Oded Irshai has noted that the Babylonian priesthood preserved its status and occupied a leadership position that was recognized even by the Palestinian sages.33 The Dura synagogue provides evidence for the prominence of priests (both past and contemporary), only a few examples of which I cite here. The most important paintings in the synagogue are concentrated on and around the Torah Shrine, which was the focal
8.2. Dura, paintings on the north half of the west wall of the synagogue. Kraeling 1956, Pl. XIX; reproduced with permission of Yale University Press.
Point of the building. A large figure of Aaron - labeled with his name in Greek - is prominently represented in connection with the consecration of the Tabernacle and its priests, above and to the left of the Torah Shrine (Panel WB2). Aaron is clothed as a high priest and stands next to an altar in front of the Tabernacle, inside which the Ark of the Covenant can be seen. Kraeling identified the scene with the episode described in Exodus 40 and Numbers 7, when the Tabernacle was erected and Aaron, the high priests, and the Levites were installed in office.34
Kraeling noted horizontal thematic connections between the panel depicting the consecration of the Tabernacle and the panel on the other side of the Torah Shrine, which shows a building that he identified as the Jerusalem Temple (Panel WB3) (Fig. 8.2): “What the Encampment and the Wilderness Tabernacle inaugurated only foreshadowed, from the later point of view, what Jerusalem and its Temple brought to monumental and perfect expression.”35
There are also vertical thematic connections between the anointing of David to the right of the Torah Shrine and the panel above the Torah Shrine showing David as king over all Israel.36 The panel immediately
8.3. Dura, original painting on the central area of the west wall of the synagogue (panel above the Torah Shrine). Kraeling 1956, Pl. XVII; reproduced with permission of Yale University Press.
Above the Torah Shrine initially depicted a vine flanked by a table and an empty throne, which Kurt Weitzmann and Herbert Kessler identified as a celestial throne that is the seat of the future king (Fig. 8.3).37 This panel was repainted with an enthroned man representing David at the top center of the vine (Fig. 8.4). He is flanked by two togate figures and a lion (referring to David’s ancestral tribe of Judah and by way of extension the
8.4. Dura, the Torah Shrine in the synagogue. Kraeling 1956, Pl. XXIV; reproduced with permission of Yale University Press.
Genealogy of the messiah) underneath.38 Kraeling and others have identified the two togate figures as David’s priests Zadok and Abiathar, who represent the tribe of Levi.39 Weitzmann and Kessler believe the figures are the priest Joshua ben Jehozadak and Zerubabbel, who rebuilt the Second Temple after the return from the Babylonian exile.40 Both possibilities emphasize the centrality of the Zadokite priests. Weitzmann and Kessler suggested that the repainting of the panels above the Torah Shrine strengthened an eschatological message regarding the future arrival of a messianic king who would rebuild the Jerusalem Temple, countering Christian claims that the messiah had already come.41
Not only do the Dura paintings emphasize the prominent role played by priests in the history of Israel, but Aramaic dedicatory inscriptions painted on ceiling tiles leave no doubt about the leadership role of priests in the Dura congregation. One inscription reads: “This house was built in the year 556, this corresponding to the second year of Philip Julius Caesar; in the eldership of the priest Samuel son of Yeda‘ya, the Archon. Now those who stood in charge of this work were: Abram the Treasurer, and Samuel son of Sapharah, and. . . the proselyte. . . ”42
A similar inscription on another ceiling tile (C) apparently referred to Abram the Treasurer and Samuel bar-Sapharah as priests.43 Kraeling noted that the priest Samuel son of Yeda‘ya “more than anyone else represents the community, and in his official capacity as well as in his personal dignity gives expression to its character and purpose____He is a
Man of high religious station, being proudly referred to as priest in all three Aramaic texts.”44 Samuel’s family might be the same one known from the books of Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah.45 He held the offices of presbyter (Aramaic kashish, Hebrew zaken) and archon.46 According to Kraeling, “Samuel’s eldership is of such import for the historical and chronological life of the community that it is in effect eponymous, Samuel as Elder being mentioned in one breath, so to speak, with the Emperor Philip Julius Caesar.”47
