In 825 BCE, King Solomon bid farewell to the Jewish people who had come to Jerusalem for a 14-day ceremony dedicating the Holy Temple (1-Kings 8:66). King David had brought the Ark of the Covenant up to Jerusalem's Mount Moriah, but as a warrior he was not permitted by God to erect the Temple. However, his son Solomon did so. The Temple was the most important site in Israel -- a spiritual magnet for the Jewish nation's yearnings. The magnificent structure took seven years to build, and stood for 410 years before being destroyed by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar.