Early Judaism- A Comprehensive Overview

Synagogues in the Diaspora

But common ground did exist. Substantial evidence attests to the near

ubiquity of synagogues. The term itself,synagZg 3 ,may not always have

been applied. Other designations likeproseuch 3 (prayer house) orhieron

(holy place) also appear. And the reference may be to a gathering or an as-

semblage rather than to a building. No model or pattern held throughout.

A diversity of functions, physical characteristics, and institutional struc-

tures preclude any notion of uniformity. But impressive and widespread

testimony demonstrates that the synagogue (in whatever form) could

serve as a means to promote communal activity among Jews and advance a

sense of collective identity. The evidence comes from literary texts, inscrip-

tions, papyri, and archaeological finds that disclose outlines of the struc-

tures themselves. The bulk of it dates to the period after destruction of the

Temple. But ample attestation in the Second Temple era shows the broad

geographical range of the synagogue.

A sanctuary at Elephantine in Upper Egypt served a Jewish military

colony as early as the sixth centuryb.c.e.That may have been exceptional,

but it signals the natural inclination of Jews, wherever they were, to find a

medium for expressing common interests. By the mid-third century, in-

scriptions reveal synagogues (termedproseuchai) in Middle Egypt, dedi-

cated by Jews in honor of the Ptolemies, the ruling family of the land.

Royal favor extended to the Jewishproseuchai,even to the extent of grant-

ing the formal status of places of asylum, commonly accorded to pagan

temples, a notable mark of official approval. A plethora of synagogues

stood in Alexandria, noted by literary sources and epigraphic texts. The

latter provide the standard formulas whereby the dedicators establish their

proseuch 3 on behalf of Ptolemy and his household. Egyptian Jews were

fully comfortable in hailing the Gentile rulers while simultaneously dedi-

cating their synagogues to the “Most High God.” No tension or inconsis-

tency troubled the two concepts. Jewish synagogues were a familiar part of

the Egyptian landscape.

Jews also settled in Cyrenaica in significant numbers. Synagogues

clearly sprang up. One inscription honors donors whose gifts helped to re-

pair the synagogue in a Cyrenaic town. That a graphic declaration of grati-

tude to benefactors should be put on public display, in addition to the

structure itself, which they hoped to refurbish, demonstrates that Jews took

open pride in the maintenance of their own institutions and in announcing

that maintenance to any interested party in the larger community.

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Judaism in the Diaspora

EERDMANS -- Early Judaism (Collins and Harlow) final text
Tuesday, October 09, 2012 12:03:55 PM