Some think that this synagogue was painted in order to compete with the many other religions practiced in Dura Europos; the new (and considerably smaller) Christian church (Dura-Europos church) appears to have opened shortly before the surviving paintings were begun in the synagogue.
Beberapa orang berpikir bahwa ini sinagoge diberi lukisan untuk bersaing dengan banyak agama-agama lain dipraktekkan di Dura Europos; gereja Kristen yang baru (dan jauh lebih kecil), yaitu Gereja Dura-Europos, tampaknya telah dibuka sesaat sebelum pembuatan lukisan yang dimulai di sinagoge.