GENTILES*, Court of the

Large outer portion of King Herod’s temple complex. The court was of irregular oblong shape, somewhat broader at the north than the south. In that court, which was open to Gentiles as well as Jews, sacrificial animals were sold and money was exchanged. A warning was posted on a partition wall instructing Gentiles not to stray into the temple’s inner courts. Jesus’ cleansing of the temple probably occurred in the Court of the Gentiles (Mt 21:12-13; Mk 11:15-18; Jn 2:14-16).