Bibliography
| Title: The Nature and Origin of the Palestinian Synagogue Reconsidered Secondary Title: JBL Volume: 115 Pages: 425-448 Type: Journal Article Year: 1996 Abstract: Hens-Piazza, Gina in: OTA 20.1 (1997), 135: "Historical reconstruction faces insurmountable problems in sketching the origin and development of the synagogue in Palestine. As an alternative, L. employs a sociological approach in order to establish what the synagogue was and how it functioned. Drawing upon Josephus, Philo, the NT, rabbinic literature, and archeological evidence from buildings at Gamala and Masada, and the Herodium, L. argues that the first century synagogue was a communal institution - indeed a center for a variety of communal functions and activities - with a long history. The setting in previous eras for most of these events - political meetings, social gatherings, judicial decisions, charitable activities, and of course, religious-liturgical functions - was the city gate. Influenced by Hellenistic models, the Jews eventually moved from this open-air setting into an enclosed building. Hence, the institution of the synagogue developed in a gradual process between the third and the first century B.C.E. while maintaining remarkable continuity with a traceable past. Finally. L. explores the major social transformations in the Jewish community that followed the destruction of the Second Temple, the event that understandably , though erroneously, has encouraged viewing synagogue as a product of the years following 70 C.E.".
Harrington, Daniel J.: "By the 1st century A.D. the synagogue had become the address of the Jewish community as a whole and was recognized as such by Jew and non-Jew alike. It served as a center for a variety of communal functions and activities, including religious ones, much as the city-gate area functioned in biblical times. The appearance of the synagogue was not due to any particular dramatic event or crisis. Rather, if was the product of a gradual process between the 3rd and its centuries B.C. After A.D. 70 the synagogue's communal dimension remained basic while its religious dimension became increasingly prominent". Keywords: Archaeology, topography, local and regional history |