Why did Herod the Great remodel and enlarge the second temple?
Herod the Great was embarrassed that the second temple, rebuilt by Ezra after the captivity, was a makeshift structure and nothing like Solomon's beauty. Because he was pompous and loved to build beautiful things, he remodeled, extended, and enlarged it.
Les explains that Israel had two temples in the past, with a third still to come. The first was Solomon's, about 960 B.C. The second was rebuilt by Ezra after the Babylonian captivity, but it was pretty makeshift; the people did not have the numbers or accumulated wealth, so it was not like Solomon's beauty. When Herod the Great came along 50 or 60 years before Christ, he was a pompous individual who loved to build beautiful things. He was embarrassed that Israel's temple was nothing like Solomon's, so he began remodeling, extending, and enlarging the second temple, the remodeled one of Ezra. That was the temple at Christ's first coming, at His first Advent, the one the disciples were talking about in Matthew 24, and every Jew was rather proud of it.
More Questions
Was Herod's temple a completely new temple or a remodel of an older one?
Herod's temple was not a new temple but a remodeling and enlargement of Ezra's second temple.