Ancient synagogues in Palestine

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menorah from the Eshtemoa synagogue, as-Samu, West Bank
, dating from around the 4th–5th century CE

Ancient synagogues in Palestine refers to

Byzantine
period.

Numerous inscriptions have been found in the ancient synagogues of the

Hebrew.[1]

History

Most of the synagogues unearthed in

Late Antiquity onward, the number of synagogues discovered rise significantly, with over one hundred being unearthed in Palestine alone.[2] Over fifty of these are situated in Galilee and on the Golan Heights.[4]

Arbel Synagogue, dating from the 4th century CE

A survey conducted in the 1970s found that of the known synagogue inscriptions, 67 were in Greek and found in the coastal and major inland cities. Another 54 were in Aramaic, and 14 in Hebrew.

menorah, lulav and etrog.[7] Lions were depicted to represent the power of God.[8][dubious – discuss] Aside from remains found in-situ, architectural elements of the synagogues are often found to have been reused in the houses of adjacent villages.[9] Sometimes dressed stones were transferred further afield and lintels from the doorways of ancient Palestinian synagogues are also to be found in contemporary homes in Syria.[10]

The earliest synagogue inscription uncovered to date is the

Theodotus inscription
; it is in Greek and dates to the first century BCE or the first century CE. It was discovered in the City of David, just south of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

All of the early synagogues were purpose-built[7] and many synagogues dating to the talmudic era onwards had annexes attached to the main structure, indicating that synagogues additionally functioned as a communal centres.[11]

Some modern-day synagogue architects have relied upon synagogue architecture in ancient Judea in an attempt to create an "identifiably Jewish style" of synagogue design. The

Kfar Bar'am.[12]

Second Temple period synagogues

Synagogues had a different function prior to the

Hasmonean and Herodian dynasties until 70 CE have been excavated in pre-1967 Israel, on the West Bank, and one on the Golan Heights. A significant portion of the scientific community agrees that some of these are synagogues, while some are debated. They all share only a certain number of architectural characteristics with the better-accepted post-destruction synagogues.[13]

Here is a list of all the structures from the Land of Israel/Palestine region discovered as of July 2018 and interpreted by some as Second Temple period synagogues. The list includes following data:

Location – Built; in use till – Discovered by – Comments/reservations

Widely accepted

Golan Heights

On the Golan Heights:

Galilee

In the Galilee:

  • Capernaum, the basalt structure underneath the later "white synagogue" – 1st century CE – not excavated, contested
  • Migdal Synagogue (Magdala) – between 50 BCE – 100 CE – discovered 2009; another synagogue from the same period was discovered at Magdala in 2021.
  • Khirbet Wadi Hamam (Nahal Arbel) – 1st half of the 1st century CE – excavated 2007–2012; near Hamaam, Israel[14]
  • Bar Kochba revolt (?) – "first rural synagogue" of the period discovered as of 2016; at a Jewish farmstead from the Second Temple Period, 8 km SE of Mount Tabor[15][16]

Judaean hills and desert

In the Judaean hills and desert:

Shephelah

In the Shephelah (Judaean foothills):

  • Umm el-Umdan at
    Modi'in
    – end 2nd–beginning 1st century BCE (Hasmonean); till 132 CE – 1st century CE mikveh next to it
  • Khirbet Badd 'Isa at Modi'in Illit (aka Qiryat Sefer) – 1st century BCE – less published than Umm el-Umdan (Modi'in) site; near modern Modi'in, Ascent of Beth-Horon
  • Horvat 'Ethri/Hurvat Itri[13]

Also suggested

  • Hasmonean); destroyed by earthquake- Ehud Netzer
    – strongly contested
  • Chorazin – described in detail in 1926 by Jacob Ory, who found it 200 metres west of 3rd-century CE synagogue; exact location not rediscovered until now
  • Qumran, where the two gathering rooms might be defined as a synagogue – around 100 BCE (?) – highly contested; if indeed a synagogue: of a sectarian type
  • Shu'afat
    near Jerusalem – structure excavated in 1991 by the late Alexander Onn, who dated it to early 1st century-31 BCE; insufficiently published, some claim the "case evaporated" and the "claim should be withdrawn"

Chronological list

The same sites listed in a tentatively chronological order according to the excavators' estimate of the time of construction.

