100 Reasons to Believe New Testament History
89. The Temple Inscriptions
In Acts 21:28, Paul is accused by the Jews of bringing a Gentile into the temple, “and hath polluted this holy place.” At least two inscriptions have been discovered which affirm this prohibition of Gentiles entering areas within the temple precinct for Jews only.
The first inscription was discovered in 1871 by Clermont Ganneau, and is now housed in the Istanbul Museum. It consists of seven lines of uncial Greek (all capitols), and warns against Gentile intrusion. It was found 50 meters from the temple area and reads:
“No Gentile may enter inside the enclosing screen around the Temple. Whoever is caught is alone responsible for the death which follows.” A.
The Department of Antiquities of Palestine discovered a second inscription with the same warning, not far from St. Stephen’s Gate in 1935 during the course of their excavations.
89. The Temple Inscriptions - Notes and References
A. J.A. Thompson, “The Bible and Archaeology”, Eerdmans Publishing, 1962, p.314