The ancient synagogue : the first thousand years / Lee I. Levine.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Levine, Lee I.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Synagogues--History--To 1500.

Synagogues.

Judaism--History--Post-exilic period, 586 B.C.-210 A.D.

Judaism.

Judaism--History--Talmudic period, 10-425.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (768 p.)

Edition:

2nd ed.

Place of Publication:

New Haven : Yale University Press, c2005.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

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 synagogue's 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.

Contents:

Frontmatter

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION

CHRONOLOGY

one INTRODUCTION

two ORIGINS

three PRE-70 JUDAEA

four THE PRE-70 DIASPORA

five THE SECOND TEMPLE SYNAGOGUE-ITS ROLE AND FUNCTIONS

six LATE ROMAN PALESTINE (70-FOURTH CENTURY C.E.)

seven BYZANTINE PALESTINE

eight DIASPORA SYNAGOGUES

nine THE BUILDING

ten THE COMMUNAL DIMENSION

eleven LEADERSHIP

twelve THE PATRIARCH (NASI) AND THE SYNAGOGUE

thirteen THE SAGES AND THE SYNAGOGUE

fourteen WOMEN IN THE SYNAGOGUE

fifteen PRIESTS

sixteen LITURGY

seventeen ICONOGRAPHY: THE LIMITS OF INTERPRETATION

eighteen DIACHRONIC AND SYNCHRONIC DIMENSIONS-THE SYNAGOGUE IN CONTEXT

nineteen EPILOGUE

GLOSSARY

ABBREVIATIONS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ILLUSTRATION CREDITS

SOURCE INDEX

SUBJECT INDEX

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 24. Apr 2020)

ISBN:

9786611729332

9781281729330

1281729337

9780300129007

0300129009

OCLC:

952732094