Irshai has suggested that apocalyptic and eschatological expectations increased among the Jews of Palestine and Babylonia during late antiquity, especially after the failed attempt to rebuild the Jerusalem Temple under Julian the Apostate.48 Jewish expectations were paralleled by similar apocalyptic anxiety among the Christian population, who anticipated the Parousia.49 Jewish priestly circles apparently supported and perhaps promoted apocalyptic and eschatological expectations, as the rebuilding of the Temple would have bolstered their leadership position.50 The rabbis may have been ambivalent about such expectations, which if fulfilled would have resulted in the loss of their status (as reflected in their silence about the rebuilding of the Temple under Julian the Apostate and their opposition to mystical practices).51
The possibility that apocalyptic expectations circulated among the Jews at Dura finds support in a passage in the Babylonian Talmud (Tractate Sanhedrin 97a-97b), which lists dates and calculations of an eschatological nature:
A. After the four hundredth year of the destruction of the Temple if someone offers you a field worth a thousand dinars for just one do not buy it. B. After the four hundredth year of the destruction of the Temple if someone offers you a field worth a thousand dinars for just one do not buy it after the year 4231 A. M. C. Elijah said to R. Judah, the brother of R. Salla the Pious: “The world shall not exist less than eighty-five jubilees and in the last jubilee the son of David will come.” He asked him at the beginning or at the end (of the jubilee)? He replied: “I do not know.” Shall this period be completed or not? “I do not know” he answered. R. Ashi said: “He spoke thus to him.” Before that do not expect him, afterwards thou mayest await him.52
To conclude, the bone deposit might indicate that Jews at Dura believed the dead could act as intercessors for the living. In light of the evidence for priestly prominence in the Dura synagogue, I tentatively suggest identifying these bones as belonging to a priest. The presence of this deposit in a synagogue is surprising since according to Jewish law corpses are a source of ritual impurity.53 In this regard Judaism stands in direct opposition to Christianity, which venerates saints and holy people by burying their remains inside churches.54 In other words, whereas in Christianity human burials consecrate sacred space, in Judaism they pollute it. No bone deposits have been found in other ancient synagogues, making the Dura find exceptional. Although this deposit might reflect localized beliefs and practices among the Dura Jews, these bones did not convey ritual impurity even according to rabbinic Jewish law.
Notes
1. All dates refer to the Common Era unless otherwise indicated.
2. See, for example, Levine 1992, p. 126: “Many of the Jewish sects that had played a central role in Jewish religious life during the first century disappeared [after 70].” On the other hand, Goodman 1994, pp. 348, 355, has observed, “The standard assumption that these Jewish groups disappeared soon after 70 is therefore no more than an assumption. Furthermore, the presuppositions which have encouraged the assumpution are so theologically loaded that historians’ suspicions should be instinctive. . . My hypothesis is that groups and philosophies known from pre-70 Judaism continued for years, perhaps centuries, after the destruction of the Temple.” Goodman’s observation may be supported by evidence for third century Galilean Jewish-Christians (Christians who were apparently ethnic Jews) with Pharisaic leanings; see Boyarin 1999, p. 29; Baumgarten 1992, pp. 39-50. Also see Swartz 1996, p. 11, “Recently, though, there has been increased recognition that ancient Palestinian and Babylonian Jewish societies were complex ones, encompassing tensions between circles within the rabbinic estate, and between the academy and other sectors of the population.” Even if Jewish groups changed or were reconfigured after 70, the fact remains that rabbinic norms were just one of many and that different Jewish groups were in dialogue and tension with each other.
For introductions see Cohen 1992, pp. 216-23; Gafni 1992, pp. 251-5.
For surveys with bibliography see Levine 2000, pp. 232-87; Barclay 1996.
See Gafni 1992, pp. 226-7, 261-5.
Kraeling 1956 remains the definitive study of the building and wall paintings. For the possibility that Dura Europos was occupied by the Sasanians in 253, see Kraeling 1956, p. 337; Rostovtzeff 1943, p. 53; Grenet 1988.
Kraeling 1956 , p. 327.
Kraeling 1956 , p. 6.
Kraeling 1956 , p. 39.
