The ancient synagogue : the first thousand years
Annotation The synagogue was one of the most central & revolutionary institutions of ancient Judaism, leaving an indelible mark on Christianity & Islam as well. This commanding book provides an indepth & comprehensive history of the synagogue from the Hellenistic period to the end of late antiquity. Drawing exhaustively on archeological evidence & on such literary sources as rabbinic material, the New Testament, Jewish writings of the Second Temple period, & Christian & 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 & Byzantine periods in both Palestine & the Diaspora, he describes the synagogue's basic features: its physical remains; its role in the community; its leadership; the roles of rabbis, Patriarchs, women, & priests in its operation; its liturgy; & its art. What emerges is a fascinating mosaic of a dynamic institution that succeeded in integrating patterns of social & religious behavior from the contemporary non-Jewish society while maintaining a distinctively Jewish character
Print Book, English, ©2000
Yale University Press, New Haven, ©2000