Synagogue (Gr. synagōgē, 'assembly,' or 'place of assembly,' answering to Heb. keneseth or beth-hakkeneseth), a Jewish place of worship. The origin of this institution is probably to be traced to the period of the Babylonian captivity, although tradition finds it in the patriarchal times. When, through Ezra's instrumentality, the ancient order of things was restored in Judea, synagogues were established in all the towns for the benefit of those who could not take part oftener than three times a year in the worship of the temple at Jerusalem, and a special ritual of readings and prayers was instituted. From the time of the Maccabees we find them even in all the villages; and Josephus, Philo, the New Testament, the Mishna, and the Talmud constantly allude to them. Common prayer and religious instruction were the purpose for which the people there met. The Sabbaths and feast-days were the principal times on which the faithful assembled in them; there were short services also on Mondays and Thursdays; and the synagogues contributed more than anything else to the people's steadfast adherence to their religion and liberty. At the same time they gradually undermined the priestly and aristocratic element that gathered round the temple, its gorgeous worship and kingly revenues. Erected out of the common funds or free gifts of the community, the synagogue had also to be supported by taxes and donations. All profane doings were strictly prohibited in it; even as to dress the reverence due to the place was enforced as rigidly as possible. It represented in miniature the form of the temple, itself an enlarged type of the tabernacle; the faces of the congregation were turned towards Jerusalem. At the extreme eastern end was the holy ark, containing several copies of the Pentateuch, from which the periodical readings were chanted. Not far from this was suspended the ever-burning lamp. On a raised platform in the middle of the synagogue was the place of the reader or preacher. The women sat separated from the men by a low partition. The affairs of the synagogue were administered by a board of 'ancients' or 'elders,' at whose head stood a chief or principal (Rōsh hakkeneseth; Gr. archisynagogos). This college managed the inner affairs of the synagogue, and had even the power of excommunication. There was an officiating minister (sheliach tzibbur), whose office it was to recite the prayers aloud. The beadle, or chazzan (sometimes translated 'minister'), had the general charge of the sacred place and its books and implements. He had to present the scroll to the reader, and assist on other occasions. During the weekdays he had to teach the children of the town or village. This name of chazzan, however, at a later period came to designate the officiating minister, and it has retained that meaning until this day. Almoners or deacons collected and distributed the alms. It need hardly be pointed out that the organisation, rites, and modes of worship of the Christian church in many respects closely resembled, if they were not modelled on, those of the synagogue.
'The Great Synagogue' (keneseth haggadolah) was long the current name for an assembly or synod, supposed to have been founded and presided over by Ezra, consisting of 120 men, said to have been engaged in remodelling the national and religious institutions of the Jews after the return from Babylon. The palpable chronological discrepancies that occur in the early accounts about this synod, together with other doubtful points, have led modern scholars to deny its existence completely, or, with Kuenen, to identify it with the temporary convocation of the people recorded in Nehemiah viii. It is, however, certain that Ezra and Nehemiah did a certain amount of work which they could not have done without being assisted by eminent collaborators. It was probably this body, however constituted, to which certain vital ameliorations in the administration of justice are ascribed; they developed public instruction, fixed and enlarged the Mosaic laws by certain rules of interpretation, and, according to the tradition, collected and redacted the sacred books.
See the articles JEWS, SANHEDRIM, RABBI; and Schürer's History of the Jewish People in the Time of Christ (Eng. trans. 5 vols. 1886-90).