NEW TESTAMENT TIMES
at least. Putting these facts together with the circumstances and one may venture to think, making of course all the reservations which belong to hypothesis, that there was not only a sacred library-archive in the temple itself but a public library, perhaps two libraries, one of New Hebrew and one of Greek books, in the outer court, and one may even venture to locate these with rather more (even if still slight) evidence than serves for the usual conjectures (as to e.g. the place of meeting of the Sanhedrin).
The temple archive in the time of the Maccabees had been in the treasury of the temple and no doubt this archive, the archive of the high priests, to which Josephus refers was there still. Among the older Oriental libraries, as well as at this time and for a long time afterwards in Roman libraries, a "library" might be even chiefly archival. It is likely, therefore, that Temple archive and Temple library
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