While the term “Court of the Gentiles” is the common name used by historians and archaeologists today, the Mishna and Talmud describe this same area using different terminology and focusing on its legal boundaries.

The primary source for the Temple’s layout is Masechet Middot (Tractate Measurements) in the Mishna. Here is how it is addressed:

1. The “Har HaBayit” (The Temple Mount)

The Mishna does not use the phrase “Court of the Gentiles.” Instead, it refers to the entire outer area as Har HaBayit (The Temple Mount). It describes this area as a square of 500 by 500 cubits (amot). This encompasses the massive plaza where everyone—Jews and non-Jews alike—was permitted to walk.

2. The Soreg (The Boundary)

The most direct description of the “limit” for Gentiles is found in Middot 2:3. The Mishna describes a low wooden or stone lattice fence called the Soreg, which was ten handbreadths high.

  • The Description: “Inside [the Temple Mount] was a latticed railing (Soreg)… ten handbreadths high.”
  • The Purpose: Beyond this fence was the Cheil (an inner rampart). Non-Jews and Jews who were ritually impure (Tamei) were forbidden from passing the Soreg to enter the more sacred inner courtyards.

3. Historical vs. Rabbinic Terminology

  • Josephus vs. Talmud: The name “Court of the Gentiles” comes primarily from the descriptions of the first-century historian Flavius Josephus (who wrote in Greek for a Roman audience). He explicitly mentions the inscriptions in Greek and Latin that warned foreigners not to enter the inner sanctum.
  • The Talmud’s Focus: The Talmud (specifically in Zevachim and Pesachim) focuses more on the sanctity of the different zones. It explains that the Temple Mount had the lowest level of holiness, allowing almost anyone to enter, whereas the area inside the Soreg had a higher level of sanctity (Kedusha).

4. Practical Details in the Talmud

The Talmud mentions activities that occurred in this outer area, though it doesn’t always “label” the location as the Court of the Gentiles:

  • The Royal Stoa: While the Mishna describes the gates (like the Huldah Gates), the Talmudic discussions regarding the Sanhedrin (the high court) mention them sitting at the “entrance to the Temple Mount,” which would have been in this outer precinct.
  • Public Teaching: There are accounts of Sages teaching on the Temple Mount steps or in the “colonnades,” which were located within this outer court.

Summary of Sources

FeatureMishna/Talmud TermPrimary Source
The Large PlazaHar HaBayit (Temple Mount)Middot 1:1, 2:1
The BarrierSoregMiddot 2:3
The WarningImplied via Halacha (laws of purity)Yoma 16a, Zevachim 116b

In short, the Talmud describes the physicality and the laws of that space in great detail, but the specific title “Court of the Gentiles” is a later historical convention used to describe what the Rabbis called the outer perimeter of the Har HaBayit.