Nabratein synagogue

Nabratein synagogue
Shown within Israel
Location	Israel
Coordinates	32°59′31″N 35°31′00″E / 32.991892°N 35.516739°E / 32.991892; 35.516739

The Nabratein synagogue is an ancient synagogue and archaeological site in the upper Galilee, in a pine forest northeast of Safed.^[1]

The earliest synagogue uncovered at Nabratein dates to the 2nd century CE. It was replaced with a far more elaborate building, with lavishly carved masonry, that was destroyed by the Galilee earthquake of 363. The final, and much larger, synagoue building was constructed in the late 6th century reusing stones from the earlier building.^[2]

The seven-branched Menorah surrounded by a wreath over the door of the Henry S. Frank Memorial Synagogue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is copied from the Nabratein synagogue.^[3]

See also

• Oldest synagogues in the world

References

1. ^ Excavations at Ancient Nabratein: Synagogue and Environs,Eric M. Meyers and Carol Meyers , Meiron Excavation Project Reports - MEPR 6, Eisenbrauns, 2009
2. ^ Second Preliminary Report on the 1981 Excavations at en-Nabratein, Israel, Eric M. Meyers, James F. Strange and Carol L. Meyers, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, No. 246 (Spring, 1982), pp. 35-54
3. ^ Art and Judaism in the Greco-Roman world: toward a new Jewish archaeology, Steven Fine, Cambridge University Press, 2005, Chapter 1, Building an Ancient Synagogue on the Delaware, pp. 12-21