The Synagogue and Jewish Worship

In cities other than Jerusalem, the synagogue was the center of Jewish worship during the time of Christ. Synagogues were located in most of the leading towns of Israel. Although very little remains of the original first-century synagogue at Nazareth, extensive archaeological evidence exists for a typical Jewish synagogue in the town of Gamla, which would have had much in common with the ­synagogues Jesus visited in Nazareth and other cities.

This illustration is based on the excavation of the Gamla synagogue, one of the oldest in Israel. The city of Gamla was 6 miles (9.7 km) northeast of the Sea of Galilee. It was destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 67, early in the Jewish Revolt.