Content provided in partnership with

The oldest original synagogue building in the Diaspora: the Delos synagogue reconsidered

Hesperia, Fall, 2004 by Monika Trumper

<< Page 1 Continued from page 22. Previous | Next

As a result of the foregoing reconstruction of the history of GD 80, some major points and problems have emerged:

1. The details of the extension eastward, the formation of the east facade, and the matter of accessibility (with regard to a main entrance), cannot be determined with any degree of certainty for any of the five phases (Figs. 34, 38, 39).

2. The edifice was conceived as a freestanding complex, but was successively surrounded by buildings in the north and west, the construction of which could have begun shortly after the first phase and continued into the fourth phase, at least.

Most Popular Articles in Reference: The importance of understanding organizational culture; Credit card attitudes and behaviors of college students; What factors attract foreign direct investment?; Libraries Need Relationship Marketing - mutual interest marketing concept, ...; How to set performance goals: employee reviews are more than annual critiques; More »

3. The two most characteristic features of the building are the large hall, which dominated the building from the first through the fourth phases, and the water reservoir, which was extant and usable in all phases.

4. Two fixed points help determine the absolute chronology of the phases. The first two phases can be assigned to the period before 88 B.C., the third through fifth phases occurring sometime between 88 B.C. and the end of the second century A.D., when the building was abandoned. Without further research, however, it cannot be determined when exactly the building was constructed, nor how long each phase lasted. Does the important and formative fourth phase, for example, date to the first century B.C., the first century A.D., or to the second century A.D.?

To this point, the building's construction history has been described and analyzed without reference to its possible owners and users. Even if it is now generally agreed that the visible building, that is, the building of the fifth phase, was used as a Jewish or Samaritan assembly hall, it remains to be discussed when this function was assigned to the building. Was the edifice constructed as a synagogue or was it transformed into one, and, if the latter, when?

USE OF GD 80 AS A SYNAGOGUE

The identification of a Jewish or Samaritan use for GD 80 is based on epigraphic and architectural evidence. (120) However, Table 2 clearly demonstrates that inscriptions and furniture have always been given priority over the architectural elements and design. It is sufficient to cite the opinions of just three scholars--Bruneau, White, and Binder--because no other substantially differing views have been presented in the literature. (121) If the informational value of these respective criteria--inscriptions, furniture, and architecture--is examined, however, it becomes apparent that their order of importance must be changed.

Five small inscribed votives were found within the building. Four of them include vows to a [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII.], a "God Most High." Although the identity of theos hypsistos and the nature of his cult are still discussed, it is generally agreed that this epithet was certainly, though not exclusively, used by Diaspora Jews (and also Samaritans) to refer to their god. These inscriptions are regarded as primary evidence for the identification of GD 80 as a synagogue. (122) Even though the earliest two votives are dated to the first century B.C., they cannot testify with certainty to such an early Jewish or Samaritan use of the building because they, like the other three, are small and movable and might easily have been transported from one building to another. Therefore, the possibility that the two oldest votives were first set up in another building and were transferred to GD 80 only in the last (fifth) phase of its use cannot be ruled out.

The oldest original synagogue building in the Diaspora: the Delos synagogue reconsidered

Hesperia, Fall, 2004 by Monika Trumper

Find Research Guides for:

Find Featured Titles for: Business

Most Popular Articles in Reference

Most Popular Publications in Reference