I was asked about this by a person who for awhile was torn between Judaism & Christianity, before finally coming to Jesus. He believed God had ordered Israel to gather to worship Him first at the tabernacle, then the temple in Jerusalem., so he believed that the later Jews were in sin while the temple stood, for worshipping in synagogues insteada the temple.
What I was able to find was that the firse synagogues-Beit Kenesset in Hebrew, and synagogos in Greek, meaning "to gather"-arose after the destruction of the temple by Nebuchadnezzar, when some of the Jews exiled to Babylon used certain of their homes to assemble for worship.
But this practice continued even after the temple was rebuilt. But WAS IT SINFUL ? NO ! !
JESUS HIMSELF worshipped at synagogues as well as at the temple!
by the time of Roman rule, the Jews had gone from a strictly-agricultural people to a people of virtually every profession practiced at that time/place. it would,ve been a hardship for them to make many journeys to Jerusalem per year, so virtually every city & village had at least one synagogue.
As to who invented the synagogue, I have no idea. I only know it was NOT sinful for the Jews to worship at one.
How did the synagogue originate?
Discussion in 'Other Christian Denominations' started by robycop3, Dec 5, 2018.
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The same way the Baptistboard formed. People away from church wanted a place to gather (electronically) and discuss their faith with their brothers. And they developed some ground rules to keep things from getting out of hand.
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Pastor_Bob Well-Known Member
This may be straining at a gnat; but, did Jesus ever worship at the synagogue? The Bible says He taught at the synagogue and would go there to read.
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Pastor_Bob Well-Known Member
"During the Babylonian captivity the Jews, with no temple in which to worship, began to meet in smaller assemblies for worship and religious instruction, and in this way the knowledge of the law was kept alive among the Jews. The institution of synagogues in all the lands of the Dispersion helped draw the attention of the Gentiles to the great truths entrusted by God to Israel."
Exploring the Scriptures: An Overview of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. -
RighteousnessTemperance& Well-Known Member
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