Gamla Synagogue Explained

Image Upright:1.4
Festivals:-->
Organizational Status:-->
Functional Status:Ruins
Location:Gamla, Golan Heights
Country:Israel
Map Type:Israel Golan
Map Size:250
Map Relief:1
Coordinates:32.9028°N 35.7406°W
Date Destroyed:67 CE
Date Destroyed:-->
Facade Direction:Southeast
Materials:Dressed stone
Elevation Ft:-->
Module:
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Excavations:1976 - 1978
Archaeologists:Shmarya Guttman

The Gamla synagogue is an ancient former Jewish synagogue, located in the ancient Jewish city of Gamla on the western slope of the Golan Heights, approximately northeast of Lake Kinneret, in Israel. The synagogue was built between the 1st century BCE and the 1st century CE.

It is the oldest synagogue discovered to date.[1] It was found by archaeologist Shmarya Guttman in 1976.[2]

History

The synagogue was discovered during archaeological excavations from 1976 to 1978 in the eastern part of the city of Gamla. It adjoined the outer fortress wall.[3]

The synagogue was built of dressed stone[4] and had a rectangular plan of . It is characterized by columned passages and a surrounding Doric colonnade with heart-shaped corner columns. The entrance to the synagogue was through double doors located on the southwest side.[5]

There were four rows of stone benches along the walls. Pillars in the center of the hall supported the roof. This layout of the hall is typical of synagogues in Galilee.[6] In the courtyard, wide steps led down to the mikveh.[7] Although most synagogues were built with their doors facing Jerusalem, the Gamla synagogue had its door facing southeast, probably due to the difficult terrain.[8]

The synagogue was destroyed by the Romans (67 CE) and the site was not inhabited after that.[9]

The synagogue, which was in use until the destruction of the Second Temple (70 CE), is an important piece of historical debate about the earliest date of synagogue construction.[10] It was previously thought to have been built in the 1st century BCE.[11] It is the oldest synagogue in Israel.[12] Steven Fine believes that it was built after 40 BCE.[13] In 2012, Uri Zvi Maoz challenged these dates, believing that the synagogue was built around 50 CE. The mikvah, in his opinion, was made only in 67, and was a water cistern earlier. [14]

As part of the reconstruction, scientists created a three-dimensional model of the Gamla synagogue.[15] [16]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Кол . КЕЭ, том . 7 . Eleven.co.il . 830–849 . Издано . 1994 . ru .
  2. Web site: Откуда взялись синагоги? . ru . Jewish Magazine . Russia .
  3. Web site: Verveer, Ticia . The 2,000-year-old synagogue at Gamla, the oldest yet found in Israel . . 18 June 2018 . 7 October 2024 .
  4. Book: Levine. Lee. The Ancient Synagogue: The First Thousand Years. 2005. Yale University Press. 978-0300106282. 54.
  5. Book: Rocca, Samuel. The Forts of Judaea 168 BC – AD 73. 2008. Oxford, United Kingdom. Osprey Publishing. 978-1-84603-171-7. Revolt.
  6. Web site: en . Gamla . Binder, Donald D. . Pohick Episcopal Church . 2013-04-10 . 2011-09-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110927063755/http://www.pohick.org/sts/photo.html .
  7. Web site: en . Gamala: Jewish City on the Golan . 1998-07-29 . . 2013-04-14 . 2013-01-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130122153934/http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/History/Early%20History%20-%20Archaeology/Archaeological%20Sites%20in%20Israel%20-%20Gamala-%20Jewish%20Ci .
  8. Web site: en . Gamla . Aune, David E. . . 2013-04-14. 2013-05-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130503142554/http://www3.nd.edu/~daune/near_east_arch/gamla/gamla.htm .
  9. Web site: Biblical Israel: Gamla . September 28, 2021 . 2024-07-28 . 2024-02-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240225080942/https://cbnisrael.org/2021/09/28/biblical-israel-gamla/ . live .
  10. Web site: en . The Gamla Synagogue . Witherington, B. . November 7, 2008 .

    en:Ben Witherington III

    . BN Media, LLC . 2022-10-30 . 2022-10-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221030140639/https://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/bibleandculture/2008/11/the-gamla-synagogue.html .
  11. Book: Chancey, Mark A. . Greco-Roman Culture and the Galilee of Jesus . Cambridge . 2005 . Cambridge University Press . 134 . 94 . Society for New Testament studies . 978-1-139-44798-0.
  12. Tyre and Gamla: A Study In the Monetary Influence of Southern Phoenicia on Galilee and the Golan In the Hellenistic and Roman Periods . Syon, Danny . 2004 . PhD . Hebrew University of Jerusalem . https://archive.today/20130626174339/http://academia.edu/357408/Tyre_and_Gamla_A_Study_In_the_Monetary_Inlfluence_of_Southern_Phoenicia_on_Galilee_and_the_Golan_In_the_Hellenistic_and_Roman_Periods . 2013-06-26 . 22.
  13. Book: Fine, Steven . Steven Fine . Suzanne Richard . Synagogues in the Land of Israel . [{{GBurl|uNYNEAAAQBAJ}} Near Eastern Archaeology: A Reader ]. 2003 . Winona Lake, Indiana . Eisenbrauns . 455–464 .
  14. Ma'oz, Zvi Uri . Four Notes on the Excavations at Gamala . Tel Aviv . Tel Aviv . 2012 . Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University . 39 . 2 . 230–237 . 0334-4355 . 10.1179/033443512X13424449373623 . en .
  15. Web site: en . Gamla, A Graphic Reconstruction of the Synagogue . Milstein, F. . 2010-12-01 . Israel Antiquities Authority . 2013-04-15 . 2022-06-07 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220607232919/http://www.iaa-conservation.org.il/article_Item_eng.asp?subject_id=40 .
  16. Web site: en . The Gamla Synagogue . Ritmeyer, Leen . Leen Ritmeyer . 2008-08-09 . Ritmeyer Archaeological Design . 2013-04-14 . 2013-09-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130927190935/http://www.ritmeyer.com/2008/08/09/the-gamla-synagogue/ .

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