Bible Dictionary
Wailing-place, Jews’
The Jews’ Wailing-place was a section of the western wall of the temple area where Jews gathered to mourn the destruction and desolation of Jerusalem’s sanctuary. It was associated with prayer, lament, and remembrance.
Definition
The Jews’ Wailing-place was a section of the western wall of the temple area where Jews assembled to lament Jerusalem’s desolation and their distressed condition. It became associated with solemn prayer, mourning, and remembrance of the former sanctuary.
Biblical Usage
The gathering was associated with lament over the desolation of Jerusalem and the sanctuary, with passages from the prophetic writings being read. The supplied material connects this mourning with the language of Psalm 79.
Historical Background
The stones of this section were described as very large and were generally believed to have been placed in their position during Solomon’s time. Jews gathered there on Friday afternoons, with many elders seated near the wall.
Scripture References
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
A section of the western wall of the temple area, where the Jews assemble every Friday afternoon to bewail their desolate condition (Ps. 79:1, 4, 5). The stones in this part of the wall are of great size, and were placed, as is generally believed, in the position in which they are now found in the time of Solomon. “The congregation at the wailing-place is one of the most solemn gatherings left to the Jewish Church, and as the writer gazed at the motley concourse he experienced a feeling of sorrow that the remnants of the chosen race should be heartlessly thrust outside the sacred enclosure of their fathers’ holy temple by men of an alien race and an alien creed. Many of the elders, seated on the ground, with their backs against the wall, on the west side of the area, and with their faces turned toward the eternal house, read out of their well-thumbed Hebrew books passages from the prophetic writings, such as Isa. 64:9-12“ (King’s Recent Discoveries, etc.). The wailing-place of the Jews, viewed in its past spiritual and historic relations, is indeed “the saddest nook in this vale of tears.” (See LAMENTATIONS, BOOK OF.)