Reference: Synagogue
American
A word which primarily signifies an assembly; but, like the word church, came at length to be applied to the buildings in which the ordinary Jewish assemblies for the worship of God were convened. From the silence of the Old Testament with reference to these places of worship, many commentators and writers of biblical antiquities are of opinion that they were not in use till after the Babylonish captivity; and that before that time, the Jews held their social meetings for religious worship either in the open air or in the houses of the prophets. See 2Ki 4:23. In Ps 74:8, it is at least very doubtful whether the Hebrew word rendered synagogues, refers to synagogue-buildings such as existed after the captivity. Properly the word signifies only places where religious assemblies were held. In the time of our Savior they abounded. Synagogues could only be erected in those places when ten men of age, learning, piety, and easy circumstances could be found to attend to the service, which was enjoined in them. Large towns had several synagogues; and soon after the captivity their utility became so obvious, that they were scattered over the land, and became the parish churches of the Jewish nation. Their number appears to have been very considerable; and when the erection of a synagogue was considered a mark of piety, Lu 7:5, or a passport to heaven, we need not be surprised to hear that they were multiplied beyond all necessity, so that in Jerusalem alone there were not fewer than 460 or 480. They were generally built on the most elevated ground, and consisted of two parts. The westerly part of the building contained the ark or chest in which the book of the law and the section of the prophets were deposited, and was called the temple by way of eminence. The other, in which the congregation assembled, was termed the body of the synagogue. The people sat with their faces towards the temple, and the elders in the contrary direction, and opposite to the people; the space between them being occupied by the pulpit or reading desk. The seats of the elders were considered more holy than the others, and are spoken of as "the chief seats in the synagogues," Mt 23:6. The women sat by themselves in a gallery secluded by latticework.
The stated office-bearers in every synagogue were ten, forming six distinct classes. We notice first the Archisynagogos, or ruler of the synagogue, who regulated all its concerns and granted permission to address the assembly. Of these there were three in each synagogue. Dr. Lightfoot believes them to have possessed a civil power, and to have constituted the lowest civil tribunal, commonly known as "the council of three," whose office it was to judge minor offences against religion, and also to decide the differences that arose between any members of the synagogue, as to money matters, thefts, losses, etc. To these officers there is perhaps an allusion in 1Co 6:5. See also JUDGMENT. The second officer-bearer was "the angel of the synagogue," or minister of the congregation, who prayed and preached. In allusion to these, the pastors of the Asiatic churches are called "angels," Re 2:3.
The service of the synagogue was as follows: The people being seated, the "angel of the synagogue" ascended the pulpit, and offered up the public prayers, the people rising from their seats, and standing in a posture of deep devotion, Mt 6:5; Mr 11:25; Lu 18:11,13. The prayers were nineteen in number, and were closed by reading the execration. The next thing was the repetition of their phylacteries; after which came the reading of the law and the prophets. The former was divided into fifty-four sections, with which were united corresponding portions from the prophets; (see Ac 13:15,27; 15:21) and these were read through once in the course of the year. After the return from the captivity, an interpreter was employed in reading the law and the prophets, Ne 8:2-8, who interpreted them into the Syro-Chaldaic dialect, which was then spoken by the people. The last part of the service was the expounding of the Scriptures, and preaching from them to the people. This was done either by one of the officer, or by some distinguished person who happened to be present. The reader will recollect one memorable occasion on which our Savior availed himself of the opportunity thus afforded to address his countrymen, Lu 4:20; and there are several other instances recorded of himself and his disciples teaching in the synagogues. See Mt 13:54; Mr 6:2; Joh 18:20; Ac 13:5,15,44; 14:1; 17:2-4,10; 18:4,26; 19:8. The whole service was concluded with a short prayer or benediction.
The Jewish synagogues were not only used for the purposes of divine worship, but also for courts of judicature, in such matters as fell under the cognizance of the Council of Three, of which we have already spoken. On such occasions, the sentence given against the offender was sometimes, after the manner of prompt punishment still prevalent in the East, carried into effect in the place where the council was assembled. Hence we read of persons being beaten in the synagogue, and scourged in the synagogue, Mt 10:17; Mr 13:9; Ac 22:19; 26:11; 2Co 11:24. To be "put out of the synagogue," or excommunicated from the Jewish church and deprived of the national privileges, was punishment much dreaded, Joh 9:22; 12:42; 16:2. In our own day the Jews erect synagogues wherever they are sufficiently numerous, and assemble on their Sabbath for worship; this being conducted, that is, the reading or chanting of the Old Testament and of prayers, in the original Hebrew, though it is a dead language spoken by few among them. Among the synagogues of Jerusalem, now eight or ten in number, are some for Jews of Spanish origin, and others for German Jews, etc., as in the time of Paul there were separate synagogues for the Libertines, Cyreians, Alexandrians, etc., Ac 6:9.
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But he said, "Why go to him today? It's neither New Moon or Sabbath." She replied, "Everything is all right."
On the first day of the seventh month, Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly of men, women, and all who could listen with understanding. While he was facing the square in front of the Water Gate, he read out of it from daybreak until noon before the men, the women, and those who could understand. All the people listened attentively to the book of the law. read more. Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platform made for this purpose. Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah stood beside him on his right; to his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hash-baddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam. Ezra opened the book in full view of all the people, since he was elevated above everyone. As he opened it, all the people stood up. Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and with their hands uplifted all the people said, "Amen, Amen!" Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah, who were Levites, explained the law to the people as they stood in their places. They read the book of the law of God, translating and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was read.
They said in their hearts, "Let us oppress them relentlessly." They burned down every place throughout the land where God met with us.
"Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by people. I assure you: They've got their reward!
Because people will hand you over to sanhedrins and flog you in their synagogues, beware of them.
He went to His hometown and began to teach them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, "How did this wisdom and these miracles come to Him?
They love the place of honor at banquets, the front seats in the synagogues,
When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard Him were astonished. "Where did this man get these things?" they said. "What is this wisdom given to Him, and how are these miracles performed by His hands?
And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven will also forgive you your wrongdoing. [
"But you, be on your guard! They will hand you over to sanhedrins, and you will be flogged in the synagogues. You will stand before governors and kings because of Me, as a witness to them.
He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
The Pharisee took his stand and was praying like this: 'God, I thank You that I'm not like other people -greedy, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
"But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even raise his eyes to heaven but kept striking his chest and saying, 'God, turn Your wrath from me -a sinner!'
His parents said these things because they were afraid of the Jews, since the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed Him as Messiah, he would be banned from the synagogue.
Nevertheless, many did believe in Him even among the rulers, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, so they would not be banned from the synagogue.
They will ban you from the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering service to God.
"I have spoken openly to the world," Jesus answered him. "I have always taught in the synagogue and in the temple complex, where all the Jews congregate, and I haven't spoken anything in secret.
Then some from what is called the Freedmen's Synagogue, composed of both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, came forward and disputed with Stephen.
Arriving in Salamis, they proclaimed God's message in the Jewish synagogues. They also had John as their assistant.
After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent [word] to them, saying, "Brothers, if you have any message of encouragement for the people, you can speak."
After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent [word] to them, saying, "Brothers, if you have any message of encouragement for the people, you can speak."
For the residents of Jerusalem and their rulers, since they did not recognize Him or the voices of the prophets that are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled their words by condemning Him.
The following Sabbath almost the whole town assembled to hear the message of the Lord.
The same thing happened in Iconium; they entered the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed.
For since ancient times, Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, and he is read aloud in the synagogues every Sabbath day."
As usual, Paul went to them, and on three Sabbath days reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and showing that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead, and saying: "This is the Messiah, Jesus, whom I am proclaiming to you." read more. Then some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, including a great number of God-fearing Greeks, as well as a number of the leading women.
As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas off to Beroea. On arrival, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.
He reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath and tried to persuade both Jews and Greeks.
He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. After Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him home and explained the way of God to him more accurately.
Then he entered the synagogue and spoke boldly over a period of three months, engaging in discussion and trying to persuade them about the things related to the kingdom of God.
"But I said, 'Lord, they know that in synagogue after synagogue I had those who believed in You imprisoned and beaten.
In all the synagogues I often tried to make them blaspheme by punishing them. Being greatly enraged at them, I even pursued them to foreign cities.
I say this to your shame! Can it be that there is not one wise person among you who will be able to arbitrate between his brothers?
You also possess endurance and have tolerated [many things] because of My name, and have not grown weary.
Easton
(Gr. sunagoge, i.e., "an assembly"), found only once in the Authorized Version of Ps 74:8, where the margin of Revised Version has "places of assembly," which is probably correct; for while the origin of synagogues is unknown, it may well be supposed that buildings or tents for the accommodation of worshippers may have existed in the land from an early time, and thus the system of synagogues would be gradually developed.
