<P> The only source of information on the First Temple is the Tanakh . According to the biblical sources , the temple was constructed under Solomon , during the united monarchy of Israel and Judah . The Bible describes Hiram I of Tyre who furnished architects , workmen and cedar timbers for the temple of his ally Solomon at Jerusalem . He also co-operated with Solomon in mounting an expedition on the Red Sea . 1 Kings 6 : 1 puts the date of the beginning of building the temple `` in the fourth year of Solomon 's reign over Israel '' . The conventional dates of Solomon 's reign are circa 970 to 931 BCE . This puts the date of its construction in the mid-10th century BCE . Schmid and Rupprecht are of the view that the site of the temple used to be a Jebusite shrine which Solomon chose in an attempt to unify the Jebusites and Israelites. 1 Kings 9 : 10 says that it took Solomon 20 years altogether to build the Temple and his royal palace . The Temple itself finished being built after 7 years . During the united monarchy the Temple was dedicated to Yahweh , the God of Israel , and housed the Ark of the Covenant . Rabbinic sources state that the First Temple stood for 410 years and , based on the 2nd - century work Seder Olam Rabbah , place construction in 832 BCE and destruction in 422 BCE ( 3338 AM ) , 165 years later than secular estimates . </P>
when was the first temple built in jerusalem
the mid-10th century BCE