, 29...), in which each new member of the series is the sum of
the two preceding numbers: (Xn = Xn-l + Xn-2). The Fibonacci series too, which
are also considered as giving a close aproximation to the golden section, are
additive series (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 14...). The precise mathematical expression of the
golden section includes parallel members of Lucas and Fibonacci series.
54 G. Robins, C.C.O. Shute, "Determining the Slope of Pyramids," Gouinger
Miszellen 57 (1982) 49-54.
5S A. Badawy, "The Modular System of Egyptian Town Plans," BO 19 (1962)
207-213.
__JIn B112RC -11 12RC = 56m
. . ,
-3 -3 Eo
CC
I5n
BnInl
1 5n3. n
I nn I n
5n lnl
r~~~~17 1 5nin
l
7m I 41 M Om
n 132 Fl 33PL ;m6bF
2n 8m 2m m3m 3m 2m
L
L
IL
Fig. 10. The slave city at el-Amarna, Egypt

Chyutin - The New Jerusalem - Ideal City

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The New Jerusalem: Ideal City

Author(s): Michael Chyutin

1. The New Jerusalem Scroll

The Aramaic scroll found in the Qumran caves and named by

? E.J. Brill, Leiden Dead Sea Discoveries 1, 1 (1994)

lished by Fitzmyer and Harrington, with the addition of the first

0 and he brought me into the city and measured each and

1 [around, three hundred and] fifty-seven [cu]bits in every

5 [to the north-(there are) tw]o of [them]: ni[n]e reeds and

7 [ ].-[ ]b.[ ].rg[y]' w'[ of]

10 [And he showed me the measurement of] the twelve [por-

13 [thirty-five cubits. (As for) the stairway that goes up

14 [and the stairways (were): five reeds by five] and five

15 [And he showed me the measurements of the gates of the

17 [And he measured at every] threshold the do[ors on] it. He

19 [outside: its width] (was) four [cubi]ts, [its] height seven

1 [cubits], its [leng]th, as one enters (?), two reeds (or)

2 op[posite (the) gat]e, opening to the interior of the block,

4 gates agreed with its measurement. (There was) a column in

7 [and se]ven from the c[or]ner up to the other gate. Their

11 [and their width (was) tw]elve [cubits]. (In each) house

13 [X cubits; and (of) the other, X cubits. He measured the

14 [ 1. [ ]. and their hei[ght

2. The Metrology of the Scroll

Before turning to the architectural reconstruction of the descrip-

6 G. Barkay and A. Kloner, "Jerusalem Tombs," BAR 12/2 (1986) 47-59.

evidently the stadion in use in Israel during the Second Temple

3. Description of the Town Plan

The NewJerusalem is an orthogonal city built as a grid of streets

'0i:) j'7 126 > 92 R:MIn) PIV

A description of the Jerusalem that is to be built as an orthogonal

In the Aramaic documents from Elephantine there also appears

12 B. Porten, Jews of Elephantine and Arameans of Syene (Jerusalem: Hebrew

because actually he does not distinguish between the meaning of

Alternative 1: to set two rows of Orl'TlD adjacent to each other

Alternative 2: to place streets between two rows of fln?rD, so that

Alternative 3: to place each onlnD in such a way that it is encom-

The author of the scroll addresses an audience of readers who are

Fig. 1. Alternatives for planning the grid of streets

and therefore he begins by introducing the kind of city and the

"6 M. Broshi, "Standards of Street Width in Roman-Byzantine Jerusalem,"

eastern and western side, because according to my calculations this

12 RmmD 12 x 357 = 4284 cubits

20 on'ro 20 x 357 = 7140 cubits

Total 22 ris = 22 x 352 = 7744 cubits

4. The Description of the Gates

After the description of the city streets and their dimensions,

m; ~H3~ ~W3~ ~is~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~c-==Ee=14_S-

MS tSt3E i-i _ EE= <~~~~~~~~~~~~0

21 Greenfield,"The Small Caves of Qumran," 134: "a door in a gate."

connects this to the description of the Jerusalem of the end of days

The Now Jerusalem Nablus N-I

Fig. 4. The City Gate

come to 40 x 40 cubits.26 A gate similar to these has been found in

Fig. 5. Parazita Gate

The aNtrI (1:0-1) is a square block of 51 x 51 reeds. Entry to it

tIL.2 E 21 j2 5 ESI1 SFb55111

~'f. In the ~fl' thr are 8 4 row of conete hoss,wt 15,

21 th hous 121 coryr 21212re1 28 x 21 cuis This+2 121 cur s1

Th huss recortar srutues(ig. 8), and o the dimension

ofntect thouem and courtyarde ar 28n xo2 cubits.ahi structre isrth

View of o Alley (omoh britha)

Fig. 7. Views of a Pa-azita

m; ~H3~ ~W3~ ~is c-==Ee=14_S-