The Theodotus synagogue inscription
Synagogues used for scripture reading and teaching, and hosting travellers, existed in first-century Jerusalem — the institutional setting the Gospels and Acts take for granted.
Confirmed by the groundInscriptionbefore AD 70
A dedication stone from a synagogue in Jerusalem, built by Theodotus for the reading of the Law and the teaching of the commandments, with lodgings for visitors from abroad. It shows a functioning synagogue with exactly the purpose the Gospels assume — in Jerusalem, before the city's destruction.
Theodotus, son of Vettenus, priest and synagogue leader… built the synagogue for the reading of the Law and the teaching of the commandments, and the guest-house and the rooms and the water installations, for the lodging of those from abroad who need it.
- Found
- City of David, Jerusalem, 1913 — Raymond Weill's excavation
- Now held at
- Israel Museum, Jerusalem
- Language
- Greek
How far it goes
The pre-70 dating is the mainstream view, though a minority has argued for a later date.
How historians use it
Central evidence in the secular debate over the origins of the synagogue as an institution.
In Scripture
Connects to
Sources
- Theodotus inscription — overview and bibliography
- Levine, The Ancient Synagogue: The First Thousand Years, 2nd ed. (2005)
These summaries are written in English for now. Translations follow.