Some, however, are of opinion that it was specially during the Babylonian captivity that the system of synagogue worship, if not actually introduced, was at least reorganized on a systematic plan (Eze 8:1; 14:1). The exiles gathered together for the reading of the law and the prophets as they had opportunity, and after their return synagogues were established all over the land (Ezr 8:15; Ne 8:2). In after years, when the Jews were dispersed abroad, wherever they went they erected synagogues and kept up the stated services of worship (Ac 9:20; 13:5; 17/1/type/hcsb'>17:1,17; 18:4). The form and internal arrangements of the synagogue would greatly depend on the wealth of the Jews who erected it, and on the place where it was built. "Yet there are certain traditional pecularities which have doubtless united together by a common resemblance the Jewish synagogues of all ages and countries. The arrangements for the women's place in a separate gallery or behind a partition of lattice-work; the desk in the centre, where the reader, like Ezra in ancient days, from his 'pulpit of wood,' may 'open the book in the sight of all of people and read in the book of the law of God distinctly, and give the sense, and cause them to understand the reading' (Ne 8:4,8); the carefully closed ark on the side of the building nearest to Jerusalem, for the preservation of the rolls or manuscripts of the law; the seats all round the building, whence 'the eyes of all them that are in the synagogue' may 'be fastened' on him who speaks (Lu 4:20); the 'chief seats' (Mt 23:6) which were appropriated to the 'ruler' or 'rulers' of the synagogue, according as its organization may have been more or less complete;", these were features common to all the synagogues.
Where perfected into a system, the services of the synagogue, which were at the same hours as those of the temple, consisted, (1) of prayer, which formed a kind of liturgy, there were in all eighteen prayers; (2) the reading of the Scriptures in certain definite portions; and (3) the exposition of the portions read. (See Lu 4:15,22; Ac 13:14.)
The synagogue was also sometimes used as a court of judicature, in which the rulers presided (Mt 10:17; Mr 5:22; Lu 12:11; 21:12; Ac 13:15; 22:19); also as public schools.
The establishment of synagogues wherever the Jews were found in sufficient numbers helped greatly to keep alive Israel's hope of the coming of the Messiah, and to prepare the way for the spread of the gospel in other lands. The worship of the Christian Church was afterwards modelled after that of the synagogue.
Christ and his disciples frequently taught in the synagogues (Mt 13:54; Mr 6:2; Joh 18:20; Ac 13:5,15,44; 14:1; 17/2/type/hcsb'>17:2-4,10,17; 18:4,26; 19:8).
To be "put out of the synagogue," a phrase used by John (Joh 9:22; 12:42; 16:2), means to be excommunicated.
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I gathered them at the river that flows to Ahava, and we camped there for three days. I searched among the people and priests, but found no Levites there.
On the first day of the seventh month, Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly of men, women, and all who could listen with understanding.
Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platform made for this purpose. Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah stood beside him on his right; to his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hash-baddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam.
They read the book of the law of God, translating and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was read.
They said in their hearts, "Let us oppress them relentlessly." They burned down every place throughout the land where God met with us.
In the sixth year, in the sixth [month], on the fifth [day] of the month, I was sitting in my house and the elders of Judah were sitting in front of me, and there the hand of the Lord God came down on me.
Because people will hand you over to sanhedrins and flog you in their synagogues, beware of them.
He went to His hometown and began to teach them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, "How did this wisdom and these miracles come to Him?
They love the place of honor at banquets, the front seats in the synagogues,
One of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at His feet
When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard Him were astonished. "Where did this man get these things?" they said. "What is this wisdom given to Him, and how are these miracles performed by His hands?
He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
They were all speaking well of Him and were amazed by the gracious words that came from His mouth, yet they said, "Isn't this Joseph's son?"
Whenever they bring you before synagogues and rulers and authorities, don't worry about how you should defend yourselves or what you should say.
But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you. They will hand you over to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of My name.
His parents said these things because they were afraid of the Jews, since the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed Him as Messiah, he would be banned from the synagogue.
Nevertheless, many did believe in Him even among the rulers, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, so they would not be banned from the synagogue.
They will ban you from the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering service to God.
"I have spoken openly to the world," Jesus answered him. "I have always taught in the synagogue and in the temple complex, where all the Jews congregate, and I haven't spoken anything in secret.
Immediately he began proclaiming Jesus in the synagogues: "He is the Son of God."
Arriving in Salamis, they proclaimed God's message in the Jewish synagogues. They also had John as their assistant.
Arriving in Salamis, they proclaimed God's message in the Jewish synagogues. They also had John as their assistant.
They continued their journey from Perga and reached Antioch in Pisidia. On the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent [word] to them, saying, "Brothers, if you have any message of encouragement for the people, you can speak."
After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent [word] to them, saying, "Brothers, if you have any message of encouragement for the people, you can speak."
The following Sabbath almost the whole town assembled to hear the message of the Lord.
The same thing happened in Iconium; they entered the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed.
Then they traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. As usual, Paul went to them, and on three Sabbath days reasoned with them from the Scriptures, read more. explaining and showing that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead, and saying: "This is the Messiah, Jesus, whom I am proclaiming to you." Then some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, including a great number of God-fearing Greeks, as well as a number of the leading women.
As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas off to Beroea. On arrival, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.
So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with those who worshiped God, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there.
So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with those who worshiped God, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there.
He reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath and tried to persuade both Jews and Greeks.
He reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath and tried to persuade both Jews and Greeks.
He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. After Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him home and explained the way of God to him more accurately.
Then he entered the synagogue and spoke boldly over a period of three months, engaging in discussion and trying to persuade them about the things related to the kingdom of God.
Fausets
Hebrew eedah, "a congregation" or "appointed solemn meeting," in the Pentateuch; qaahaal, "a meeting called", represents ekklesia the "Church". (See CHURCH.) In the New Testament synagogue (Greek) is used of the Christian assembly only by the most Judaic apostle (Jas 2:2). The Jews' malice against Christianity caused Christians to leave the term "synagogue" to the Jews (Re 2:9). The first hints of religions meetings appear in the phrases "before the Lord," "the calling of assemblies" (Isa 1:13). The Sabbaths were observed from an early time by gatherings for prayer, whether at or apart from the tabernacle or temple (1Sa 20:5; 2Ki 4:23).
Jehoshaphat's mission of priests and Levites (2Ch 17:7-9) implies there was no provision for regular instruction except the septennial reading of the law at the feast of tabernacles (De 31:10-13). In Ps 74:4,8 (compare Jer 52:13,17, which shows that the psalm refers to the Chaldaean destruction of the sanctuary) the "congregations" and "synagogues "refer to the tabernacle or temple meeting place between God and His people; "mo'eed mo'adee" in the psalm is the same word as expresses "the tabernacle of congregation," or meeting between God and His people, in Ex 33:7, compare Ex 29:42-43. So in La 2:6, "He (the Lord) hath destroyed His places of assembly." But the other places of devotional meetings of the people besides the temple are probably included. So Ps 107:32, "the congregation of the people ... the assembly of the elders" (Ezr 3:1). The prophets' assemblies for psalmody and worship led the way (1Sa 9:12; 10:5; 19:20-24).
Synagogues in the strict and later sense are not mentioned until after the desecration of the temple by Antiochus Epiphanes. The want of the temple in the Babylonian captivity familiarized the exiles with the idea of spiritual worship independent of locality. The elders often met and sat before the prophet, Ezekiel to hear Jehovah's word (Eze 8:1; 11:15-16; 14:1; 20:1); in Eze 33:31 the people also sit before him to hear. Periodic meetings for hearing the law and the prophets read were customary thenceforth on the return (Ezr 8:15; Ne 8:2; 9:1; Zec 7:5; Ac 15:21). When the Jews could not afford to build a synagogue they built "an oratory" (proseuchee) by a running stream or the seashore (Ac 16:13). The synagogue was the means of rekindling the Jewish devotion and patriotism which shone so brightly in the Maccabean struggle with Antiochus.
The synagogue required no priest to minister; this and the reading of the Old Testament prepared the way for the gospel. Sometimes a wealthy Jew or a proselyte built the synagogue (Lu 7:5). The kibleh or "direction" was toward Jerusalem. The structure, though essentially different from the temple (for it had neither altar nor sacrifice), resembled in some degree that of the temple: the ark at the far end contained the law in both; the lid was called the kopereth or "mercy-seat"; a veil hung before it. Here were "the chief seats" sought by the Pharisees and the rich (Mt 23:6; Jas 2:2-3). In the middle was a raised platform on which several could be together, with a pulpit in the middle for the reader to stand in when reading and to sit when teaching. A low partition separated men on one side from women on the other. Besides the ark for "the law" (torah) there was a chest for the haphtaroth or "roll of the prophets". In the synagogue a college of elders was presided over by the chief or ruler of the synagogue (Lu 7:3; 8:41,49).
The elders were called parnasiym, "pastors," "shepherds" (Eph 4:11; 1Pe 5:1), ruling over the flock (1Ti 5:17; Heb 13:7); they with the ruler managed the affairs of the synagogue and had the power of excommunication. The officiating minister was delegate (sheliach, answering to the term apostle, "sent") of the congregation, the forerunner of "the angel (messenger sent) of the church" (Re 1:20; 2:1). The qualifications required were similar to those of a bishop or presbyter; he must be of full age, father of a family, apt to teach (1Ti 3:1-7; Tit 1:6-9). The chazzan or "minister" (Lu 4:16-20, where Christ by rising indicated that as a member of the synagogue at Nazareth. He desired to undertake the office of maptir or "reader of the lesson from the prophets", and was at once permitted owing to His fame) answered to our deacon or subdeacon; besides getting the building ready for service he acted as schoolmaster during the week.
