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The Israel Exploration Society
is proud to announce the forthcoming publication of
The Sepphoris Synagogue:
Deciphering an Ancient Message through Its Archaeological and Socio-Historical Contexts
by Zeev Weiss
(with contributions by Ehud Netzer, Katia Cytryn-Silverman, Leah Di Segni, Orna Eliahu-Oron, Judit Gärtner, Yael Gorin-Rosen, and Ya‘akov Meshorer)
Sepphoris, located in the center of the Lower Galilee, 5 km north of Nazareth, was the historic capital of the Galilee in the Roman and Byzantine periods. Architecturally, artistically, and culturally, Sepphoris was not very different from the pagan cities of ancient Palestine, and its exposure to and assimilation of Greco-Roman culture did not hinder Jewish life. Like other major cities with Jewish, Christian, and pagan populations, it boasted residential areas interspersed with public buildings.
In 1993, the expedition team of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem unearthed one such public edifice—a complete synagogue dated to the early fifth century CE. The synagogue was graced with a richly colored mosaic floor featuring Jewish symbols, biblical scenes, and dedicatory inscriptions in Aramaic and Greek. This mosaic and others found in the synagogue are considered to be among the most important and exciting finds in Jewish art since the discovery of the Dura Europos synagogue in Syria seventy years ago.
The forthcoming volume is the final excavation report of the Sepphoris synagogue. This comprehensive and multifaceted study presents a full description and thorough analysis of the archaeological data (architecture, mosaics, epigraphy, and small finds) and presents an extensive discussion of the evidence in its socio historical context. The author maintains that the central mosaic in the synagogue’s prayer hall focuses on the main themes that characterized the Judaeo-Christian controversy at the same time and serves as a response claiming—via its illustrative biblical motifs—that the Jews are the Chosen People.
Each chapter is enhanced with plans, drawings, detailed color and black & white photos, and comparative material.
364 pages, incl. color photos, hardcover. ISSN 965-221-057-9
Price: $80+ $13 postage (25% discount for members of Israel Exploration Society)
Please send your orders to: The Israel Exploration Society, P.O.B. 7041, Jerusalem, Israel
Fax: 972-2-6247772. E-mail: ies@vms.huji.ac.il