Hebrew Explorer logo
Hebrew Explorer
The tool for deep Hebrew research into the biblical Scriptures

The Temple of Melchizedek ("Temple Zero") — City of David Rock-Cut Sanctuary

Rock-cut sanctuary rooms beside the Gihon Spring that excavator Eli Shukron identifies as Jerusalem's earliest shrine, from the days of Malki-Tzedek

Beginnings & the Patriarchs · temple / altar · Debated · found 2010

A large upright limestone block set against the bedrock wall of a rock-cut room
Photo: Shawn Gibson — The standing stone (matzevah) in its rock-cut room beside the Gihon Spring
The standing stone (matzevah) set against the wall of its rock-cut room
The standing stone (matzevah) set against the wall of its rock-cut room — Photo: Shawn Gibson
The V-shaped grooves cut into the bedrock floor, with a basin beside them
The V-shaped grooves cut into the bedrock floor, with a basin beside them — Photo: Shawn Gibson
A rock-cut room with its channel and pressing basin; the doorway leads to the next chamber
A rock-cut room with its channel and pressing basin; the doorway leads to the next chamber — Photo: Shawn Gibson

Found 2010 — Eli Shukron and Ronny Reich (Israel Antiquities Authority and University of Haifa), City of David excavations; Shukron published the Melchizedek identification in tours, interviews and videos from 2020, and the scientific report appeared in 'Atiqot 116 (January 2025)

Where Eastern slope of the City of David, above the Gihon Spring, Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) (Israel)

Dates from Cut by c. 1550 BCE or earlier; in use until sealed c. 750 BCE · Middle Bronze III – Iron Age II · Avraham (Abraham) and Malki-Tzedek (Melchizedek), king of Salem; through the kings of Judah

Now at In situ, City of David National Park, Jerusalem; small finds with the Israel Antiquities Authority

How The Temple of Melchizedek ("Temple Zero") — City of David Rock-Cut Sanctuary was found

While clearing the eastern slope above the Gihon Spring in 2010–2012, the team broke into a complex of eight rooms cut into the bedrock. The rooms had been deliberately filled and sealed in the 8th century BCE, which preserved their installations intact. The earliest pottery in the fill dates the first cutting to the Middle Bronze III – Late Bronze I transition, the period of Canaanite Yerushalayim.

What it is

A complex of eight rock-cut rooms on the slope between the Canaanite Spring Tower and the later city. One room holds a standing stone (matzevah) set upright in a niche, the classic marker of a holy place in Canaanite and early Israelite worship. Another has an altar-like installation with a channel for liquid, a third an olive-press or wine-press with a pressing basin and drain, and a fourth a set of V-shaped grooves cut into the floor whose purpose is still debated. Drainage channels run between the rooms. Everything sits in bedrock beside the city's only spring, on the ridge the Bible calls Zion and Salem.

Why it matters for the Bible

This is the oldest sacred installation yet found in Yerushalayim, and it stands exactly where the Bible places the city of Malki-Tzedek, king of Salem and priest of El Elyon, who blessed Avram (Genesis 14). Shukron reads the complex as a shrine that served the city from the Canaanite period on, the place where the priest-king's worship would have been carried out, and he calls it 'Temple Zero' because it predates Shlomo's Temple. The standing stone, the altar with its channel, and the press for oil or wine are the working parts of a Bronze and Iron Age holy place, and the sealing of the rooms in the 8th century BCE fits the reforms of Chizkiyahu (Hezekiah), who removed the high places and shattered the standing stones (2 Kings 18:4). For readers of Genesis 14 and Psalm 76, these rooms are the first physical ground on which the story of Salem can be walked.

Debated: The rooms, standing stone, altar installation and press are excavated fact. Their identification with Malki-Tzedek's worship is the excavator's interpretation, made from the date, location and sacred furnishings of the site rather than from an inscription, since no text naming Malki-Tzedek, Salem or El Elyon has been found there. Some archaeologists read the complex instead as a workshop or storage area. The question is open and the debate continues.

The Hebrew word: el el-YOHN

אֵל עֶלְיוֹן

אֵל עֶלְיוֹן is pronounced el el-YOHN and means God Most High, the title Malki-Tzedek uses (Strong's H410 + H5945).

People this discovery connects to

Places

Events

Avraham's meeting with Malki-Tzedek after the rescue of Lot

The Temple of Melchizedek ("Temple Zero") — City of David Rock-Cut Sanctuary in Scripture

Genesis 14:18-20 Malki-Tzedek, king of Salem and priest of El Elyon, blesses Avram; Shukron identifies these rooms as the shrine of Salem in his day. (First mention of Melchizedek.)

Psalms 76:2 'In Salem is His tabernacle, and His dwelling place in Zion' identifies Salem with Yerushalayim.

Hebrews 7:1-3 Malki-Tzedek as the pattern for Yeshua's priesthood; the City of David rooms are the setting in which his priesthood at Salem is placed.

Questions people ask

What is The Temple of Melchizedek ("Temple Zero") — City of David Rock-Cut Sanctuary?
A complex of eight rock-cut rooms on the slope between the Canaanite Spring Tower and the later city. One room holds a standing stone (matzevah) set upright in a niche, the classic marker of a holy place in Canaanite and early Israelite worship. Another has an altar-like installation with a channel for liquid, a third an olive-press or wine-press with a pressing basin and drain, and a fourth a set of V-shaped grooves cut into the floor whose purpose is still debated. Drainage channels run between the rooms. Everything sits in bedrock beside the city's only spring, on the ridge the Bible calls Zion and Salem.

When was The Temple of Melchizedek ("Temple Zero") — City of David Rock-Cut Sanctuary discovered?
It was found in 2010 by Eli Shukron and Ronny Reich (Israel Antiquities Authority and University of Haifa), City of David excavations; Shukron published the Melchizedek identification in tours, interviews and videos from 2020, and the scientific report appeared in 'Atiqot 116 (January 2025), at Eastern slope of the City of David, above the Gihon Spring, Yerushalayim (Jerusalem).

Where is The Temple of Melchizedek ("Temple Zero") — City of David Rock-Cut Sanctuary today?
In situ, City of David National Park, Jerusalem; small finds with the Israel Antiquities Authority.

Which Bible verses does The Temple of Melchizedek ("Temple Zero") — City of David Rock-Cut Sanctuary relate to?
Genesis 14:18-20, Psalms 76:2, Hebrews 7:1-3.

Is The Temple of Melchizedek ("Temple Zero") — City of David Rock-Cut Sanctuary authentic?
The rooms, standing stone, altar installation and press are excavated fact. Their identification with Malki-Tzedek's worship is the excavator's interpretation, made from the date, location and sacred furnishings of the site rather than from an inscription, since no text naming Malki-Tzedek, Salem or El Elyon has been found there. Some archaeologists read the complex instead as a workshop or storage area. The question is open and the debate continues.

Related discoveries

Sources

Open The Temple of Melchizedek ("Temple Zero") — City of David Rock-Cut Sanctuary in Hebrew Explorer →

Part of Biblical Archaeology — 533 discoveries that run alongside the biblical story · Beginnings & the Patriarchs

Open Hebrew Explorer — 30+ free study tools →