There were also the ten batlaniym or "men of leisure", permanently making up a congregation (ten being the minimum (minyan "quoram") to constitute a congregation), that no single worshipper might be disappointed; also acting as alms collectors. Three were archisunagogai, "chiefs of the synagogue"; then also the "angel" or "bishop" who prayed publicly and caused the law to be read and sometimes preached; and three deacons for alms; the interpreter of the old Hebrew Testament, who paraphrased it; also the theological schoolmaster and his interpreter (Lightfoot, Horae. 4:70). The government of the church evidently came from the synagogue not from the Aaronic priesthood. So also did the worship; with the addition of the new doctrines, the gifts of the Spirit, and the supper of the Lord; fixed liturgical forms, creeds, as the shema, "Hear O Israel," etc. (De 6:4), and "prayers", the kadish, shemoneh 'esreh, berachoth; (compare brief creeds, 1Ti 3:16; 2Ti 1:13, the "Lord's prayer" (Luke 11), the "order" (1Co 14:40);) the teaching out of the law, which was read in a cycle, once through in three years.
The prophets were similarly read as second lessons; the exposition (derash) or "word of exhortation" followed (Ac 13:15; 15:21). The psalms were selected to suit "the special times"; "the times of prayer" (shacharit, minchah, 'arabit) were the "third", "sixth", and "ninth" hours (Ac 3:1; 10:3,9); so in Old Testament, Ps 55:17; Da 6:10. Clemens Alex. (Strom.) and Tertullian (Orat. 25) state the same in the church of the second century. Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday were the devotional days of the synagogue as of the church. The custom of ending the Saturday Sabbath with a feast formed the connecting link between the seventh day Jewish sabbath and the first day, Christian Lord's day and Lord's supper (1Co 11:20; Re 1:10).
Preparatory ablutions (Heb 10:22; Joh 13:1-15; Tertullian, Orat. 11), standing in prayer, not kneeling (Lu 18:11; Tertullian 23), the arms stretched out (Tertullian 13), the face toward the E. (Clemens Alex., Strom.), the Amen in responses (1Co 14:16), the leaping as if they would rise toward heaven in the Alexandrian church (Clemens Alex., Strom. 7:40) as the Jews at the tersanctus of Isaiah 6 (Vitringa 1100, Buxtorf 10), are all reproductions of synagogue customs. However the Hebrew in prayer wears the talith ("prayer shawl") drawn over his ears to the shoulders (a custom probably later than apostolic times), whereas the Christian man is bareheaded (1Co 11:4). The synagogue officers had judicial power to scourge, anathematize, and excommunicate (Mt 10:17; Mr 13:9; Lu 12:11; 21:12; Joh 12:42; 9:22): so the church (1Co 6:1-8; 16:22; Ga 1:8-9; 1Co 5:5; 1Ti 1:20; Mt 18:15-18); also to seize and send for trial before the Sanhedrin at Jerusalem (Ac 9:2; 22:5).
The Great Synagogue (Mr 7:3 "the elders"; Mt 5:21-27,33, "they of old time") is represented in the rabbinical book, Pirke Aboth ("The Sayings of the [Jewish] Fathers"), of the second century A.D., to have succeeded the prophets, and to have been succeeded by the scribes, Ezra presiding; among the members Joshua, the high priest Zerubbabel, Daniel, the three children Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Nehemiah, Mordecai; their aim being to restore the crown or glory of Israel, the name of God as great, mighty, and terrible (Da 9:4; Jer 32:18; De 7:21); so they completed the Old Testament canon, revising the text, introducing the vowel points which the Masorete editors have handed down to us, instituting "the feast" Purim, organizing the synagogue ritual. Their motto, preserved by Simon high-priest, was "set a hedge about the law." (See SCRIBES.)
The only Old Testament notice of anything like such a body is Ne 8:13, "chiefs of the fathers of all the people, the priests; and
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This will be a regular burnt offering throughout your generations at the entrance to the tent of meeting before the Lord, where I will meet you to speak with you. I will also meet with the Israelites there, and that place will be consecrated by My glory.
Now Moses took a tent and set it up outside the camp, far away from the camp; he called it the tent of meeting. Anyone who wanted to consult the Lord would go to the tent of meeting that was outside the camp.
"Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One.
Don't be terrified of them, for the Lord your God, a great and awesome God, is among you.
Moses commanded them, "At the end of [every] seven years, at the appointed time in the year of debt cancellation, during the Festival of Booths, when all Israel assembles in the presence of the Lord your God at the place He chooses, you are to read this law aloud before all Israel. read more. Gather the people-men, women, children, and foreigners living within your gates-so that they may listen and learn to fear the Lord your God and be careful to follow all the words of this law. Then their children who do not know [the law] will listen and learn to fear the Lord your God as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess."
The women answered, "Yes, he is ahead of you. Hurry, he just now came to the city, because there's a sacrifice for the people at the high place today.
"After that you will come to the Hill of God where there are Philistine garrisons. When you arrive at the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place prophesying. They will be preceded by harps, tambourines, flutes, and lyres.
Saul sent agents to seize David. However, when they saw the group of prophets prophesying with Samuel leading them, the Spirit of God came on Saul's agents, and they also started prophesying. When they reported to Saul, he sent other agents, and they also began prophesying. So Saul tried again and sent a third group of agents, and even they began prophesying. read more. Then Saul himself went to Ramah. He came to the large cistern at Secu, looked around, and asked, "Where are Samuel and David?" "At Naioth in Ramah," someone said. So he went to Naioth in Ramah. The Spirit of God also came on him, and as he walked along, he prophesied until he entered Naioth in Ramah. Saul then removed his clothes and also prophesied before Samuel; he collapsed [and lay] naked all that day and all that night. That is why they say, "Is Saul also among the prophets?"
So David told him, "Look, tomorrow is the New Moon, and I'm supposed to sit down and eat with the king. Instead, let me go, and I'll hide in the field until the third night.
In the third year of his reign, Jehoshaphat sent his officials-Ben-hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah-to teach in the cities of Judah. The Levites with them were Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tob-adonijah; the priests, Elishama and Jehoram, were with these Levites. read more. They taught throughout Judah, [having] the book of the Lord's instruction with them. They went throughout the towns of Judah and taught the people.
By the seventh month, the Israelites had settled in their towns, and the people gathered together in Jerusalem.
I gathered them at the river that flows to Ahava, and we camped there for three days. I searched among the people and priests, but found no Levites there.
On the first day of the seventh month, Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly of men, women, and all who could listen with understanding.
On the second day, the family leaders of all the people, along with the priests and Levites, assembled before Ezra the scribe to study the words of the law.
On the twenty-fourth day of this month the Israelites assembled; they were fasting, [wearing] sackcloth, [and had put] dust on their heads.
I complain and groan morning, noon, and night, and He hears my voice.
Your adversaries roared in the meeting place where You met with us. They set up their emblems as signs.
They said in their hearts, "Let us oppress them relentlessly." They burned down every place throughout the land where God met with us.
Let them exalt Him in the assembly of the people and praise Him in the council of the elders.
Stop bringing useless offerings. I despise [your] incense. New Moons and Sabbaths, and the calling of solemn assemblies- I cannot stand iniquity with a festival.
You show faithful love to thousands but lay the fathers' sins on their sons' laps after them, great and mighty God whose name is the Lord of Hosts,
He burned the Lord's temple, the king's palace, all the houses of Jerusalem, and all the houses of the nobles.
Now the Chaldeans broke into pieces the bronze pillars for the Lord's temple and the water carts and the bronze reservoir that were in the Lord's temple, and carried all the bronze to Babylon.
He has done violence to His temple as if [it were] a garden [booth], destroying His place of meeting. The Lord has abolished appointed festivals and Sabbaths in Zion. He has despised king and priest in His fierce anger.
In the sixth year, in the sixth [month], on the fifth [day] of the month, I was sitting in my house and the elders of Judah were sitting in front of me, and there the hand of the Lord God came down on me.
"Son of man, your own relatives, those who have the right to redeem you,and the entire house of Israel, all of them, are those the residents of Jerusalem have said this to: Stay away from the Lord; this land has been given to us as a possession. "Therefore say: This is what the Lord God says: Though I sent them far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries, yet for a little while I have been a sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone.
In the seventh year, in the fifth [month], on the tenth [day] of the month, some of Israel's elders came to consult the Lord, and they sat down in front of me.
So My people come to you in crowds, sit in front of you, and hear your words, but they don't obey them. Although they express love with their mouths, their hearts pursue unjust gain.
When Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went into his house. The windows in its upper room opened toward Jerusalem, and three times a day he got down on his knees, prayed, and gave thanks to his God, just as he had done before.
