Oral Transmission, Ekphrasis, and Technical Drawings: On the Formation of Mishnah Middot

Scholars have often used the Mishnaic tractate Middot, “Measurements,” as the basis for recreating technical drawings of the Jerusalem Temple. Middot was never intended, however, to be used this way. Buildings in antiquity were largely erected without the use of technical drawings, and construction usually began without a fully resolved design. Furthermore, the very idea of copying a building was different, with no expectations of a faithful replica. Instead, Middot was concerned with transmitting the main elements of the Temple. As such, its compilers were willing to forgo the use of diagrams and rely on common, tried-and-true verbal methods for transmitting architectural information.