The ancient synagogue : the first thousand years
The synagogue was one of the most central and revolutionary institutions of ancient Judaism, leaving an indelible mark on Christianity and Islam as well. This commanding book provides an in-depth and comprehensive history of the synagogue from the Hellenistic period to the end of late antiquity. Drawing exhaustively on archeological evidence and on such literary sources as rabbinic material, the New Testament, Jewish writings of the Second Temple period, and Christian and pagan works, Lee Levine traces the development of the synagogue from what was essentially a communal institution to one which came to embody a distinctively religious profile. Exploring its history in the Greco-Roman and Byzantine periods in both Palestine and the Diaspora, he describes the synagogues basic features: its physical remains; its role in the community; its leadership; the roles of rabbis, Patriarchs, women, and priests in its operation; its liturgy; and its art. What emerges is a fascinating mosaic of a dynamic institution that succeeded in integrating patterns of social and religious behavior from the contemporary non-Jewish society while maintaining a distinctively Jewish character
History
1 online resource (xvi, 796 pages) : illustrations
9780300129007, 9781281729330, 9786611729332, 0300129009, 1281729337, 661172933X
128247706
Contents
Preface to the Second Edition
Preface to the First Edition
Chronology
1. Introduction
Part I: The Historical Development of the Synagogue
The Second Temple Period
2. Origins
3. Pre-70 Judaea
4. The Pre-70 Diaspora
5. The Second Temple Synagogue
Its Role and Functions
Late Antiquity
6. Late Roman Palestine (70
Fourth Century C.E.)
7. Byzantine Palestine
8. Diaspora Synagogues
Part II: The Synagogue As An Institution
9. The Building
10. The Communal Dimension
11. Leadership 12. The Patriarch (Nasi) and the Synagogue13. The Sage and the Synagogue
14. Women in the Synagogue
15. Priests
16. Liturgy
17. Iconography: The Limits of Interpretation
18. Diachronic and Synchronic Dimensions
The Synagogue in Context
19., Epilogue
Glossary
List of Abbreviations
Bibliography
Illustration Credits
Source Index
Subject Index
English
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