I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed: Ah, Lord-the great and awe-inspiring God who keeps His gracious covenant with those who love Him and keep His commandments-
"Ask all the people of the land and the priests: When you fasted and lamented in the fifth and in the seventh [months] for these 70 years, did you really fast for Me?
"You have heard that it was said to our ancestors, Do not murder , and whoever murders will be subject to judgment. But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. And whoever says to his brother, 'Fool!' will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But whoever says, 'You moron!' will be subject to hellfire. read more. So if you are offering your gift on the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Reach a settlement quickly with your adversary while you're on the way with him, or your adversary will hand you over to the judge, the judge to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison. I assure you: You will never get out of there until you have paid the last penny! / 64 of a daily wage "You have heard that it was said, Do not commit adultery.
"Again, you have heard that it was said to our ancestors, You must not break your oath, but you must keep your oaths to the Lord.
Because people will hand you over to sanhedrins and flog you in their synagogues, beware of them.
"If your brother sins against you, go and rebuke him in private. If he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he won't listen, take one or two more with you, so that by the testimony of two or three witnesses every fact may be established. read more. If he pays no attention to them, tell the church. But if he doesn't pay attention even to the church, let him be like an unbeliever and a tax collector to you. I assure you: Whatever you bind on earth is already bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth is already loosed in heaven.
They love the place of honor at banquets, the front seats in the synagogues,
(For the Pharisees, in fact all the Jews, will not eat unless they wash their hands ritually, keeping the tradition of the elders.
"But you, be on your guard! They will hand you over to sanhedrins, and you will be flogged in the synagogues. You will stand before governors and kings because of Me, as a witness to them.
He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. As usual, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to Him, and unrolling the scroll, He found the place where it was written: read more. The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to Him, requesting Him to come and save the life of his slave.
Just then, a man named Jairus came. He was a leader of the synagogue. He fell down at Jesus' feet and pleaded with Him to come to his house,
While He was still speaking, someone came from the synagogue leader's [house], saying, "Your daughter is dead. Don't bother the Teacher anymore."
Whenever they bring you before synagogues and rulers and authorities, don't worry about how you should defend yourselves or what you should say.
The Pharisee took his stand and was praying like this: 'God, I thank You that I'm not like other people -greedy, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you. They will hand you over to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of My name.
His parents said these things because they were afraid of the Jews, since the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed Him as Messiah, he would be banned from the synagogue.
Nevertheless, many did believe in Him even among the rulers, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, so they would not be banned from the synagogue.
Before the Passover Festival, Jesus knew that His hour had come to depart from this world to the Father. Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. Now by the time of supper, the Devil had already put it into the heart of Judas, Simon Iscariot's son, to betray Him. read more. Jesus knew that the Father had given everything into His hands, that He had come from God, and that He was going back to God. So He got up from supper, laid aside His robe, took a towel, and tied it around Himself. Next, He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples' feet and to dry them with the towel tied around Him. He came to Simon Peter, who asked Him, "Lord, are You going to wash my feet?" Jesus answered him, "What I'm doing you don't understand now, but afterwards you will know." "You will never wash my feet-ever!" Peter said. Jesus replied, "If I don't wash you, you have no part with Me." Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, not only my feet, but also my hands and my head." "One who has bathed," Jesus told him, "doesn't need to wash anything except his feet, but he is completely clean. You are clean, but not all of you." For He knew who would betray Him. This is why He said, "You are not all clean." When Jesus had washed their feet and put on His robe, He reclined again and said to them, "Do you know what I have done for you? You call Me Teacher and Lord. This is well said, for I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example that you also should do just as I have done for you.
Now Peter and John were going up together to the temple complex at the hour of prayer at three in the afternoon.
Then some from what is called the Freedmen's Synagogue, composed of both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, came forward and disputed with Stephen.
and requested letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, either men or women, he might bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem.
At about three in the afternoon he distinctly saw in a vision an angel of God who came in and said to him, "Cornelius!"
The next day, as they were traveling and nearing the city, Peter went up to pray on the housetop at about noon.
After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent [word] to them, saying, "Brothers, if you have any message of encouragement for the people, you can speak."
For since ancient times, Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, and he is read aloud in the synagogues every Sabbath day."
For since ancient times, Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, and he is read aloud in the synagogues every Sabbath day."
On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate by the river, where we thought there was a place of prayer. We sat down and spoke to the women gathered there.
as both the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. Having received letters from them to the brothers, I was traveling to Damascus to bring those who were prisoners there to be punished in Jerusalem.
Does any of you who has a complaint against someone dare go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest cases? read more. Do you not know that we will judge angels-not to speak of things pertaining to this life? So if you have cases pertaining to this life, do you select those who have no standing in the church to judge? I say this to your shame! Can it be that there is not one wise person among you who will be able to arbitrate between his brothers? Instead, brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers! Therefore, it is already a total defeat for you that you have lawsuits against one another. Why not rather put up with injustice? Why not rather be cheated? Instead, you act unjustly and cheat-and this to brothers!
Every man who prays or prophesies with something on his head dishonors his head.
Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not really to eat the Lord's Supper.
Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how will the uninformed person say "Amen" at your giving of thanks, since he does not know what you are saying?
But everything must be done decently and in order.
If anyone does not love the Lord, a curse be on him. Maranatha!
But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel other than what we have preached to you, a curse be on him! As we have said before, I now say again: if anyone preaches to you a gospel contrary to what you received, a curse be on him!
And He personally gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers,
This saying is trustworthy: "If anyone aspires to be an overseer, he desires a noble work." An overseer, therefore, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, self-controlled, sensible, respectable, hospitable, an able teacher, read more. not addicted to wine, not a bully but gentle, not quarrelsome, not greedy- one who manages his own household competently, having his children under control with all dignity. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of God's church?) He must not be a new convert, or he might become conceited and fall into the condemnation of the Devil. Furthermore, he must have a good reputation among outsiders, so that he does not fall into disgrace and the Devil's trap.
And most certainly, the mystery of godliness is great: He was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.
The elders who are good leaders should be considered worthy of an ample honorarium, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.
someone who is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of wildness or rebellion. For an overseer, as God's manager, must be blameless, not arrogant, not quick tempered, not addicted to wine, not a bully, not greedy for money, read more. but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, righteous, holy, self-controlled, holding to the faithful message as taught, so that he will be able both to encourage with sound teaching and to refute those who contradict it.
This testimony is true. So, rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith
let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, our hearts sprinkled [clean] from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water.
Remember your leaders who have spoken God's word to you. As you carefully observe the outcome of their lives, imitate their faith.
For suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring, dressed in fine clothes, and a poor man dressed in dirty clothes also comes in.
For suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring, dressed in fine clothes, and a poor man dressed in dirty clothes also comes in. If you look with favor on the man wearing the fine clothes so that you say, "Sit here in a good place," and yet you say to the poor man, "Stand over there," or, "Sit here on the floor by my footstool,"
I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet
The secret of the seven stars you saw in My right hand, and of the seven gold lampstands, is this: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
"To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: "The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand and who walks among the seven gold lampstands says:
I know your tribulation and poverty, yet you are rich. [I know] the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
Hastings
SYNAGOGUE
1. Meaning and history.
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The Lord bless you and protect you; the Lord make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you; read more. the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace.
The Lord said to Moses, "Speak to the Israelites and tell them that throughout their generations they are to make tassels for the corners of their garments, and put a blue cord on the tassel at [each] corner. read more. These will serve as tassels for you to look at, so that you may remember all the Lord's commands and obey them and not become unfaithful by following your own heart and your own eyes. This way you will remember and obey all My commands and be holy to your God. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God; I am the Lord your God."
"Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. read more. These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
"If you carefully obey My commands I am giving you today, to love the Lord your God and worship Him with all your heart and all your soul, I will provide rain for your land in season, the early and late rains, and you will harvest your grain, new wine, and oil. read more. I will provide grass in your fields for your livestock. You will eat and be satisfied. Be careful that you are not enticed to turn aside, worship, and bow down to other gods. Then the Lord's anger will burn against you. He will close the sky, and there will be no rain; the land will not yield its produce, and you will perish quickly from the good land the Lord is giving you. "Impress these words of Mine on your hearts and souls, bind them as a sign on your hands, and let them be a symbol on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, so that as long as the heavens are above the earth, your days and those of your children may be many in the land the Lord swore to give your fathers.
Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah, who were Levites, explained the law to the people as they stood in their places.
They said in their hearts, "Let us oppress them relentlessly." They burned down every place throughout the land where God met with us.
In the sixth year, in the sixth [month], on the fifth [day] of the month, I was sitting in my house and the elders of Judah were sitting in front of me, and there the hand of the Lord God came down on me.
In the seventh year, in the fifth [month], on the tenth [day] of the month, some of Israel's elders came to consult the Lord, and they sat down in front of me. Then the word of the Lord came to me: read more. "Son of man, speak with the elders of Israel and tell them: This is what the Lord God says: Are you coming to consult Me? As I live, I will not be consulted by you." [This is] the declaration of the Lord God .