Kraeling 1956 , pp. 12-15.
Earlier synagogue buildings such as those at Masada and Gamala lack these features, and instead are simply Jewish congregational buildings in the most basic sense; for these synagogue buildings see Foerster 1981, Gutman 1981, Ma'oz 1981, Levine 2000, pp. 42-73. Even if we assume that the building at Ostia functioned as a synagogue already in the first or second centuries (an unfounded assumption, in my opinion), there is no evidence for the installation of permanent liturgical furniture (such as the Torah Shrine) and Jewish symbols before the fourth century. For the Ostia synagogue, see White 1997, Runesson 2001 .
For example, Goodenough 1988, p. 184: “We may question, however, that the Judaism of Dura ever resembled at all closely the Judaism of the Babylonian communities.”
Fine 2005b, pp. 174-7, argues that a prayer (apparently related to the blessing after meals) found on a parchment fragment outside the Dura synagogue that displays similarities to rabbinic texts from late antiquity attests to rabbinic influence at Dura. However, he ignores the fact that rabbinic literature is our only source of information for Judaism (at least, for the interpretation of Jewish law) in this period. The practices of groups other than the rabbis are not preserved. In other words, although this fragment could indicate rabbinic influence at Dura, Fine’s argument is based on circular reasoning; he associates the prayer (which was found outside the synagogue) with rabbinic Judaism, and by way of extension the paintings inside the synagogue with rabbinic Judaism. However, nonrabbinic Jews presumably also pronounced blessings in connection with meals. In fact, many of the sectarian prayers and liturgies from Qumran display similarities and parallels with rabbinic tradition; see Schiffman 1994, pp. 294-5.
Kraeling 1956, p. 19.
Kraeling 1956, p. 19, n. 86.
Beall 2005.
All translations of the Mishnah are from Neusner 1988.
Unless otherwise noted all translations of the Talmud are from the Soncino Talmud; see Simon 1960-. The Soncino Talmud’s note to this passage states that “only a backbone, a skull, and the like cause the defilement of a person in the same tent or under the same roof or cover”; Simon 1960-, p. 19, n. 10. Translation from Neusner 1977, p. 84.
Kraeling 1956 , p. 19.
In addition to the references cited by Kraeling 1956, p. 19, n. 86, see Ellis 1968. See Ellis 1968, pp. 35-42.
In fact, Kraeling 1956, p. 361 suggested they were buried for magical purposes. Ellis 1968, pp. 165-166.
Mazar 1973, p. 122.
Mazar 1973, pp. 80-81.
Schwabe and Lifshitz 1974, p. 89.
Welles 1967, pp. 95, 125; on p. 126 he discusses how this inscription and other elements in the Christian building attest to magical and apotropaic practices. For the abecedaries in the Christian building see Welles 1967, pp. 90-92, nos. 2, 3, 4, 5, 8. For abecedaries on the walls of the temples of Bel, Gadde, and Azzanathkona at Dura, see Welles 1967, p. 89; on p. 90 he lists examples from secular contexts at Dura.
Brown 1981, p. 3 cites Midrash Tehillim (Midrash to Psalms) 16.2 to show that veneration of tombs or relics of saints existed also among late antique Jews (in this case, the Tombs of the Patriarchs in Palestine); also see p. 10.
For this concept in late-antique Christianity, see Brown 1981, p. 66.
Brown 1981, p. 4, notes that “the Christian cult of saints rapidly came to involve the digging up, the moving, the dismemberment - quite apart from the avid touching and kissing - of the bones of the dead, and, frequently, the placing of these in areas from which the dead had once been excluded.” By contrast, Sukenik 1947, p. 187, n. 2 says there is no support for the suggestion that the Dura bones belonged to a saint who was buried there in order to sanctify the spot. I thank Hanan Eshel z”I for bringing this reference to my attention.
Irshai 2004, p. 81. Not all scholars accept the claims of priestly prominence or agree on the extent of priestly influence; see, for example, Fine 2005a.
