The discovery of the remains of an ancient synagogue in Israel are being hailed as confirmation of the historic accounts of Jesus contained in the New Testament.
The synagogue’s remains, which is located at Tel Rechesh, a site in the lower Galilee, reportedly represent those of one of only eight synagogues discovered in Israel that date back to what is known as the Second Temple era – the time between the building of the second Temple in Jerusalem from about 530 BC and its destruction by the Romans in 70 AD.
Dr Motti Aviam, a senior researcher at the Kinneret Institute for Galilean Archaeology, told Jewish News Service that the find confirms historical information contained in the New Testament which says Jesus preached at synagogues in Galilean villages.
Matthew chapter four records that Jesus “went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people” (NIV). A similar account is found in Mark 1.
The synagogue, said to measure nine by eight metres in size and containing limestone benches which line the walls, is the first of the eight so far discovered which is located in a rural rather than an urban setting. It’s been reported that the site of the find corresponds to the first century village of Anaharath, which is mentioned by name in the the Old Testament, in Joshua 19:19.
The site was apparently abandoned after the Bar Kokhba Revolt in 132-135 AD.