For the Israelites must live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, and without ephod or household idols.
They will not stay in the land of the Lord. Instead, Ephraim will return to Egypt, and they will eat unclean food in Assyria.
Jesus was going all over Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.
Jesus was going all over Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.
So whenever you give to the poor, don't sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be applauded by people. I assure you: They've got their reward!
Because people will hand you over to sanhedrins and flog you in their synagogues, beware of them.
They do everything to be observed by others: They enlarge their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.
This is why I am sending you prophets, sages, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues and hound from town to town.
Then they went into Capernaum, and right away He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and began to teach.
One of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at His feet
When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard Him were astonished. "Where did this man get these things?" they said. "What is this wisdom given to Him, and how are these miracles performed by His hands?
He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. As usual, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to Him, and unrolling the scroll, He found the place where it was written: read more. The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
Just then, a man named Jairus came. He was a leader of the synagogue. He fell down at Jesus' feet and pleaded with Him to come to his house,
But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, responded by telling the crowd, "There are six days when work should be done; therefore come on those days and be healed and not on the Sabbath day."
Then the Jews said to one another, "Where does He intend to go so we won't find Him? He doesn't intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks, does He?
Then some from what is called the Freedmen's Synagogue, composed of both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, came forward and disputed with Stephen.
and requested letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, either men or women, he might bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem.
Arriving in Salamis, they proclaimed God's message in the Jewish synagogues. They also had John as their assistant.
After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent [word] to them, saying, "Brothers, if you have any message of encouragement for the people, you can speak."
After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent [word] to them, saying, "Brothers, if you have any message of encouragement for the people, you can speak."
For since ancient times, Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, and he is read aloud in the synagogues every Sabbath day."
On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate by the river, where we thought there was a place of prayer. We sat down and spoke to the women gathered there.
Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how will the uninformed person say "Amen" at your giving of thanks, since he does not know what you are saying?
James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ: To the 12 tribes in the Dispersion. Greetings.
I know your tribulation and poverty, yet you are rich. [I know] the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
Take note! I will make those from the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews and are not, but are lying-note this-I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and they will know that I have loved you.
Morish
This word occurs but once in the A.V. of the Old Testament, Ps 74:8, but the same Hebrew word (moed) is many times translated 'congregation.' Mr. Darby, and the R.V. margin translate in Ps 74:8 "places of assembly." The word ???????? occurs very often in the LXX, but as a translation of some twenty different Hebrew words: 'congregation' or 'gathering' is the main thought. As far as is known there were no buildings called synagogues in Old Testament times. It has been judged that they arose after the captivity, and may perhaps have been occasioned by a desire to perpetuate the work begun by the people calling upon Ezra to read to them the book of the law, when those who heard were deeply affected. Neh. 8, Neh. 9.
In the exploration of Palestine remains of buildings have been discovered, which are judged to have been synagogues. They are uniform in plan, and differ from the ruins of churches, temples, and mosques. In two of them an inscription in Hebrew was over the main entrance, one in connection with a seven-branched candlestick, and the other with figures of the paschal lamb. A plain rectangular building answered the purpose. They were often erected by general contributions, though at times by a rich Jew, or in some instances by a Gentile, as the one built by the centurion at Capernaum. Lu 7:5.
An ark was placed at one end, in which were deposited the sacred books. Near this was the place of honour, or the 'chief seats,' which some sought after, Mt 23:6, and Jas 2:2-3 (where the word translated 'assembly' is 'synagogue'). Nearer the centre of the building was a raised platform with a kind of desk or pulpit, where the reader stood. A screen separated the women from the men.
It is known that a portion of the law and of the prophets was read every Sabbath, and it is clear from Ac 13:15 that if any one was present who had a "word of exhortation for the people," the opportunity was given for its delivery. Prayers also were doubtless offered, but how far these resembled the modern Jewish ritual is not known. The Lord spoke of the hypocrites who loved to pray standing in the synagogues, where they also ostentatiously offered their alms. Mt 6:2,5.
It was the custom of the Lord to visit the synagogues, and in them He wrought some of His miracles and taught the people. Mt 4:23. In Luke 4 the Lord, in the synagogue at Nazareth, stood up to read, and there was handed to Him the book of the prophet Isaiah. After reading a portion which set forth His own attitude among them (stopping in the middle of a sentence), He sat down and spake "gracious words" to them. His exposition of the passage is not given except "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears." It is recorded that the people were in the habit of freely expressing their opinions respecting what was taught, and here they said, "Is not this Joseph's son?" In Ac 13:45 the Jews "spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming."
Paul also was permitted to speak in the synagogue at Damascus, when he showed the Jews that Jesus was the Son of God, Ac 9:20; and often afterwards he 'reasoned' or 'disputed' (??????????) with the Jews in their synagogues. Ac 18:4,19; 19:8.
It is important to see that everywhere in their own buildings a clear testimony was borne by the Lord Himself as to the significance of His appearance among them; and afterwards by Paul and others to the work He had accomplished by His death and resurrection for them
See Verses Found in Dictionary
They said in their hearts, "Let us oppress them relentlessly." They burned down every place throughout the land where God met with us.
They said in their hearts, "Let us oppress them relentlessly." They burned down every place throughout the land where God met with us.
Jesus was going all over Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.
So whenever you give to the poor, don't sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be applauded by people. I assure you: They've got their reward!
"Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by people. I assure you: They've got their reward!
Because people will hand you over to sanhedrins and flog you in their synagogues, beware of them.
They love the place of honor at banquets, the front seats in the synagogues,
One of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at His feet
While He was still speaking, people came from the synagogue leader's house and said, "Your daughter is dead. Why bother the Teacher any more?" But when Jesus overheard what was said, He told the synagogue leader, "Don't be afraid. Only believe."
They came to the leader's house, and He saw a commotion-people weeping and wailing loudly.
He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to Him, requesting Him to come and save the life of his slave.
While He was still speaking, someone came from the synagogue leader's [house], saying, "Your daughter is dead. Don't bother the Teacher anymore."
But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, responded by telling the crowd, "There are six days when work should be done; therefore come on those days and be healed and not on the Sabbath day."
His parents said these things because they were afraid of the Jews, since the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed Him as Messiah, he would be banned from the synagogue.
"You were born entirely in sin," they replied, "and are you trying to teach us?" Then they threw him out. When Jesus heard that they had thrown the man out, He found him and asked, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" read more. "Who is He, Sir, that I may believe in Him?" he asked. Jesus answered, "You have seen Him; in fact, He is the One speaking with you." "I believe, Lord!" he said, and he worshiped Him.
Nevertheless, many did believe in Him even among the rulers, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, so they would not be banned from the synagogue. For they loved praise from men more than praise from God.
They will ban you from the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering service to God.
So Pilate told them, "Take Him yourselves and judge Him according to your law." "It's not legal for us to put anyone to death," the Jews declared.
Immediately he began proclaiming Jesus in the synagogues: "He is the Son of God."
After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent [word] to them, saying, "Brothers, if you have any message of encouragement for the people, you can speak."
After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent [word] to them, saying, "Brothers, if you have any message of encouragement for the people, you can speak."
But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to oppose what Paul was saying by insulting him.
He reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath and tried to persuade both Jews and Greeks.
Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed the Lord, along with his whole household; and many of the Corinthians, when they heard, believed and were baptized.
Then they all seized Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the judge's bench. But none of these things concerned Gallio.
When they reached Ephesus he left them there, but he himself entered the synagogue and engaged in discussion with the Jews.
Then he entered the synagogue and spoke boldly over a period of three months, engaging in discussion and trying to persuade them about the things related to the kingdom of God.
"But I said, 'Lord, they know that in synagogue after synagogue I had those who believed in You imprisoned and beaten.
Five times I received from the Jews 40 lashes minus one.
For suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring, dressed in fine clothes, and a poor man dressed in dirty clothes also comes in. If you look with favor on the man wearing the fine clothes so that you say, "Sit here in a good place," and yet you say to the poor man, "Stand over there," or, "Sit here on the floor by my footstool,"
I know your tribulation and poverty, yet you are rich. [I know] the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
Take note! I will make those from the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews and are not, but are lying-note this-I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and they will know that I have loved you.
Smith
Synagogue.
1. History. --The word synagogue (sunagoge), which means a "congregation," is used in the New Testament to signify a recognized place of worship. A knowledge of the history and worship of the synagogues is of great importance, since they are the characteristic institution of the later phase of Judaism. They appear to have arisen during the exile, in the abeyance of the temple-worship, and to have received their full development on the return of the Jews from captivity. The whole history of Ezra presupposes the habit of solemn, probably of periodic, meetings.
Ezr 8:15; Ne 8:2; 9:1; Zec 7:5
After the Maccabaean struggle for independence, we find almost every town or village had its one or more synagogues. Where the Jews were not in sufficient numbers to be able to erect and fill a building, there was the proseucha (proseuche), or place of prayer, sometimes open, sometimes covered in, commonly by a running stream or on the seashore, in which devout Jews and proselytes met to worship, and perhaps to read.
