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The Nazareth Synagogue

It is known that the great bulk of the synagogues of Galilee were quite small in size even
though there were a considerable number of Jews living in every city. (Mathews, History of New
Testament Times in Palestine, p. 149). In Nazareth, where Jesus was brought up, there was
ONE synagogue. This, in itself, is not surprising, for Nazareth was not of the same prominence as
Capernaum. Yet, Nazareth, with its immediate environs, to again cite Josephus, had at least
15,000 inhabitants. It was certainly no mean city, even though it was smaller than Capernaum.

Edersheim informs us that Nazareth was a religious center for certain of the priests who
ministered in the temple (Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, vol. i, p. 147). Also, Nazareth
was one of the major cities located on the great caravan route from the Mediterranean Sea to Da-
mascus (ibid.). This location gave it a particular importance.

But even with these advantages, the ruins of the synagogue at Nazareth show that it was so
small that it could hardly seat more than 75 souls. This size shows how insignificant was the syna-
gogue compared to the population of the township of Nazareth, which numbered over 15,000 in-
habitants. This again serves to indicate that the synagogues were not attended regularly except by
the most pious of the Common People. The rest of them were not particularly interested in religion.
Undoubtedly many of them did attend the annual festivals which were held in the synagogues and at
the Temple in Jerusalem. To the Jews the annual festivals were like national holidays. But the
evidence is clearly against the masses attending the synagogues REGULARLY every Sabbath.

It has been conjectured by some that the Nazareth synagogue may have been built later than
the time of Christ because it was not situated in the highest part of the city, as they supposedly think
it should have been. However, Edersheim shows that this is not a proper criterion and rejects the
supposition. (ibid., vol. i, p. 433). There is every reason to believe that this small synagogue was
the one Jesus attended. This religious condition in Palestine nearly 2,000 years ago should not sur-
prise us much. Today it is common for many of the people who profess Christianity to attend
church only on the two pagan holidays that almost all churches celebrate today -- Easter and
Christmas. The rest of the year finds the majority not attending church with any regularity. The
Jews, in Christ's day, can be compared in like manner with the common tendency today.

How Many Synagogues in Palestine?

It is not known exactly how many synagogues there were throughout Palestine in Christ's
time. However, there are some hints as to the number. Herford tells us that almost every area
which had a considerable Jewish population had at least one synagogue in each of its cities. (Ju-
daism in the New Testament Period, pp. 27, 133). It must be remembered that Capernaum, as
large as it was, had one synagogue. There can be little question about the fact that there was at
least one synagogue in almost every town of any size. This seems to be a foregone conclusion of
all the writers on the subject.

We happen to know, again from Josephus, that there were 240 cities and villages in all of
Galilee (Life of Josephus, p. 45). Galilee was much more prosperous than Judea in the south, and
in fact, Galilee was far and above the province of Judea in material blessings. Edersheim says the
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