Ancient Synagogue Seating Capacities
 Methodology, Analysis & Limits
Texts & Studies in Ancient Judaism No. 149

 

By Chad S. Spigel
September 2012
Mohr Siebeck
Distributed By
ISBN: 9783161518799                             
418 pagesAncient Synagogue Seating Capacities, Illustrated
$257.50 Hardcover

Have most of the Jews in Palestine in late antiquity regularly attended church services at the synagogue? Chad Spigel shows that it is possible to answer this question, as he investigates the seating capacity of ancient synagogues, and examined. He developed a method with which one can calculate seating capacity, which he applies to synagogues in the Roman and Byzantine periods. He created a list of the seat capacity of the late antique Pälastina. These data are analyzed within the local demographic context, to understand the worship rituals of the local Jews better. Through the evaluation of passenger capacity and demographic data of more than fifty ancient synagogues, the author has collected, he proves not only that the size of the worship in the synagogue itself from place to place different, but also creates an important source of supply for the Today's exploration of late antique Judaism.

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