The Origins of the Synagogue
The word synagogue comes from Greek words meaning to gather or assemble together. The Hebrew term for synagogue, beth knesset, means “house of assembly." A synagogue building is a congregational hall, analogous to a church or mosque. In contrast, ancient temples (including the Jerusalem temple) were not congregational buildings but instead were conceived of literally as the house of the deity — the house in which the god dwelled. Usually only priests entered ancient temples, to service the needs of the deity (to feed, clothe, and bathe the deity). Everyone else remained outside the temple, around an altar where priests offered sacrifices to please or placate the deity and keep his presence among them.
In discussing the origins of the synagogue, it is important to bear in mind that this term (and analogous terms) can denote the congregation or assembly (a gathering of Jews) as well as the building that houses them (just as the term church can denote a congregation as well as a building). It is difficult to pinpoint the origins of the synagogue because the earliest gatherings did not take place in purpose-built congregational halls and therefore left no traces in the archaeological record. Even today, synagogue assemblies can take place anywhere, even in church buildings! For this reason, a wide range of theories exists about when and where the institution of the synagogue first developed. The following is a summary of these theories.
1) Synagogues developed during the First Temple period (before 586 B. C.E.), as a result of the centralization of the cult in the Jerusalem temple. Small
Sanctuaries (early synagogues) were established around the country to allow for the worship of the God of Israel even outside Jerusalem. This theory, which has few adherents, relies on understanding a couple of vague biblical terms as referring to synagogues.
2) Synagogues developed during the Babylonian exile. The rationale behind this theory is that only by having an institution such as the synagogue would the Judeans have been able to maintain their religious identity while in exile. Although this is a logical argument with many followers, it lacks historical or other support.
3) Synagogues developed in Judea during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah. When Ezra was sent by the Persian king to implement Jewish law as royal law, he assembled the Jews in order to read and explain to them the law (Torah). Because synagogues are assemblies of Jews, typically for the purpose of reading and studying the Torah, it is not incorrect to call the gatherings assembled under Ezra synagogues. The question is whether the gatherings under Ezra were a direct precursor of the institution of the synagogue or a more isolated phenomenon.
4) Synagogues developed in Hellenistic Egypt (third and second centuries B. C.E.). Some scholars argue that synagogues originated among Jews living in the Diaspora, enabling them to maintain their Jewish identity in a Gentile environment. Perhaps the largest and most influential Diaspora community of the Hellenistic and early Roman periods was located in Egypt, especially in Alexandria. It was here that the Torah was first translated into another language (from Hebrew to Greek). A number of inscriptions from Egypt dating to the Hellenistic period refer to Jewish “prayer houses" (Greek proseuche/ae). The inscriptions typically are dedicated in honor of the Greek rulers of Egypt. Unfortunately, there are no remains of buildings that can be identified as “prayer houses," only the inscriptions. Therefore, the nature of these “prayer houses" and their possible relationship to synagogues are unclear, although this theory has a substantial following.
5) Synagogues developed during the Hasmonean period. This theory was proposed by a modern scholar who noted that the book of Eccle-siasticus, which was written by a Jewish sage in Jerusalem ca. 180 B. C.E., does not refer to the institution of the synagogue. He concluded that synagogues must not have existed yet, and therefore developed only during the Hasmonean period (in the second half of the second century B. C.E.). This is a weak argument from silence with few adherents.
Despite the lack of consensus, there is no doubt that synagogues existed by the first century B. C.E. and first century C. E., as Josephus refers to them and the New Testament describes Jesus and Paul preaching in synagogues.
Synagogue Buildings of the Herodian (early Roman) Period
(pre-70 C. E.)
World History
