Ancient Synagogues: Historical Analysis and Archaeological Discovery [2 VOLUMES, COMPLETE]

Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1995. First edition. Hardcover. Very good +. Octavo. 2 vols. xxxvii, (1), 297, (1); xii, (298)-677, (1)pp. Plus 53 plates at rear of Vol. 2 (photos, ground plans & architectural details). Index & 32 page bibliography (in Vol. 2). Also illustrated with 18 text figures in Vol. 1 (drawings, ground plans, maps). Blue cloth, gilt, publisher's device on front cover. An ex-library set with rubber stamping on titles & at bottom of text blocks, and a library pocket on rear pastedowns.

The origins of the synagogue remain shrouded in mystery and its development in its early centuries is only slightly better understood. This book brings together over twenty essays from Israeli, British, and American scholars to explore the development of the ancient synagogue. Combining original articles with the best of earlier studies-including nine articles here translated from the Hebrew for the first time-this collection presents the fullest critical picture of the early synagogue and the scholarly discussions concerning it. The book focuses on two central questions. First, what were the origins of the earliest synagogues, and where did they achieve the greatest growth in the early centuries? Second, what role did the early synagogue play within the Jewish community? (Publisher)

Contents: v. 1 Egypt and the rise of the synagogue / J.G. Griffiths -- Synagogues in pre-70 Palestine : a re-assessment / L.L. Grabbe -- Palestinian synagogues before 70 C.E. : a review of the evidence / P.V.M. Flesher -- Babylonian synagogues with historical associations / A. Oppenheimer -- The stratigraphic chronology of the Galilean synagogue from the Early Roman Periods through the Early Byzantine Period (ca. 420 C.E.) / D.E. Groh -- On the source of the architectural design of the ancient synagogues in the Galilee : a new appraisal / Y. Tsafrir -- Dating synagogues with a 'basilical' plan and an apse / G. Foerster -- The diaspora synagogue : archaeological and epigraphic evidence since Sukenik / A.T. Kraabel -- Architectural plans of synagogues in the southern Judean Hills and the 'Halakah' / D. Amit -- The synagogue of Ḥorvat Sumaqa, 1983-1993 / S. Dar & Y. Mintzker -- Ancient synagogues in the Eastern Lower Galilee / Z. Gal -- Early photographs of Galilean synagogues / D. Urman -- The communal functions of the synagogue in the Land of Israel in the Rabbinic Period / Z. Safrai -- Synagogues as 'Houses of Prayer' and 'Holy Places' in the Jewish communities of Hellenistic and Roman Egypt / A. Kasher -- Synagogues in Babylonia in the Talmudic Period / I. Gafni -- The House of Assembly and the House of Study : are they one and the same? / D. Urman -- The synagogue and the study house at Meroth / Z. Ilan -- The synagogue and the miqweh in Eretz-Israel in the Second-Temple, Mishnaic, and Talmudic Periods / R. Reich -- v. 2. Art of the ancient synagogues in Israel / A. Ovadiah -- Vicarious sacrality : temple space in ancient synagogues / J.R. Branham -- Rereading the reredos : David, Orpheus, and Messianism in the Dura Europos Synagogue / P.V.M. Flesher -- The mosaic workshop of Gaza in Christian antiquity / Dan Urman -- Public structures and Jewish communities in the Golan Heights / D. Urman. (OCLC)

Volume 47 - 1 & 2, of the Brill series "Studia Post-Biblica." (S. P.-B.).