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SYNAGOGUE

Synagogue at Gamla in the southern Golan, built at the time of Alexander Janneus (1st century b.c.e.) and destroyed by Vespasian and Titus (67 c.e.). Benches line the unpaved hall on all four sides
(Phoenix Data Systems, Neal and Joel Bierling)

The place of assembly used primarily for worship by Jewish communities. Gk. synagōgḗ is originally a secular term denoting a “group of people” or a “collection of things.” There is no clear reference to the synagogue in the OT. The word is commonplace in the NT, where it refers to an actual building.

The exact origin of the synagogue is unknown, and scholars continue to debate whether it emerged during the Babylonian Exile or in the Hellenistic period. Those who argue for an exilic date believe that the synagogue arose as a place where Jews, removed from the Jerusalem temple, could worship. Many believe that Ezekiel played a central role in establishing the synagogue (Ezek. 11:16), although others cite Jer. 39:8 as evidence for such houses of worship prior to the Exile. While it is probable that the synagogue existed prior to the Hellenistic period, its absence in Ezra and Nehemiah suggests that the Jews who returned from the Exile were unfamiliar with the institution. At present there is no direct textual or archaeological evidence for the existence of pre-Hellenistic synagogues.

The earliest unambiguous documentary evidence for the synagogue is an inscription from Egypt, which records the construction of a synagogue building during the reign of Ptolemy III Euergetes (247-221 b.c.e.). 1st-century b.c.e. Egyptian synagogue inscriptions have led some scholars to propose the origin of the synagogue in the diaspora of the Hellenistic period, possibly within Egypt itself. However, the exact date and locale of the synagogue’s origin remains a mystery. Although no clear literary evidence for Palestinian synagogues exists prior to the Maccabean period, numerous references to Galilean and Jerusalem synagogues in the NT and Josephus suggest that sabbath worship within synagogue buildings is already an established institution prior to the 1st century c.e. (e.g., Matt. 4:23; Mark 1:21; Luke 4:16-30; 7:5; Acts 13:5, 14-15, 43; 14:1; 15:21; Josephus BJ 2.285-91; Vita 280).

During the Second Temple period synagōgḗ, “house of assembly,” is the most frequently used term to refer to the synagogue building. In diaspora localities, however, Gk. proseuchḗ, “house of prayer,” is the common designation for the synagogue edifice. Some scholars suggest that the older term proseuchḗ, dating to the 3rd century b.c.e., is later replaced by synagōgḗ, which becomes the predominant designation for the synagogue building by the 2nd century c.e. Gk. synagōgḗ corresponds to Heb. bêṯ kĕnesseṯ, while proseuchḗ is equivalent to Heb. bêṯ tĕpillâ. These latter two terms, however, stem from post–70 c.e. literature, and are not used in the Bible in reference to the synagogue building.

Archaeology has provided physical evidence of 1st-century b.c.e.–1st-century c.e. synagogues in Palestine and the Diaspora. The earliest known synagogue is preserved on the Aegean island of Delos, whose Jewish community is mentioned both by Josephus and in inscriptions. This synagogue, built in the 1st century b.c.e., continued in use throughout the 1st and 2nd centuries c.e. A 1st-century c.e. synagogue was also discovered in the Roman part of Ostia, which remained in use until the 4th century. Although other early diaspora synagogues have been excavated, they postdate the NT period.

Our best evidence for the appearance of the NT synagogue comes from Palestine, where three pre–70 c.e. synagogues have been excavated, at Gamla, Masada, and Herodium. Although some scholars suggest the existence of 1st-century c.e. Palestinian synagogues at other sites, such as Migdal and Capernaum, the evidence is inconclusive. Of the known pre–70 c.e. synagogues, only the one at Gamla was originally designed and constructed for Jewish worship. Those at Masada and Herodium were secular meeting halls only later converted into synagogues. These three synagogue buildings closely resemble one another, and may have derived their design from secular assembly halls of the Hellenistic period.

The Gamla synagogue, constructed between the latter part of the 1st century b.c.e. and the first half of the 1st century c.e., was destroyed by the Romans in 67 c.e. It is the oldest known synagogue found in Israel, and best illustrates the appearance of the NT era synagogue building. The Gamla synagogue was an elongated hall (20 × 16 m. [66 × 52 ft.]) with its principal entrance to the west, facing toward Jerusalem. A small rear entrance also led to an adjacent street. The main hall was divided by four rows of columns into a central nave (9.3 × 13.4 m. [30 × 44 ft.]) surrounded by four aisles, one on each side. The columns supported a wooden roof, and the synagogue lacked an upper story. Four rows of basalt benches, sufficient to hold ca. 300 people, surrounded all four sides of the main hall. A mikveh (3 × 13 m. [10 × 43 ft.]), or ritual bath, situated directly in front of the main entrance was used for purification prior to worship. A small room with benches, attached to the rear of the main hall, served possibly as a school or study room. The synagogue itself was adorned by an ornamented lintel, decorated by a six-petalled rosette flanked by date palms, and doric columns. A raised recess in the rear of the northwest corner of the main hall may have held the Torah scrolls used during worship services.

The synagogue’s most important functions were as a place for worship, prayer, and religious study. The Theodotus inscription, discovered in Jerusalem and believed to date to the early 1st century c.e., describes a Jerusalem synagogue founded as a place for “the reading of the law and the teaching of the precepts” (cf. Luke 4:16-20). The very design of the Palestinian synagogue, with benches along all four walls, facilitated worship by focusing the congregation’s attention toward the speaker, as reflected in NT accounts of synagogue services (Mark 6:1-5; Luke 4:16-30; Acts 13:13-16). By NT times, synagogue worship was already highly structured, and consisted of readings from the Torah and Prophets followed by an address or sermon (e.g., Luke 4:15-30; John 18:20; Acts 13:15). The seating within the synagogue was arranged in a certain order, with prominent places reserved for distinguished members (Mark 12:39 par.; Luke 20:46). Additional synagogue functions included its use as a general assembly hall for secular meetings and correction (Matt. 10:17; 23:34; Mark 13:9; Acts 22:19; 26:11; Josephus Vita 280). Epigraphic evidence, describing pre–70 c.e. diaspora synagogues, also documents communal means and slave manumissions conducted within the synagogue building.

Bibliography. K. Atkinson, “On Further Defining the First-Century ce Synagogue: Fact or Fiction?” NTS 43 (1997): 491-502; J. Gutmann, ed., The Synagogue (New York, 1975); H. C. Kee, “The Transformation of the Synagogue after 760 c.e.,” NTS 36 (1990): 1-24; “Defining the First-Century c.e. Synagogue,” NTS 41 (1995): 481-500; L. I. Levine, ed., Ancient Synagogues Revealed (Jerusalem, 1981); D. Urman and P. V. Flesher, eds., Ancient Synagogues. Studia postbiblica 47 (Leiden, 1995).

Kenneth Atkinson

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

SYNAGOGUE

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)