When was the synagogue invented?

 

The invention of the synagogue as a house of prayer was a major innovation in Jewish religious life, and this form of worship will subsequently be adopted by Christianity and Islam. The focus for prayer in Judaism was initially the Temple, and the synagogue would only take over this function after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. This innovation allowed everyone, and not just the priestly class, to become involved in many of the rituals of Judaism and hence to be able to develop a closer relationship with God.

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The earliest archaeological evidence of a synagogue comes from Egypt, where dedication inscriptions were discovered on a structure dating from the 3rd century BCE enabling its identification as a synagogue. The earliest evidence of a synagogue in Israel comes from the 1st century CE from the Theodotus Inscription found on a stone block or stele in the Kidron Valley in Jerusalem. This is therefore before the destruction of the Second Temple. Its Greek inscription reads: “Theodotus, son of Vettenos the priest achisynagogus, son of an archisynagogus and grandson of an archisynagogus, who built the synagogue for purposes of reciting the Law and studying the commandments, and the hostel, chambers and water installations to provide for the needs of itinerants from abroad, and whose father, with the elders and Simonidus, founded the synagogue.” This inscription tells us that very early synagogues were used for reading and studying the Torah and hosting visitors, although not necessarily for prayer.

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The Greek word “synagogue,” like its Hebrew equivalent beit knesset, means place of assembly. At this early stage, synagogues and town halls may have been one and the same, and it is difficult to determine when these buildings developed a religious function. This is the case, for example, for the ancient synagogue at Um el-Umdan in Modi’in. Architecturally-identifiable synagogues did not become a fixed institution in Judea until shortly before the destruction of the Second Temple. After the Bar Kochba Revolt of 132 to 136 CE, synagogues were built in Jewish communities throughout the Galilee when the Galilee became the center of Jewish life in the country.

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The architectural style of these early synagogues usually reflected regional architectural styles. The synagogue in Bar’am is in a Roman style with dressed stones and an impressive façade. By contrast, the architectural richness of later Byzantine synagogues, especially in mixed Jewish and Christian areas, was usually in the interior rather than exterior. At that time, it would have been inappropriate for a synagogue to have a prominent exterior, and external stones were not usually dressed. Examples of this can be seen in Beit Alfa and Hamat Gader. The decorative symbols in the interior of these synagogue frequently recalled temple worship and was a way for perpetuating the memory of the Temple and expressing the desire for its restoration.