8. The synagogue as a court. — Under the strict concepticm of a tlieocracy there can be no distinc- tion between things ecclesiastical and things civil Hence, in ])Iaces wliere the ])opul;iti(iii was prepon- derantly Jewisii, local administration was in the
692
SYNAGOGUE
SYKOPHCENICIAN WOMAN
hands of a court, which took cognizance of all the Jewish interests of the neighbourhood, and of whicii tlie Roman over-rule was ajjt to avail itself for both executive and minor judicial business. Where the Jews were outclassed in numbers or influence, the synagogal authority was proportionately reduced, though without any loss of respect within the Jewish community. If there were several syna- gogues in a Jewish town, all were knit together into some kind of organization, under a controlling council which regulated also all the civil affairs of the community. The case of a town with but a single synagogue was simpler, but not radically distinct. Here the council, or local Sanhedrin (Mt 522 10", Mk 133), met in the synagogue, where their plans were matured, their decisions taken, and often their penalties exacted. The court proper consisted of twenty-three members where the popu- lation was considerable, elsewhere of seven ; and this college of elders (Lk 7^) or rulers (Mt 9'f- "^ Lk 8^') exercised a wide jurisdiction. For minor offences (Makkoth iii. 1) the penalty was scourging (Mt 10"23='^ cf. Ac22i«; not to be confused- with the Roman penalty of scourging of Mt 20^" and Jn 19^), limited to forty sti'ipes save one (cf. 2 Co II-''), and administered in the synagogue by the hazzan. Excommunication was the punishment of offences that were thought to imperil the stability of the Jewish community (Lk &-\ Jn 9'^ 12^-^16-). See art. Excommunication in vol. i. p. 559*.
9. Other uses of the synagogue. — There are indications in early Jewish literature, belonging some of them to the 1st cent., that the synagogue served also the purposes of a i^ublic hall or general meeting - place, and regulations for its reverent treatment were gradually adopted. Notices re- specting the interests of the community at large, or even of private members, were given there {Baba mezia, 286). It was the place for funeral orations over the death of men of distinction, and at a later period could be used for some of the ceremonies of private mourning [ib.). Josephus says [Vita, 54) that political meetings were held in the synagogiies at the time of the war against Rome. They became increasingly a common meeting-gi'ound for the Jews of the neighbourhood, where their affairs might be discussed informally or in a summoned assembly, and a variety of matters might be conveniently settled. Thus a secularizing — or, from a Jewish point of view, a communal — tendency developed, such as had already shown itself in the case of the courts of the Temple (Mt 21ia, Mk IV\ Jn 2'*ff) ; and arrangements had eventually to be made in the interest of decorum. People were forbidden to discuss trifles on the premises of a synagogue, or to v.'alk aimlessly about, to shelter there from the heat or rain, to come in with soiled shoes or gar- ments, or to make a thoroughfare of the courts. Some of these regulations are of a later date than the Gospels, but their necessity arose from habits that were already becoming fixed. The synagogue was not only a place of authoritative instruction in the Law, but the centre of the Jewish life of a district, and, as such, its purposes were determined by both social and racial needs.
10. Financial administration. — Most of the officials of the synagogue were honorary ; but the schoolmaster and the attendant would require at least partial support, whilst the cost of erection, with that of repairs and maintenance, must have been considerable, to say nothing of the fees paid at a later period to ' ten unemployed men ' as the minimum of a congregation. It is a problem, for the settlement of which sufficient materials are not at present available, how these expenses were met. In some cases a wealthy man, Jew or Gentile, wishing to ingratiate himself with the people or out of pure kindness, may have provided a syna-
gogue (cf. Lk 7^ ; Jos. Ant. xix. vi. 3). In other cases, though the authorities are not explicit, the synagogue must have been erected by means of a general levy upon the community, and tlie revenue for its maintenance provided in the same way. The Mishna invests the whole property, including build- ings and equipment, in the civic community {Meg. iii. 1 ; Nedarvm, v. 5), and classes it thus with the baths and roads of the neighbourhood. But as to the principle on wiiich the necessary moneys were raised, and the means by which payment was en- forced, very little is at present known. A set of synagogue accounts from the early part of the 1st cent, would be a discovery of much value.
Literature. — Of the works cited in Hastings' DB, Schiirer is still the most important. The German edition is the best ; the reference to the Eng. tr. is 11. ii. 52-89. Add Dalman's art. 'Synagogaler Gottesdienst ' in P/J-B-i vii. 7-19 ; Nowack, II eb. Arch. ii. 83 ff. ; Dembitz, Jewish Services in Syn. and Home. Any of the technical Cyclopaedias may be consulted ; but care should be taken, especially in the case of Hamburger ,fby checking the dates of the original authorities, to distinguish the periods for which they stand. R. \V. MoSS.