Biblical Archaeology Review

Biblical Archaeology Review is the flagship publication of the Biblical Archaeology Society. For more than 40 years it has been making the world of archaeology in the lands of the Bible come alive for the interested layperson. Full of vivid images and articles written by leading scholars, this is a must read for anyone interested in the archaeology of the ancient Near East.

Endnote 1 -

This article is based on recent research on the Maccabean rise presented in Andrea M. Berlin and Paul J. Kosmin, eds., The Middle Maccabees: Archaeology, History, and the Rise of the Hasmonean Kingdom (Atlanta: SBL Press, 2021).

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Endnote 6 -

Josephus, Against Apion 2.175; Jewish Antiquities 16.43; Jewish War 2.292; Philo, On the Embassy to Gaius 156; Hypothetica 7.12; Every Good Man Is Free 81–82; Luke 4:16–20; Acts 13:15; 15:21; t. Megillah 2:18; t. Sukkah 4:6; m. Megillah 3:1–4:9.

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Endnote 5 -

Credit is due particularly to Anders Runesson for detailing and popularizing the distinction between “public” and “association” synagogues.

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Endnote 4 -

Acts 9:1–20; 13:5; 24:12; Josephus, Contra Apion 2.10. In later rabbinic literature, see y. Ta‘anit 4, 8, 69a; b. Gittin 58a; b. Berakhot 8a; y. Kil’aim 9, 4, 32b.

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Endnote 3 -

Population estimates here and following come from Chad S. Spigel, Ancient Synagogue Seating Capacities: Methodology, Analysis and Limits (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2012), pp. 82, 293–295.

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Endnote 2 -

As shown by James F. Strange, “Archaeology and Ancient Synagogues up to about 200 C.E.” in Birger Olsson and Magnus Zetterholm, eds., The Ancient Synagogue from Its Origins Until 200 C.E.: Papers Presented at an International Conference at Lund University, October 14–17, 2001, CBNTS 39 (Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiskell, 2003), pp. 37–62.

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Endnote 1 -

For a full discussion and citations, see Jordan J. Ryan, The Role of the Synagogue in the Aims of Jesus (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2017).

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