were of a different structure, there is sufficient evidence to assume that they, too, were meant to be symbolic expressions of the then current conception of the world. In other words, the temple is the world in a nutshell, a microcosm, with the deity living at its center. Based on that, the idea that the Temple in Israel was also meant to be a depiction of the world is not out of place. In some respects this is also confirmed by Scripture itself, even though the Bible does not overemphasize these