Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1885-04-19
B)eslias gseistss
MODERN PALESTINE.
. Manner OF Life In the Holy
Land.
lracteristies Of the Ruins Of SynagOgues
"A Curious Floor Dis
+ covered.

I tAlFA, feoruary ID ceScrlDco IN u y
letter the discovery of the ruins OF an
lent Jewish synagogue at spot on tn }
bend of the Jcrdon, about three mile
ID Of the upper end OF the Lake OF
,erias. As the question of ancient Jewish
sgogues is one Of great interest, IN re-
d 10 which considerable misapprehen'
prevails even among psychologists. l
Oe excused for enter ng upon q short
auisition upon the subject IS AN not
are that the great light which has been
own Uponit BY recent Palestinisn research
vet been distributed In q popular form
the general public, and the old aud
ognized authorities are often misleading.
example. Smiths Dictionary of the
re contains 8 long article on Jewish
agogues which has hitherto been con-
cred the great authority on the subject,
which observe that IL states under the
head Structure"
Its position, however, was determined.
stood, il possible, on the highest ground
or near the city to which it belonged.
direction, too, was fixed. Jerusalem
4 the Kibleh Of Jewish devotion. The
lagogue was so constructed that the wor-
ppers, as they entered and as they
. we'd, looked toward il"
Ibis may have been the case in respect
EARLIER synsgogues, long anterior to the
re of Christ, the traces OF which have
N lost, but in the case OF eleven which
re been discovered by the officers
the Palestine Exploration Fund.
ce the above Was written, no Such rules
We been adhered to. These all date
her from the time of Christ, or shortly
ore il. TO three centuries at;erit. WskoWR
v were synsgogues, and the approximate
calculate their dates from the Hebrew
criptions found on some OF them, and
M the emblems with which they were Or
mented, such as the pot OF mamma, the
zen branched csndlesick, and other pure,
Jewish devices. In the cases Of these syn
ogues, many Of which | have seen, the
ilders have by no means selected the
,st prominent positions; the existing re-
inns have, with two exceptions-st lr5ii
d at Edikke, where the ground wonld not
NIT OF such arrangemeGt-theird doors on
, southern side, so that every Jew enter
would have to turn his back on Jerusa-
a. The ark, If there was one in these
Isgogus, would necessarily, in that case,
placed at the northern end, and the wor-
ppers would therefore have to pray with
nr backs TO Jerusalem.
We know, besides, how abhorrent to the
as were the figures Of animals, and the
pular impression has been that none such
re permitted 10 decorate their syna-
CUES; vet in these syusgogues We fad
IN prominently carved in stone in six
I of the eleven. The carved figure |
ind at Edikke makes a seventh, and
" probably existed in the others and IN
eater quantities thaa those already noted,
{ have been destroyed By the MOhamme-
rs as contrary to tleir religion. As may
supposed, as they were all built at nearly
} same period, there Is a great similar
in the architecture of the
lagogues recently discovered. 1t
5 of an extremely forid and somewhat
based Roman type. In all OF them the
ne class Of mouldings is observable.
,ere is a great res snbiance in the inches
d cornices, while the capitals show some
ration, being Coriuthisu, Doric, and
bic. There is also a great similarity in
ground plan AMI in the position OF the
hmns. In the case OF q Roman temple
sse are all IN coIonnades outside the
sliding, in cases o. synagognes they are all
thin il. There should oe no possibility,
erefore, Of conius,nga synagogue with a
,pan temple, evel though il sOOunds with
oman architecture; bat 1t Is not always so
az TO distinguish 1t trom an earl ) Christian
1toh or basilic,, where the columns
ia also inside. Tue reason that the
chitecture of these latter synagOgues was
purely Roman in character Is to be found
the conditions under which they were
i'll Shortly after the destruction OF Jeru-
lem BY the Romans, the Jewish Ssnhe-
i'm was established at liberals, under q
triarchate whose authority was recognized
the foreign communities st Rome and IN
ma Minor, and large numbers OF these
me 10 live in the district while aims
,ured into the treasury at Liberals from al
rections. Ii thus became very wealthy,
ID the centre Of great Jewish population.
was recognized By the Romans, and by
en- granted many indulgences, and during
e reign OF AntonInus Plus, y. ID. l3o-I6I,
creased in power and influence.
At the beginning Of the third century the
,ws were in high favor with the Emperor
lexauder Severus, who was even called the
Ather Of the Synagogue, and this name
ay have been given him from his influence
ier the erection and architecture OF these
iildiugs. 1t seems, therefore, almost q
rtsinty that the Roman Emperors aided
ID inspired the erection of these syns-
ZONES. They were built By Roman labor,
the Jews, being immersed in commercial
lrsuits, by using Roman workmen, obtain
I much finer results than We are
d to think they would themselves have
cen capable Of. No synagogues OF the
nd have been found IN other
ountries, though there were many IN Ba-
ylon and in the colonies Of the Jews, aud
MS type has never been perpetusted IN
ter works while we have seen how many
oints in their religion were disregarded IN
leir design and ornsmentation. We may
lerefore suppose that they were forced
pom the people by their Roman rulers at
me when they were completely submissive
, their power, and that directly they were
bic they deserted sach pagan buildings IS
disloyalty to their religion. 1t IS stated
nat Rabbi Simon, son Of Jochai, is the
ounder Of many of these buildings In
eed, il is related that he built with his own
aoney twenty four synsgogueS IN
his part Of the country. As
e was a most fanatical teacher Of the
aw, il is evident that is he erected so
many buildinSs,in such violent contradiction
o many points Of his own religion, he must
ave done it under great pressure. These
ynagogues built under Roman auspices
we're probably only an alternative evil; they
rad to choose between having them or none
Il all. With the exception Of one on Car
mel, and a problematicsl one at Shetr Anvr,
.bout six miles from Haiia, all the syna'
,ogues hitherto found have been within the
immediate limits OF what was formerly the
of Tberias. The fact that the
building at Edikke would be included IN
his dictrict is en- additional reason for as.
,uming it to have been one of this class OF
,ynagogues, and if so, we should probably
= .a.ss-,ta - SWIM, ia data AZ nayhere