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  Shown within Israel | |
| Location |  Israel |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 32°45′08″N35°16′52″E / 32.752222°N 35.281111°E |
Tzippori Synagogue (Sepphoris Synagogue) is an ancient synagogue discovered in Sepphoris, a Roman-era Jewish city in the Galilee, now an archaeological site and a national park in Israel.
Based on numismatic evidence, the synagogue appears to have been built in the first half of the fifth century. It was located on the northern side of the city, not far from the city center. [1] Measuring 20.7 meters long and 8 meters wide, it is the narrowest ancient synagogue uncovered in the Land of Israel. The bimah was located in the western wall, not oriented towards Jerusalem as in other synagogues of that era. [2]
The Mishna describes Sepphoris as having had 18 synagogues at the time of the funeral of Rabbi Judah haNasi in the late second century CE. [2]
The mosaic floor of the ancient synagogue was discovered in 1993 by a crew building a parking lot at the edge of the national archaeological park of Sepphoris. [3] It is one of a handful of illustrated synagogue mosaics uncovered in Israel. Archaeologist Zeev Weiss, then a graduate student at the Hebrew University, and his teacher, archaeologist Ehud Netzer were called to the scene, and Weiss uncovered the floor and its environs. [4]
The mosaic floor is divided into seven parts. Near the entrance is a scene showing the angels visiting Sarah. The next section shows the binding of Isaac. There is a large Zodiac with the names of the months written in Hebrew. Helios sits in the middle, in his sun chariot. Next, there is a row of three panels depicting the offerings in the Temple at Jerusalem, including the "tamid" sacrifice, the showbread and the basket of first fruits. Above this is a depiction of Aaron offering sacrifices in the Tabernacle. Above that is another row of three panels, a Torah Ark, depicted as a pedimented building, and an incense shovel representing the incense shovels used in the Temple, flanked by two panels each displaying the seven-branched Menorah from the Temple at Jerusalem surrounded by symbols of the Jewish holidays including the Lulav and Shofar. The top, or front of the building section of the floor, another row of three panels, shows two lions flanking a wreath, their paws resting on the head of an ox. [5] [ page needed ] [6]
The largest panel or central sections of the mosaic is laid out as a large square containing a circle within a circle. This shows the Zodiac with Helios driving his chariot. As with the Hammat Tiberias Synagogue and the Beit Alfa Synagogue, the Zodiac panel at Sepphoris features Spandrels depicting the four seasons. [6]
An Aramaic mosaic inscription in honor of the donors reads: "May he be remembered for good Yudan son of Isaac the Priest and Paragri his daughter, Amen, Amen." [6]
The menorah is a seven-branched candelabrum that is described in the Hebrew Bible and in later ancient sources as having been used in the Tabernacle and in the Temple in Jerusalem.
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.
Kafr ʿInān, is a former Palestinian village, depopulated in the 1948 Arab–Israeli war. It was located around 33 kilometres (21 mi) east of Acre.
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.
Sepphoris, known in Hebrew as Tzipori and in Arabic as Saffuriya is an archaeological site located in the central Galilee region of Israel, 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) north-northwest of Nazareth. It lies 286 meters (938 ft) above sea level and overlooks the Beit Netofa Valley. The site holds a rich and diverse historical and architectural legacy that includes Hellenistic, ancient Jewish, Roman, Byzantine, early Islamic, Crusader, Mamluk and Ottoman remains. In the Roman period, it was also called Diocaesaraea. In Mandatory Palestine, Saffuriya was a Palestinian Arab town with a population of approximately 5000 people at the time of its depopulation in 1948.
Naaran was an ancient Jewish village dating to the 5th and 6th century CE, located in the modern-day West Bank. Remains of the village have been excavated north-west of Jericho. Naaran is archeologically notable for a mosaic floor of a synagogue, featuring a large zodiac design, which was discovered at the site.
Ehud Netzer was an Israeli architect, archaeologist and educator, known for his extensive excavations at Herodium, where in 2007 he found the tomb of Herod the Great; and the discovery of a structure defined by Netzer as a synagogue, which if true would be the oldest one ever found.
Kursi is an archaeological site in the Golan Heights containing the ruins of a Byzantine monastery and identified by tradition as the site of Jesus' "Miracle of the Swine". Part of the archaeological site is now an Israeli national park. Kursi takes its name from the Talmudic site. A marble slab with Aramaic text discovered in December 2015 seems to indicate that the settlement had, as of c. 500 CE, a Jewish or Judeo-Christian population.
Susya is a location in the southern Hebron Governorate in the West Bank. It houses an archaeological site with extensive remains from the Second Temple and Byzantine periods, including the ruins of an archeologically notable synagogue, repurposed as a mosque after the Muslim conquest of Palestine in the 7th century. A Palestinian village named Susya was established near the site in the 1830s. The village lands extended over 300 hectares under multiple private Palestinian ownership, and the Palestinians on the site are said to exemplify a southern Hebron cave-dwelling culture present in the area since the early 19th century whose transhumant practices involved seasonal dwellings in the area's caves and ruins of Susya.
Beth Alpha is a sixth-century CE synagogue located at the foot of the northern slopes of the Gilboa mountains near Beit She'an, Israel. It is now part of Bet Alfa Synagogue National Park and managed by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.
The ancient synagogue of Gaza was built in 508 CE during the Byzantine period and was discovered in 1965. It was located in the ancient port city of Gaza, then known as " Maiumas", currently the Rimal district of Gaza City.
The Maon Synagogue is a 6th-century synagogue and archaeological site located in the Negev Desert near Kibbutz Nirim and Kibbutz Nir Oz. It is noted for its "magnificent" mosaic floor.
Ancient synagogues in Israel refers to synagogues located in Israel built by communities of Jews and Samaritans from antiquity to the Early Islamic period.
Hammath Tiberias or Hammat Tiberias is an ancient archaeological site and an Israeli national park known as Hamat Tverya National Park, which is located on the adjacent to Tiberias on the road to Zemach that runs along the shore of the Sea of Galilee.
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.
The Synagogue-Church at Gerasa in northwestern Jordan was originally an ancient Byzantine era synagogue that was later converted to a church. It is located within the Decapolis city of Gerasa and is situated on high ground that overlooks the Temple of Artemis at Gerasa. The synagogue is evidence of Jewish settlement in the Transjordan through late antiquity.
Zodiac mosaics in ancient synagogues are known from at least eight examples from the Land of Israel in the 4th-6th centuries CE during the Byzantine period. As a typical arrangement, the mosaic floors of such synagogues consisted of three panels, the central one containing the Jewish zodiac.
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.
The Ein Gedi synagogue is located within the remains of the ancient Jewish settlement of Ein Gedi. The archaeological site is part of the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve in the Judean Desert.
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