Ancient Synagogue Seating Capacities
Methodology, Analysis and Limits
By (author) Chad S. Spigel
Hardback (Published)
(September 2012)
ISBN: 9783161518799
6.46 x 9.69 inches
Price: $239.00
In stock
Did most Jews in late-antique Palestine regularly participate in synagogue worship? In this book, Chad Spigel suggests that it is possible to answer this question by determining and analyzing the seating capacities of ancient synagogue buildings.
After the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, the primary form of Jewish worship in Palestine shifted from offering sacrifices in Jerusalem to non-sacrificial forms of worship in local synagogue buildings. While the literary and archaeological evidence from the first few centuries CE makes this shift clear, the evidence is less clear about the extent of synagogue worship at this time. In other words, the evidence doesn’t explicitly tell us whether most Jews in late-antique Palestine actually participated in synagogue worship. In this book, Chad Spigel suggests that it is possible to ascertain the extent of synagogue worship by determining and analyzing the seating capacities of ancient synagogue buildings. He begins by filling a lacuna in the scholarly literature with the creation of a methodology that can be used to determine the seating capacity of any ancient synagogue building. The seating capacity methodology is then applied to ancient synagogue buildings from the Roman and Byzantine Periods, thus creating a catalog of seating capacities for late-antique Palestine. The seating capacities are then analyzed in conjunction with ancient population estimates and other demographic data in an effort to better understand local Jewish worship practices. By gathering and analyzing seating capacity and demographic data for more than fifty ancient synagogue buildings, the author not only shows that the extent of synagogue worship varied from place to place, he also provides an important resource for scholars of late-antique Judaism.
- By (author) Chad S. Spigel
Other Titles in this Series
Anklage Gottes im Midrasch zu den Klageliedern
Eine Studie zu den Transformationen der Gottesbilder im Midrasch Echa Rabbati
Similar Books
Ars Prophetica
Theology in the Poetry of Twentieth-Century Hebrew Poets Avraham Halfi, Shin Shalom, Amir Gilboa, and T. Carmi
As Messianism Turns to Heresy
The Regenstein Chair Lectures On Lurianic Kabbalah and Shabbatai Tzevi at Hebrew Union College - Cincinnati
Boğazköy Tablets in the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations (Bo 9032–Bo 9097)
Anadolu Medeniyetleri Müzesinde Bulunan Boğazköy Tabletleri (Bo 9032–Bo 9097)
Volume 4
Connecting the Dots: Counting, Writing, and the Beginnings of Civilization
The Secret Lives of Clay Tokens: A Memoir
Curating the Prehistoric Past
Studies on West Asian Archaeology and Beyond in Honour of Yoshihiro Nishiaki
Exploring Gender Dynamics across the Ancient Near East
Collected Essays of Gender and Methodology in the Ancient Near East (GeMANE) 4 and 5
Volume 7
Extracanonical Traditions and the Holy Land
Texts, Rituals, and Material Culture in Late Antique Palestine
Ḫattušaš utnē išḫameški
Hittite and Other Ancient Near Eastern Studies Presented to Piotr Taracha on the Occasion of His 65th Birthday
Kultur – Kontakt – Kultur
Beiträge anlässlich der 66. Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale in Frankfurt/Main und Mainz, 25.–29. Juli 2022
Volume 35
Lobbying for Equality
Jacques Godard and the Struggle for Jewish Equality during the French Revolution
Money of Mercenaries in the Cimmerian Bosporus
From the Mithridatic Wars to the Roman-Bosporan War of AD 45-49
Volume 45
New Research on Old Collections in Southwest Asian Archaeology
Proceedings of the Workshop Held at the British Museum, London, 31 July – 2 August, 2023