Juven. Sat. iii. 296. It is hardly possible to overestimate the influence of the system thus developed. To it we may ascribe the tenacity with which, after the Maccabaean struggle, the Jews adhered to the religion of their fathers, and never again relapsed into idolatry.
2. Structure. --The size of a synagogue varied with the population. Its position was, however, determinate. If stood, if possible, on the highest ground, in or near the city to which it belonged. And its direction too was fixed. Jerusalem was the Kibleh of Jewish devotion. The synagogue was so constructed that the worshippers, as they entered and as they prayed, looked toward it. The building was commonly erected at the cost of the district. Sometimes it was built by a rich Jew, or even, as in
Lu 7:5
by a friend or proselyte. In the internal arrangement of the synagogue we trace an obvious analogy to the type of the tabernacle. At the upper or Jerusalem end stood the ark, the chest which, like the older and more sacred ark contained the Book of the Law. It gave to that end the name and character of a sanctuary. This part of the synagogue was naturally the place of honor. Here were the "chief seats," for which Pharisees and scribes strove so eagerly,
and to which the wealthy and honored worshipper was invited.
Here too, in front of the ark, still reproducing the type of the tabernacle, was the eight-branched lamp, lighted only on the greater festivals. Besides this there was one lamp kept burning perpetually. More toward the middle of the building was a raised platform, on which several persons could stand at once, and in the middle of this rose a pulpit, in which the reader stood to read the lesson or sat down to teach. The congregation were divided, men on one side, women on the other a low partition, five or six feet high, running between them. The arrangements of modern synagogues, for many centuries, have made the separation more complete by placing the women in low side-galleries, screened off a lattice-work.
3. Officers. --In smaller towns there was often but one rabbi. Where a fuller organization was possible, there was a college of elders,
Lu 7:3
presided over by one who was "the chief of the synagogue."
The most prominent functionary in a large synagogue was known as the sheliach (= legatus), the officiating minister who acted as the delegate of the congregation and was therefore the chief reader of prayers, etc.., in their name. The chazzan or "minister" of the synagogue,
Lu 4:20
had duties of a lower kind, resembling those of the Christian deacon or sub-deacon. He was to open the doors and to prepare the building for service. Besides these there were ten men attached to every synagogue, known as the ballanim, (--otiosi). They were supposed to be men of leisure not obliged to labor for their livelihood able therefore to attend the week-day as well as the Sabbath services. The legatus of the synagogues appears in the angel,
perhaps also in the apostle of the Christian Church.
4. Worship. --It will be enough, in this place, to notice in what way the ritual, no less than the organization, was connected with the facts of the New Testament history, and with the life and order of the Christian Church. From the synagogue came the use of fixed forms of prayer. To that the first disciples had been accustomed from their youth. They had asked their Master to give them a distinctive one, and he had complied with their request,
Lu 11:1
as the Baptist had done before for his disciples, as every rabbi did for his. "Moses" was "read in the synagogues every Sabbath day,"
the whole law being read consecutively, so as to be completed, according to one cycle, in three years. The writings of the prophets were read as second lessons in a corresponding order. They were followed by the derash
the exposition, the sermon of the synagogue. The conformity extends also to the times of prayer. In the hours of service this was obviously the case. The third, sixth and ninth hours were in the times of the New Testament,
and had been probably for some time before,
the fixed times of devotion. The same hours, it is well known, were recognized in the Church of the second century, probably in that of the first also. The solemn days of the synagogue were the second, the fifth and the seventh, the last or Sabbath being the conclusion of the whole. The transfer of the sanctity of the Sabbath to the Lord's day involved a corresponding change in the order of the week, and the first, the fourth the sixth became to the Christian society what the other days had been to the Jewish. From the synagogue, lastly, come many less conspicuous practices, which meet us in the liturgical life of the first three centuries: Ablution, entire or partial, before entering the place of meeting,
Joh 13:1-15; Heb 10:22
standing, and not kneeling, as the attitude of prayer,
Lu 18:11
the arms stretched out; the face turned toward the Kibleh of the east; the responsive amen of the congregation to the prayers and benedictions of the elders.
5. Judicial functions. --The language of the New Testament shows that the officers of the synagogue exercised in certain cases a judicial power. If is not quite so easy, however to define the nature of the tribunal and the precise limits of its jurisdiction. In two of the passages referred to--
they are carefully distinguished from the councils. it seems probable that the council was the larger tribunal of twenty-three, which sat in every city, and that under the term synagogue We are to understand a smaller court, probably that of the ten judges mentioned in the Talmud. Here also We trace the outline of a Christian institution. the Church, Either by itself or by appointed delegates, was to act as a court of arbitration in all disputes its members. the elders of the Church were not however to descend to the trivial disputes of daily life. for the elders, as for those of the synagogue, were reserved the graver offences against religion and morals.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
I gathered them at the river that flows to Ahava, and we camped there for three days. I searched among the people and priests, but found no Levites there.
On the first day of the seventh month, Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly of men, women, and all who could listen with understanding.
On the twenty-fourth day of this month the Israelites assembled; they were fasting, [wearing] sackcloth, [and had put] dust on their heads.
I complain and groan morning, noon, and night, and He hears my voice.
When Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went into his house. The windows in its upper room opened toward Jerusalem, and three times a day he got down on his knees, prayed, and gave thanks to his God, just as he had done before.
"Ask all the people of the land and the priests: When you fasted and lamented in the fifth and in the seventh [months] for these 70 years, did you really fast for Me?
Because people will hand you over to sanhedrins and flog you in their synagogues, beware of them.
They love the place of honor at banquets, the front seats in the synagogues,
"But you, be on your guard! They will hand you over to sanhedrins, and you will be flogged in the synagogues. You will stand before governors and kings because of Me, as a witness to them.
He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to Him, requesting Him to come and save the life of his slave.
Just then, a man named Jairus came. He was a leader of the synagogue. He fell down at Jesus' feet and pleaded with Him to come to his house,
While He was still speaking, someone came from the synagogue leader's [house], saying, "Your daughter is dead. Don't bother the Teacher anymore."
He was praying in a certain place, and when He finished, one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples."
But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, responded by telling the crowd, "There are six days when work should be done; therefore come on those days and be healed and not on the Sabbath day."
The Pharisee took his stand and was praying like this: 'God, I thank You that I'm not like other people -greedy, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
Before the Passover Festival, Jesus knew that His hour had come to depart from this world to the Father. Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. Now by the time of supper, the Devil had already put it into the heart of Judas, Simon Iscariot's son, to betray Him. read more. Jesus knew that the Father had given everything into His hands, that He had come from God, and that He was going back to God. So He got up from supper, laid aside His robe, took a towel, and tied it around Himself. Next, He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples' feet and to dry them with the towel tied around Him. He came to Simon Peter, who asked Him, "Lord, are You going to wash my feet?" Jesus answered him, "What I'm doing you don't understand now, but afterwards you will know." "You will never wash my feet-ever!" Peter said. Jesus replied, "If I don't wash you, you have no part with Me." Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, not only my feet, but also my hands and my head." "One who has bathed," Jesus told him, "doesn't need to wash anything except his feet, but he is completely clean. You are clean, but not all of you." For He knew who would betray Him. This is why He said, "You are not all clean." When Jesus had washed their feet and put on His robe, He reclined again and said to them, "Do you know what I have done for you? You call Me Teacher and Lord. This is well said, for I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example that you also should do just as I have done for you.
Now Peter and John were going up together to the temple complex at the hour of prayer at three in the afternoon.
At about three in the afternoon he distinctly saw in a vision an angel of God who came in and said to him, "Cornelius!"
The next day, as they were traveling and nearing the city, Peter went up to pray on the housetop at about noon.
After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent [word] to them, saying, "Brothers, if you have any message of encouragement for the people, you can speak."
For since ancient times, Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, and he is read aloud in the synagogues every Sabbath day."
On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate by the river, where we thought there was a place of prayer. We sat down and spoke to the women gathered there.
Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed the Lord, along with his whole household; and many of the Corinthians, when they heard, believed and were baptized.
Then they all seized Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the judge's bench. But none of these things concerned Gallio.
Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how will the uninformed person say "Amen" at your giving of thanks, since he does not know what you are saying?
let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, our hearts sprinkled [clean] from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water.
For suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring, dressed in fine clothes, and a poor man dressed in dirty clothes also comes in. If you look with favor on the man wearing the fine clothes so that you say, "Sit here in a good place," and yet you say to the poor man, "Stand over there," or, "Sit here on the floor by my footstool,"
Watsons
SYNAGOGUE, ????????, "an assembly," Re 2:9; 3:9. The word often occurs in the Gospels and in the Acts, because Jesus Christ and his Apostles generally went to preach in those places. Although the sacrifices could not be offered, except in the tabernacle or the temple, the other exercises of religion were restricted to no particular place. Accordingly we find that the praises of God were sung, at a very ancient period, in the schools of the prophets; and those who felt any particular interest in religion, were assembled by the seers on the Sabbath, and the new moons, for prayers and religious instruction, 1Sa 10:5-11; 19:18-24; 2Ki 4:23. During the Babylonish captivity, the Jews, who were then deprived of their customary religious privileges, were wont to collect around some prophet or other pious man, who taught them and their children in religion, exhorted to good conduct, and read out of the sacred books, Eze 14:1; 20:1; Da 6:11; Ne 8:18. These assemblies, or meetings, became, in progress of time, fixed to certain places, and a regular order was observed in them. Such appears to have been the origin of synagogues. In speaking of synagogues, it is worthy to be noticed, that there is nothing said in respect to the existence of such buildings in Palestine, during the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes. They are, therefore, by some supposed to have been first erected under the Maccabean princes, but that, in foreign countries, they were much more ancient. Whether this statement be correct or not, it is nevertheless certain, that in the time of the Apostles, there were synagogues wherever there were Jews. They were built, in imitation of the temple of Jerusalem, with a court and porches, as is the case with the synagogues in the east at the present day. In the centre of the court is a chapel, supported by four columns, in which, on an elevation prepared for it, is placed the book of the law, rolled up. This, on the appointed days, is publicly read. In addition to the chapel, there is erected within the court a large covered hall or vestry, into which the people retire, when the weather happens to be cold and stormy, and each family has its particular seat. The uppermost seats in the synagogue, that is, those which were nearest the chapel where the sacred books were kept, were esteemed peculiarly honourable, Mt 23:6; Jas 2:3. The "proseuchae," ?????????, are understood by some to be smaller synagogues, but by others are supposed to be particular places under the open sky, where the Jews assembled for religious exercise. But Josephus calls the proseucha of Tiberias a large house, which held very many persons. See Proseuchae. The Apostles preached the Gospel in synagogues and proseuchae, and with their adherents performed in them all the religious services. When excluded, they imitated the Jews in those places, where they were too poor to erect these buildings, and held their religious meetings in the houses of individuals. Hence we not only hear of synagogues in houses in the Talmud, but of churches in houses in the New Testament, Ro 16:5; 1Co 16:19; Col 4:15; Php 2; Ac 3:26; 5:42. The Apostles sometimes hired a house, in which they performed religious services, and taught daily, Ac 19:9; 20:8. ???????? means literally a convention or assembly, but by metonymy, was eventually used for the place of assembling; in the same way that ????????, which means literally a calling together, or convocation, signifies also at the present time the place of convocation. Synagogues were sometimes called by the Jews schools; but they were careful to make an accurate distinction between such, and the schools, properly so called, the ??????, or "sublimer schools," in which the Talmud was read, while the law merely was read in the synagogues, which they placed far behind the Talmud.
The mode of conducting religious instruction and worship in the primitive Christian churches, was derived for the most part from the practice which anciently prevailed in synagogues. But there were no regular teachers in the synagogues, who were officially qualified to pronounce discourses before the people; although there were interpreters who rendered into the vernacular tongue, namely, the Hebraeo-aramean, the sections, which had been publicly read in the Hebrew.
The "synagogue preacher," ????, whose business it is, in consequence of his office, to address the people, is an official personage that has been introduced in later times; at least we find no mention of such a one in the New Testament. On the contrary, in the time of Christ, the person who read the section for the Sabbath, or any other person who was respectable for learning and had a readiness of speech, addressed the people, Lu 4:16-21; Ac 13:5,15; 15:21; Mt 4:23.
The other persons who were employed in the services and government of the synagogue, in addition to the one who read the Scriptures, and the person who rendered them into the vernacular tongue, were as follows:
1. "The ruler of the synagogue," ?????????????, ??? ?????, who presided over the assembly, and invited readers and speakers, unless some persons who were acceptable voluntarily offered themselves, Mr 5:22,35-38; Lu 8:41; 13:14-15; Ac 13:15.
2. "The elders of the synagogue," ?????, ???????????. They appear to have been the counsellors of the head or ruler of the synagogue, and were chosen from among the most powerful and learned of the people, and are hence called ?????????????, Ac 13:15. The council of elders not only took a part in the management of the internal concerns of the synagogue, but also punished transgressors of the public laws, either by turning them out of the synagogue, or decreeing the punishment of thirty- nine stripes, Joh 12:42; 16:2; 2Co 11:24.
3. "The collectors of alms," ???? ????, ????????, "deacons." Although every thing which is said of them by the Jews was not true concerning them in the time of the Apostles, there can be no doubt that there were such officers in the synagogues at that time, Acts 6.
4. "The servants of the synagogue," ???, ????????, Lu 4:20; whose business it was to reach the book of the law to the person who was to read it, and to receive it back again, and to perform other services. The ceremonies which prevail in the synagogues at the present day in presenting the law were not observed in the time of our Saviour.
5. "The messenger or legate of the synagogue," ???? ????. This was a person who was sent from synagogues abroad, to carry alms to Jerusalem. The name, messenger of the synagogue, was applied likewise to any person, who was commissioned by a synagogue, and sent forth to propagate religious knowledge. A person likewise was denominated the messenger, or angel, ????????, ??? ???????? ?????????, &c, who was selected by the assembly to recite for them the prayers; the same that is called by the Jews of modern times the synagogue singer, or cantilator, Re 2:1,8,12,18; 3:1,7,14.
The Jews anciently called those persons who, from their superior erudition, were capable of teaching in the synagogue, ??????, "shepherds," or "pastors." They applied the same term, at least in more recent times, to the elders of the synagogue, and also to the collectors of alms, or deacons. The ground of the application of this term in such a way, is as follows: the word ???? is, without doubt, derived from the Greek word ??????, "bread," or "a fragment of bread;" and, as it is used in the Targums, it corresponds to the Hebrew verb ???, "to feed." It is easy to see, therefore, how the word ???? might be applied to persons who sustained offices in the synagogue, in the same way as ??? is applied to kings, &c.
We do not find mention made of public worship in the synagogues, except on the Sabbath, Mt 12:9; Mr 1:21; 3:1; 6:2; Lu 4:16,32-33; 6:6; 13:10; Ac 13:14; 15:21; 16:13-25; 17:2; 18:4. What is said of St. Paul's hiring the school of one Tyrannus at Ephesus, and teaching in it daily, is a peculiar instance, Ac 19:9-10. Yet there can be no doubt that those Jews who were unable to go to Jerusalem attended worship on their festival days, as well as on the Sabbath, in their own synagogues. Individuals sometimes offered their private prayers in the
See Verses Found in Dictionary
"After that you will come to the Hill of God where there are Philistine garrisons. When you arrive at the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place prophesying. They will be preceded by harps, tambourines, flutes, and lyres. The Spirit of the Lord will control you, you will prophesy with them, and you will be transformed into a different person. read more. When these signs have happened to you, do whatever your circumstances require because God is with you. Afterwards, go ahead of me to Gilgal. I will come to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice fellowship offerings. Wait seven days until I come to you and show you what to do." When Saul turned around to leave Samuel, God changed his heart, and all the signs came about that day. When Saul and his attendant arrived at Gibeah, a group of prophets met him. Then the Spirit of God took control of him, and he prophesied along with them. Everyone who knew him previously and saw him prophesy with the prophets asked each other, "What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?"
So David fled and escaped and went to Samuel at Ramah and told him everything Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel left and stayed at Naioth. When it was reported to Saul that David was at Naioth in Ramah, read more. Saul sent agents to seize David. However, when they saw the group of prophets prophesying with Samuel leading them, the Spirit of God came on Saul's agents, and they also started prophesying. When they reported to Saul, he sent other agents, and they also began prophesying. So Saul tried again and sent a third group of agents, and even they began prophesying. Then Saul himself went to Ramah. He came to the large cistern at Secu, looked around, and asked, "Where are Samuel and David?" "At Naioth in Ramah," someone said. So he went to Naioth in Ramah. The Spirit of God also came on him, and as he walked along, he prophesied until he entered Naioth in Ramah. Saul then removed his clothes and also prophesied before Samuel; he collapsed [and lay] naked all that day and all that night. That is why they say, "Is Saul also among the prophets?"
Ezra read out of the book of the law of God every day, from the first day to the last. The Israelites celebrated the feast for seven days, and on the eighth day there was an assembly, according to the ordinance.
In the seventh year, in the fifth [month], on the tenth [day] of the month, some of Israel's elders came to consult the Lord, and they sat down in front of me.
Then these men went as a group and found Daniel petitioning and imploring his God.
Jesus was going all over Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.
They love the place of honor at banquets, the front seats in the synagogues,
Then they went into Capernaum, and right away He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and began to teach.
Now He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a paralyzed hand.
One of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at His feet
While He was still speaking, people came from the synagogue leader's house and said, "Your daughter is dead. Why bother the Teacher any more?" But when Jesus overheard what was said, He told the synagogue leader, "Don't be afraid. Only believe." read more. He did not let anyone accompany Him except Peter, James, and John, James' brother. They came to the leader's house, and He saw a commotion-people weeping and wailing loudly.
When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard Him were astonished. "Where did this man get these things?" they said. "What is this wisdom given to Him, and how are these miracles performed by His hands?
He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. As usual, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read.
He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. As usual, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read.
