Eshtemoa synagogue

Ancient synagogue (Eshtemoa)

Tourists view the ruins, 1975.
Shown within the West Bank
Location	West Bank
Coordinates	31°24′03″N 35°04′01″E / 31.400792°N 35.067075°E
History
Founded	4th–5th century CE
Site notes
Excavation dates	1934, 1969-70.

The Eshtemoa Synagogue, located 15 km south of Hebron in as-Samu, West Bank, refers to the remains of an ancient Jewish synagogue dating from around the 4th–5th century CE.

History

Eshtemoa, identified as modern as-Samu, was an ancient city named in the Bible (Joshua 21:14). During Roman and Byzantine period, Eshtemoa was described as a large Jewish village.^[1]

The remains of the synagogue were identified by L. A. Mayer and A. Reifenberg in 1934. In 1969–70, a full excavation of the site revealed that the building occupied the most prominent site in the village. It was built in "broadhouse" style without columns and measured 13.3 m (44 ft) by 21.3 m (70 ft).^[2] Entry was by any of three doors along its eastern side and one of the three niches recessed into the northern wall functioned as the Torah Ark. The building housed a mosaic floor and displayed external ornamental carvings.^[1] Four seven-branched menorahs were discovered carved onto door lintels and one of them is displayed in Jerusalem's Rockefeller Museum.^[3]

After the Muslim conquest, the synagogue was converted into a mosque and a mihrab was added.^[2][4] The western wall is still standing to a height of 7 m (23 ft).^[2] Many architectural elements of the building have been reused in the modern village.^[5]

References

1. Avraham Negev; Shimon Gibson (July 2005). Archaeological encyclopedia of the Holy Land. Continuum International Publishing Group. pp. 167–168. ISBN 978-0-8264-8571-7. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
2. Günter Stemberger (2000). Jews and Christians in the Holy Land: Palestine in the fourth century. Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 150. ISBN 978-0-567-08699-0. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
3. Léon Yarden (1971). The tree of light: a study of the Menorah, the seven-branched lampstand. East and West Library. p. 151. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
4. Nadia Abu El-Haj (2001). Facts on the ground: archaeological practice and territorial self-fashioning in Israeli society. University of Chicago Press. p. 78. ISBN 978-0-226-00195-1. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
5. Raphael Greenberg, Adi Keinan. Israeli Archaeological Activity in the West Bank 1967-2007: A Sourcebook, Ostracon 2009. pg. 136. ISBN 978-965-91468-0-2.