Very controversial:

  • Chorazin (1st century CE – ?)
  • Qumran (?)
  • Shu'afat
    (early 1st century/31 BCE – ?)

Ancient synagogue sites

A

B

C

D

E

G

  • Gaza
  • Gamla – oldest identified synagogue in Palestine[19] and largest estimated seating capacity.[20]
  • Gush Halav

H

J

K

M

N

P

Q

R

S

T

U

  • Umm el Kanatir

W

  • Wadi Hamam (Khirbet Wadi Hamam/Kh. el-Wereidat/H. Vradim)

Y

Z

See also

References

  1. ISBN 978-90-04-25772-6
    . The majority of the inscriptions revealed in synagogues in the land of israel are in aramaic (about 140). There are, in addition , a few Hebrew inscriptions and about fifty Greek inscriptions
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-0-295-97682-2
    .
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-1-59333-119-1
    .
  4. ISBN 978-0-8143-1706-8
    .
  5. ISBN 978-90-04-04013-7
    .
  6. ISBN 978-0-19-511219-1
    .
  7. ^
    ISBN 978-0-415-13593-1
    .
  8. ^ Gail Saul (1984). "The Lion in Ancient Jewish Art: Symbol or Decoration". Jewish Affairs. South African Jewish Board of Deputies. p. 53. Kohl and Watzinger, the first scholars to embark upon serious research of Palestinian synagogue architecture and decoration, held the view that the lion was possibly the only genuine symbolic motif representing the power of G-d.
  9. ISBN 978-965-91468-0-2
    .
  10. ISBN 978-1-56000-895-8
    . Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  11. ISBN 978-90-04-14049-3
    .
  12. ISBN 978-1-55753-635-8
    . ...one of the earliest of a growing number of Jewish architects, made direct reference to the archaeological remains of ancient synagogues in Palestine, only recently excavated.
  13. ^ a b Rachel Hachlili, "Synagogues: Before and After the Roman Destruction of the Temple" Archived 4 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine, Biblical Archaeology Review 41:03, May/June 2015
  14. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Khirbet Wadi Hamam Excavations Archived 4 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine
    website
  15. ^ Nir Hasson, "Archaeologists in Israel Find Ancient Synagogue Predating Second Temple Ruin Archived 4 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine", Haaretz, 15 August 2016
  16. ^ "Rekhesh Project". Rekhesh.com. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  17. JSTOR 26749325
    .
  18. ISBN 978-0-684-81913-6
    . The synagogue of Capernaum is the best preserved Palestinian synagogue; like the others, it comes from the 3rd century AD.
  19. ISBN 978-3-16-151879-9
    . The synagogue building in Gamla, which was constructed in the early first century CE, is the oldest positively identified synagogue in Palestine.
  20. ISBN 978-0-567-04561-4
    . I estimate that it had the largest seating capacity of the Palestinian synagogue buildings and could have accommodated 360.
  21. ^ Ancient Mosaic Pavements: Themes, Issues, and Trends: Selected Studies
  22. ^ Maon at The Bornblum Eretz Israel Synagogues Website

Bibliography

  • Lester L. Grabbe. Synagogues in Pre-70 Palestine: A Re- Assessment, JTS 39 (1988).
  • S. Krauss. Nouvelles decouvertes archeologiques de synagogues en Palestine, REJ 89 (1930).
  • LI Levine. The Nature and Origins of Palestinian Synagogues, JBL 115 (1996).
  • Jodi Magness. Heaven on Earth: Helios and the Zodiac Cycle in Ancient Palestinian Synagogues, Dumbarton Oaks Papers, Vol. 59, (2005), pp. 1–52.
  • EL Sukenik. Ancient Synagogues of Palestine and Greece, (London, 1934).
  • Dan Urman, Paul Virgil McCracken Flesher. Ancient synagogues: historical analysis and archaeological discovery, BRILL, 1998.

External links

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