The Ancient Synagogue: The First Thousand YearsAnnotation The synagogue was one of the most central and revolutionary institutions of ancient Judaism leaving an indelible mark on Christianity and Islam as well. This commanding book provides an in-depth and comprehensive history of the synagogue from the Hellenistic period to the end of late antiquity. Drawing exhaustively on archeological evidence and on such literary sources as rabbinic material, the New Testament, Jewish writings of the Second Temple period, and Christian and pagan works, Lee Levine traces the development of the synagogue from what was essentially a communal institution to one which came to embody a distinctively religious profile. Exploring its history in the Greco-Roman and Byzantine periods in both Palestine and the Diaspora, he describes the synagogue's basic features: its physical remains; its role in the community; its leadership; the roles of rabbis, Patriarchs, women, and priests in its operation; its liturgy; and its art. What emerges is a fascinating mosaic of a dynamic institution that succeeded in integrating patterns of social and religious behavior from the contemporary non-Jewish society while maintaining a distinctively Jewish character. |
Contents
1 Introduction | 1 |
The Historical Development of the Synagogue | 19 |
The Second Temple Period | 21 |
3 Pre70 Judaea | 45 |
4 The Pre70 Diaspora | 81 |
5 The Second Temple Synagogue Its Role and Functions | 135 |
Late Antiquity | 174 |
7 Byzantine Palestine | 210 |
13 The Sage and the Synagogue | 466 |
14 Women in the Synagogue | 499 |
15 Priests | 519 |
16 Liturgy | 530 |
The Limits of Interpretation | 593 |
18 Diachronic and Synchronic Dimensions The Synagogue in Context | 613 |
19 Epilogue | 637 |
Glossary | 641 |
8 Diaspora Synagogues | 250 |
The Synagogue As An Institution | 311 |
9 The Building | 313 |
10 The Communal Dimension | 381 |
11 Leadership | 412 |
12 The Patriarch Nasi and the Synagogue | 454 |
List of Abbreviations | 645 |
Bibliography | 649 |
Illustration Credits | 731 |
| 735 | |
| 763 | |
Common terms and phrases
Amidah Ancient Synagogues appears Aramaic archaeological archisynagogue Architecture archon attested Babylonian Bavli Berakhot Bet Shean biblical bima blessing Byzantine Caesarea century C.E. Chap Christian church congregation context Diaspora synagogues Donateurs et fondateurs Dura Europos early Egypt epigraphical evidence example Excavations first-century fourth century functions Galilean Galilee gogue Greek Inscriptions Hachlili haftarah hall ḥazzan Hebrew Hellenistic History holy ibid idem institution Israel Jerusalem Jewish community Jewish Liturgy Jewish Symbols Jews Josephus Judaea Judaism Late Antiquity Levine Lifshitz literary Megillah menorah Midrash Mishnah mosaic floors noted Ostia pagan Palestine Palestinian Patriarch Philo piyyut practice prayer priestly priests proseuche Qumran Rabbah rabbinic literature rabbinic sources recited reference reflected regard religious role Roman Rome Rosh Sabbath sages Samaritan sanctity Sardis second century Second Temple Sepphoris Shabbat Shean Shema Studies syna synagogue building synagogue's Talmud tannaitic Targum third century Tiberias tion Torah reading Torah scroll Torah shrine Tosefta tradition women worship