He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. As usual, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read.
He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. As usual, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read.
He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. As usual, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read.
He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. As usual, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to Him, and unrolling the scroll, He found the place where it was written:
The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to Him, and unrolling the scroll, He found the place where it was written: The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, read more. to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him. He began by saying to them, "Today as you listen, this Scripture has been fulfilled."
They were astonished at His teaching because His message had authority. In the synagogue there was a man with an unclean demonic spirit who cried out with a loud voice,
On another Sabbath He entered the synagogue and was teaching. A man was there whose right hand was paralyzed.
Just then, a man named Jairus came. He was a leader of the synagogue. He fell down at Jesus' feet and pleaded with Him to come to his house,
But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, responded by telling the crowd, "There are six days when work should be done; therefore come on those days and be healed and not on the Sabbath day." But the Lord answered him and said, "Hypocrites! Doesn't each one of you untie his ox or donkey from the feeding trough on the Sabbath and lead it to water?
Nevertheless, many did believe in Him even among the rulers, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, so they would not be banned from the synagogue.
They will ban you from the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering service to God.
And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayers.
God raised up His Servant and sent Him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your evil ways."
Every day in the temple complex, and in various homes, they continued teaching and proclaiming the good news that the Messiah is Jesus.
Then some from what is called the Freedmen's Synagogue, composed of both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, came forward and disputed with Stephen.
Arriving in Salamis, they proclaimed God's message in the Jewish synagogues. They also had John as their assistant.
They continued their journey from Perga and reached Antioch in Pisidia. On the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent [word] to them, saying, "Brothers, if you have any message of encouragement for the people, you can speak."
After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent [word] to them, saying, "Brothers, if you have any message of encouragement for the people, you can speak."
After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent [word] to them, saying, "Brothers, if you have any message of encouragement for the people, you can speak."
After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent [word] to them, saying, "Brothers, if you have any message of encouragement for the people, you can speak."
After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent [word] to them, saying, "Brothers, if you have any message of encouragement for the people, you can speak."
For since ancient times, Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, and he is read aloud in the synagogues every Sabbath day."
For since ancient times, Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, and he is read aloud in the synagogues every Sabbath day."
When they read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement.
On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate by the river, where we thought there was a place of prayer. We sat down and spoke to the women gathered there. A woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God, was listening. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was spoken by Paul. read more. After she and her household were baptized, she urged us, "If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house." And she persuaded us. Once, as we were on our way to prayer, a slave girl met us who had a spirit of prediction and made a large profit for her owners by fortune-telling. As she followed Paul and us she cried out, "These men are the slaves of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation." And she did this for many days. But Paul was greatly aggravated, and turning to the spirit, said, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!" And it came out right away. When her owners saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities. And bringing them before the chief magistrates, they said, "These men are seriously disturbing our city. They are Jews, and are promoting customs that are not legal for us as Romans to adopt or practice." Then the mob joined in the attack against them, and the chief magistrates stripped off their clothes and ordered them to be beaten with rods. After they had inflicted many blows on them, they threw them in jail, ordering the jailer to keep them securely guarded. Receiving such an order, he put them into the inner prison and secured their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.
As usual, Paul went to them, and on three Sabbath days reasoned with them from the Scriptures,
He reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath and tried to persuade both Jews and Greeks.
But when some became hardened and would not believe, slandering the Way in front of the crowd, he withdrew from them and met separately with the disciples, conducting discussions every day in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.
But when some became hardened and would not believe, slandering the Way in front of the crowd, he withdrew from them and met separately with the disciples, conducting discussions every day in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. And this went on for two years, so that all the inhabitants of the province of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord.
On the first day of the week, we assembled to break bread. Paul spoke to them, and since he was about to depart the next day, he extended his message until midnight.
On the first day of the week, we assembled to break bread. Paul spoke to them, and since he was about to depart the next day, he extended his message until midnight. There were many lamps in the room upstairs where we were assembled,
There were many lamps in the room upstairs where we were assembled, and a young man named Eutychus was sitting on a window sill and sank into a deep sleep as Paul kept on speaking. When he was overcome by sleep he fell down from the third story, and was picked up dead.
and a young man named Eutychus was sitting on a window sill and sank into a deep sleep as Paul kept on speaking. When he was overcome by sleep he fell down from the third story, and was picked up dead. But Paul went down, threw himself on him, embraced him, and said, "Don't be alarmed, for his life is in him!"
But Paul went down, threw himself on him, embraced him, and said, "Don't be alarmed, for his life is in him!" After going upstairs, breaking the bread, and eating, he conversed a considerable time until dawn. Then he left.
After going upstairs, breaking the bread, and eating, he conversed a considerable time until dawn. Then he left.
Greet also the church that meets in their home. Greet my dear friend Epaenetus, who is the first convert to Christ from Asia.
But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since that is one and the same as having her head shaved.
However, in the Lord, woman is not independent of man, and man is not independent of woman. For just as woman came from man, so man comes through woman, and all things come from God. read more. Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair it is a disgrace to him, but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her as a covering. But if anyone wants to argue about this, we have no other custom, nor do the churches of God.
Pursue love and desire spiritual gifts, and above all that you may prophesy. For the person who speaks in [another] language is not speaking to men but to God, since no one understands him; however, he speaks mysteries in the Spirit. read more. But the person who prophesies speaks to people for edification, encouragement, and consolation. The person who speaks in [another] language builds himself up, but he who prophesies builds up the church. I wish all of you spoke in other languages, but even more that you prophesied. The person who prophesies is greater than the person who speaks in languages, unless he interprets so that the church may be built up. But now, brothers, if I come to you speaking in [other] languages, how will I benefit you unless I speak to you with a revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching? Even inanimate things producing sounds-whether flute or harp-if they don't make a distinction in the notes, how will what is played on the flute or harp be recognized? In fact, if the trumpet makes an unclear sound, who will prepare for battle? In the same way, unless you use your tongue for intelligible speech, how will what is spoken be known? For you will be speaking into the air. There are doubtless many different kinds of languages in the world, and all have meaning. Therefore, if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be a foreigner = in Eng a barbarian. To a Gk, a barbaros was anyone who did not speak Gk. to the speaker, and the speaker will be a foreigner to me. So also you-since you are zealous in matters of the spirit, seek to excel in building up the church. Therefore the person who speaks in [another] language should pray that he can interpret. For if I pray in [another] language, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. What then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with my understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with my understanding. Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how will the uninformed person say "Amen" at your giving of thanks, since he does not know what you are saying? For you may very well be giving thanks, but the other person is not being built up. I thank God that I speak in [other] languages more than all of you; yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, in order to teach others also, than 10,000 words in [another] language. Brothers, don't be childish in your thinking, but be infants in evil and adult in your thinking. It is written in the law: By people of other languages and by the lips of foreigners, I will speak to this people; and even then, they will not listen to Me, says the Lord. It follows that speaking in other languages is intended as a sign, not to believers but to unbelievers. But prophecy is not for unbelievers but for believers. Therefore if the whole church assembles together, and all are speaking in [other] languages, and people who are uninformed or unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your minds? But if all are prophesying, and some unbeliever or uninformed person comes in, he is convicted by all and is judged by all. The secrets of his heart will be revealed, and as a result he will fall down on his face and worship God, proclaiming, "God is really among you." How is it then, brothers? Whenever you come together, each one has a psalm, a teaching, a revelation, [another] language, or an interpretation. All things must be done for edification. If any person speaks in [another] language, there should be only two, or at the most three, each in turn, and someone must interpret. But if there is no interpreter, that person should keep silent in the church and speak to himself and to God. Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should evaluate. But if something has been revealed to another person sitting there, the first prophet should be silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, so that everyone may learn and everyone may be encouraged. And the prophets' spirits are under the control of the prophets, since God is not a God of disorder but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints, the women should be silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak, but should be submissive, as the law also says. And if they want to learn something, they should ask their own husbands at home, for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church meeting. Did the word of God originate from you, or did it come to you only? If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, he should recognize that what I write to you is the Lord's command. But if anyone ignores this, he will be ignored. Therefore, my brothers, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in [other] languages. But everything must be done decently and in order.
However, to this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts,
Give my greetings to the brothers in Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house.
If you look with favor on the man wearing the fine clothes so that you say, "Sit here in a good place," and yet you say to the poor man, "Stand over there," or, "Sit here on the floor by my footstool,"
"To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: "The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand and who walks among the seven gold lampstands says:
"To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: "The First and the Last, the One who was dead and came to life, says: I know your tribulation and poverty, yet you are rich. [I know] the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
"To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: "The One who has the sharp, two-edged sword says:
"To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: "The Son of God, the One whose eyes are like a fiery flame, and whose feet are like fine bronze says:
"To the angel of the church in Sardis write: "The One who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars says: I know your works; you have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead.
"To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: "The Holy One, the True One, the One who has the key of David, who opens and no one will close, and closes and no one opens says:
Take note! I will make those from the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews and are not, but are lying-note this-I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and they will know that I have loved you.
"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: "The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Originator of God's creation says: