Kfar Bar'am synagogue

Kfar Bar'am Synagogue
Hebrew: כְּפַר בַּרְעָם
A long-exposure photograph of the ruins of the former synagogue, in 2017
Religion
AffiliationJudaism (former)
Ecclesiastical or organisational statusSynagogue
StatusArchaeological site
Location
LocationBar'am National Park, Galilee, Northern District
CountryIsrael
Kfar Bar'am synagogue is located in Israel
Kfar Bar'am synagogue
Location of the ruins of the former synagogue,
in modern-day Israel
Geographic coordinates33°02′37″N 35°24′51″E / 33.043611°N 35.414075°E / 33.043611; 35.414075
Architecture
Completedc. 220 CE
Direction of façadeSouth
[1]

The Kfar Bar'am Synagogue (Hebrew: כְּפַר בַּרְעָם), also known as the Kafar Berem Synagogue, is the archaeological ruins of two former ancient Jewish synagogues, located at the site of Kafr Bir'im, a depopulated Palestinian village, in what is today, the Bar'am National Park, in the Galilee region of the Northern District of Israel, approximately 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from the border with Lebanon. It is estimated that the former synagogue was completed in the 3rd century, during the Roman period, likely by c. 220 CE,[1] and was located in the medieval Jewish village of Kfar Bar'am.

The façade of the 3rd-century synagogue faces south, towards Jerusalem, as the custom of most synagogues, and was replete with a covered portico containing six stone columns.[2]

It was first identified as a synagogue in modern times in 1852 – along with other similar remains in Galilee – by Edward Robinson in his Biblical Researches in Palestine.[3]

  1. ^ a b "Kafr Bar'am Synagogue". Madain Project: Encyclopedia of Abrahamic History & Archaeology. 2024. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
  2. ^ Prester, Gideon (1978). "Kefar Bar'am". In Yitzhaki, Arieh (ed.). Israel Guide - Upper Galilee, Huleh Basin and Jordan Source Region (A useful encyclopedia for the knowledge of the country) (in Hebrew). Vol. 2. Jerusalem: Keter Publishing House, in affiliation with the Israel Ministry of Defence. pp. 146–148. OCLC 745203905.
  3. ^ Urman, D.; Flesher, P.V.M.C. (1998). Ancient Synagogues: Historical Analysis and Archaeological Discovery. Studia Post Biblica, No 47. Brill. p. 252. ISBN 978-90-04-11254-4. Retrieved February 12, 2023 – via Google Books. It must be remembered that the first of those to identify 'house of assembly' remains in the Land of Israel in the modern age was the American theologian, E. Robinson, considered to be the "father of the study of the Land of Israel"