Ancient synagogues in Israel refers to synagogues located in Israel built by communities of Jews and Samaritans from antiquity to the Early Islamic period.
The designation of ancient synagogues in Israel requires careful definition. Many ancient synagogues have been discovered in archaeological digs. Some synagogues have been destroyed and rebuilt several times on the same site, so, while the site or congregation may be ancient, the building may be modern.
Archaeologists have uncovered many remains of synagogues from over two thousand years ago, including several that were in use before the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. Synagogues securely dated to before the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem include the two synagogues from Migdal, the White Synagogue at Capernaum, [1] the synagogue at Khirbet Umm el-Umdan, and the small synagogue at the top of Masada. The Theodotos inscription from Jerusalem is usually considered to have come from a synagogue of the Second Temple period, although the associated building has not been discovered.
Numerous inscriptions have been found in the ancient synagogues in Israel the vast majority, c.140, of these are in Aramaic, with another c.50 in Greek and only a few in Hebrew. [2]
Discovered at Umm el-Umdan, a site between Modi'in and Latrun, is the oldest synagogue within modern Israel that has been found to date, which existed between the end of the 2nd and the late 1st century BCE, during the Hasmonean period. [3] It was rebuilt in the late 1st century BCE during the Herodian period. [3] [4] This second phase includes a nearby mikve, additional to the preserved sitting bath in the courtyard, which existed already during the first phase. [3]
For the nearby Qiryat Sefer/Modi'in Illit synagogue (1st century BCE) at Khirbet Badd 'Isa, Ascent of Beth-Horon, see here and here.
Naburiya was a Jewish village in the Galilee during the First and Second Temple periods. Neburaya is believed to be identical with Nabratein, a location north of Safed where Eleazar of Modi'im and Jacob of Kfar Neburaya, a compiler of the Haggadah, are buried. [5]
The remains of the Nabratein synagogue, discovered in archaeological excavations, indicate that it is one of the oldest in the Galilee.[ clarification needed ] The original synagogue was enlarged during the third century and destroyed in an earthquake in 363 CE. In 564, the synagogue was rebuilt. The date is known from the inscription over the main door, now displayed at the Israel Museum: "Built four hundred and ninety four years after the destruction of the Temple under the leadership of Hanina ben Lizar and Luliana bar Yuden" (70+494=564). The second-phase building stood until 640 CE. The façade was partially reconstructed by the Jewish National Fund and the Israel Antiquities Authority. [6]
Several synagogues in Israel are located on the sites of far older synagogue buildings but, because the older buildings were destroyed by non-Jewish rulers of the city, the present buildings are reconstructions.[ citation needed ]
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A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It has a place for prayer where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, choir performances, and children's plays. They also have rooms for study, social halls, administrative and charitable offices, classrooms for religious and Hebrew studies, and many places to sit and congregate. They often display commemorative, historic, or modern artwork alongside items of Jewish historical significance or history about the synagogue itself.
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The archaeology of Israel is the study of the archaeology of the present-day Israel, stretching from prehistory through three millennia of documented history. The ancient Land of Israel was a geographical bridge between the political and cultural centers of Mesopotamia and Egypt.
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Umm el-Qanatir, also spelled Umm el-Kanatir, recent Israeli name Ein Keshatot, is an archaeological site on the Golan Heights, whose main phase is dated to the mid-5th–8th centuries. Excavations have revealed a Roman-period Pagan and later Jewish settlement, who left behind the ruins of a synagogue when they abandoned the town after it being destroyed by the catastrophic 749 earthquake. The site is located 10 kilometres east of the Dead Sea Transform, one kilometre southwest of Natur.
The synagogue of Nabratein or of Navoraya is an ancient synagogue and archaeological site in the Upper Galilee region of the Northern District of Israel, located in a pine forest northeast of Safed.
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Jason's Tomb is a Jewish rock-cut tomb dating to the first century BCE in the Hasmonean period, discovered in the Rehavia neighborhood in Jerusalem, Israel. It has been identified as the burial site of a certain Jason, possibly a naval commander, based on the charcoal drawing of two warships discovered in the cave.
Ancient synagogues in Palestine refers to synagogues and their remains in the Land of Israel/Palestine region, built by the Jewish and Samaritan communities from the time of the Hasmonean dynasty during the Late Hellenistic period, to the Late Byzantine period.
Shikhin, known in Greek as Asochis, was an ancient Jewish village in Galilee which was abandoned in the fourth century CE. It was situated right next to the regional capital, Sepphoris, and its ruins have been discovered about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) northwest of Nazareth. As of May 2012, the site is under excavation. So far, evidence of extensive pottery work and a synagogue have been uncovered.
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Ancient Jewish art, is art created by Jews in both the Land of Israel and in the Diaspora prior to the Middle Ages. It features symbolic or figurative motifs often influenced by biblical themes, religious symbols, and the dominant cultures of the time, including Egyptian, Hellenistic, and Roman art.
Modi’in, also Modi’im, and later, Moditha, was an ancient Jewish city located in Judea, near the modern city of Modi'in, Israel. First mentioned in the Books of Maccabees, it was the hometown of the priestly Hasmonean family, who assumed leadership over Judea following the victorious Maccabean uprising.
Qision was an ancient settlement in Upper Galilee, now an archaeological site in northern Israel, featuring the ruins of the settlement, including a public building, possibly an ancient synagogue, alongside an inscription dedicated to the Roman emperor Septimius Severus and his family commissioned by the local Jewish community.
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Umm el-Umdan or Khirbet Umm el-Umdan is a Jewish archaeological site within the municipal boundaries of the Israeli city of Modi'in, between the city of Modi'in and Latrun. Archaeological excavations at the site discovered the remains of a Jewish village. The findings show that the place was inhabited during the Persian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, and Early Muslim periods. The village was destroyed during the Bar Kokhba revolt.
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