Kraeling 1956, p. 130. This event took place on the first day of the month of Nisan. Kraeling based his identification of this scene on the fact that one bull and two lambs are included in the scene, animals which were sacrificed as part of the consecration of the priests as described in Exodus 29:1. The animal in the left foreground is a red heifer (Num. 19:1-13), the ashes of which were used to make the water of purification necessary for the sprinkling of the Levites; see Kraeling 1956, pp. 130-1. The first day of Nisan was also the beginning of the year according to the solar calendar falling on the vernal equinox and on a Wednesday, the day the heavenly luminaries were created (as expressed in the book ofJubilees); see Elior 2004, pp. 46-48, including n. 48.
Kraeling 1956, p. 131. The building in Panel WB3 likely represents the seven heavenly temples described in Jewish mystical literature; see Elior 2004, p. 79, n. 77: “a wall painting on the western wall of the ancient synagogue at Dura Europos portrays a heavenly Temple with seven walls, each behind another,
Surrounding a central sanctuary; perhaps there is some connection between this 3rd-century depiction and priestly traditions of septuples in the style of Heikhalot literature.”
36. Kraeling 1956, pp. 168, 225. Only seven (rather than eight) of Jesse’s sons are depicted in the anointing of David scene; Kraeling 1956, p. 168. The highly charged symbolism of the number seven counters the claim by Weitzmann and Kessler 1990, p. 81 that “there was simply not enough space for an additional figure.” Kraeling 1956, pp. 168, 220 noted that the depiction of David in these panels is not just historical but expresses eschatological or messianic hopes. In contrast, Flesher 1995 argues against messianic and eschatological messages in the Dura synagogue paintings, mainly on the basis of his claim that David in the central panel above the Torah is not depicted as Orpheus.
37. Weitzmann and Kessler 1990, p. 160; on p. 158 they suggest that the fruitless vine must refer to the eschatological idea that the tree will bear fruit only when the Messiah comes. Also see Kraeling 1956, p. 65, where he discusses the original paintings in the panel immediately above the Torah Shrine and identifies a possible theme of a messianic banquet. The repainting of this panel strengthened its eschatological message; see Revel-Neher 2004, p. 74.
Weitzmann and Kessler 1990, p. 164. For the lions as a symbol of Judah and David’s ancestry, see also Kuhnel 1986/87, p. 148. Flesher 1995, p. 363 argues that the vine was painted over in the second phase.
See Flesher 1995, p. 362.
Weitzmann and Kessler 1990, pp. 165-6.
Weitzmann and Kessler 1990, p. 169.
On Tile A, see Kraeling 1956 , p. 263.
Kraeling 1956 , p. 268.
Kraeling 1956 , p. 331.
Kraeling 1956, p. 331; for dedicatory inscriptions by priests in Palestinian synagogues, see Amit 2004, pp. 148-9.
Kraeling 1956 , p. 331.
Kraeling 1956 , p. 331.
Irshai 2000, p.142.
Irshai 2000 , p. 151.
See Irshai 2004, p. 97; see also Goodblatt 1996. Rajak 2002 argues against widespread apocalyptic expectations among Jews in the late Second Temple period. See Irshai 2004, pp. 97-98, n. 77; Irshai 2000, p. 143. Irshai 2000, pp. 128-9, notes that some rabbis engaged in eschatological computations, though after the Bar Kokhba revolt (132-135 C. E. ) they attempted to tone down the messianic fervor. A passage in the Babylonian Talmud cautions: 'Rabbi Shmuel ben Nahmani declared in the name of Rabbi Jonathan 'blasted be the bones of those who calculate the End, for they used to say since the time of his arrival has arrived and he has not come he will never come’’ (Tractate Sanhedrin 97b); from Rajak 2002, p. 166. On p. 167 Rajak suggests that the rabbis may have disapproved of apocalyptic expectations because of the relationship to mystical speculation, which they tried to limit. Elior 2004 and Irshai 2004, p. 105, believe that the priestly apocalypticism of late antiquity (as expressed for example in Hekhalot literature) is related to the apocalypticism of the sectarian literature from Qumran.
52. From Irshai 2000, pp. 148-9, who notes that J. Neusner identified the probable Babylonian messianic context of these statements.
53. For example, Leviticus 22:4.
54. See, for example, Brown 1981.
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World History
