Interpreting Biblical References to the Upper Gate

Archaeologists have not uncovered a gate known as the Upper Gate. Thus, what can be known of the term “upper gate” must be learned from the biblical text alone. The phrase “upper gate” (שַׁעַר הָעֶלְיוֹן, sha'ar ha'elyon) occurs only four times in the Old Testament; three of these references occur in parallel passages (2 Chr 27:3 is parallel to 2 Kgs 15:35; 2 Chr 23:20 is parallel to 2 Kgs 11:19, which does not use the term “upper gate”). However, these references present two difficulties to interpretation:

1. The first difficulty regards the location of the biblical upper gate, whether it is north or south of the temple. Two passages use the phrase “upper gate of the house of the Yahweh” (2 Chr 27:3; 2 Kgs 15:35), which places the gate at the northern side of the temple precinct. Ezekiel 9 confirms this location of this gate when the prophet speaks of men coming into the temple precinct “from the direction of the upper gate which faces north” (Ezek 9:2). However, 2 Chronicles 23 records that young King Joash was transported from the temple precinct to the king’s palace “through the upper gate of the house of the king” (2 Chr 23:20). This upper gate, then, lies to the south of the temple, since the king’s palace lies to the south of the temple.

2. The second difficulty is chronological. Second Chronicles 23:20 speaks of King Joash being brought “down from the house of Yahweh” (וַיּוֹרֶד אֶת־הַמֶּלֶךְ מִבֵּית יהוה, wayyored eth-hammelekh mibbeith yhwh) by passing “through the upper gate” (בְּתוֹךְ־שַׁעַר הָעֶלְיוֹן בֵּית הַמֶּלֶךְ, bethokhe-sha'ar ha'elyon beith hammelekh). However, 2 Chronicles 27:3 and 2 Kgs 15:35 indicate that it was Joash’s great-grandson Jotham who built a gate called the “upper gate.” This chronological issue, then, is whether the upper gate of 2 Chr 23:20 was built or rebuilt by Jotham. If it was built by Jotham, as 2 Chr 27:3 and 2 Kgs 15:35 indicate, then a gate known as the Upper Gate did not exist in the time of Joash, who is depicted as walking through it (2 Chr 23:20). If, on the other hand, it was rebuilt by Jotham, then the issue becomes one of determining when the gate of 2 Chr 23:20 was destroyed. Unfortunately, this particular issue cannot be resolved lexically since the Hebrew בָּנָה (banah) can be rendered either “build” or “rebuild.” However, as Paton points out, it was only after the death of Jeroboam II of Israel in 744 bc that Judah’s fortunes revived and the nation began building again (Paton, “Jerusalem,” 167). This would indicate that Jotham built, rather than rebuilt, the upper gate of the temple.