Anim Synagogue, a drive away northwest of Arad, was an ancient synagogue in use during the 4th–7th centuries CE. The site is recognized as a

National Heritage Site A national heritage site is a heritage site having a value that has been registered by a governmental agency as being of national importance to the cultural heritage or history of that country. Usually such sites are listed in a heritage regist ...

of Israel. It is located in the

Yatir Forest Yatir Forest ( he, יער יתיר) is a forest in Israel on the edge of the Negev Desert. The forest covers an area of 30,000 dunams (), and is the largest planted forest in Israel. History The first trees were planted in 1964 by the Jewish ...

, immediately south of the Green Line, in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

History

The synagogue is located at an ancient site identified with the Anim mentioned in the Bible (). It is also believed to be the site of the large Jewish village of Anaya () during the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantin ...

period.

Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christ ...

mentions the same village in his ''

Onomasticon Onomasticon may refer to: *Onomasticon (Eusebius) *Onomasticon of Amenope *Onomasticon of Joan Coromines *Onomasticon of Julius Pollux *Onomasticon of Johann Glandorp *''Onomasticon Anglo-Saxonicum'' (1897), or Searle's Onomasticon, by William Geor ...

'' as being one of two villages in his day, located south of

Hebron Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a State of Palestine, Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies Above mean sea level, above sea level. The second-lar ...

, and bearing the same name., s.v. One of the two villages, he writes, had a settlement of Jews, while the other, of Christians. The synagogue was discovered during an excavation conducted in 1987. It consists of a rectangular prayer hall orientated towards

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

measuring , an entrance portico and a courtyard with rooms on both sides. Hewn stone walls still stand to a height of and two entrances on the east side survive with their lintels intact. Evidence of a mosaic floor was found beneath the current stone slab flooring and fragments of an inscription remain. The building functioned as a synagogue until the seventh or eighth century when it was turned into a mosque. The site of the ancient Jewish village is now known as Lower Horvat Anim (''Khirbet Ghuwein et-Taḥta'') (grid position 156/084

PAL Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a colour encoding system for analogue television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...

), with a neighbouring contemporary Christian village at Upper Horvat Anim (''Khirbet Ghuwein al-Fauqa'') just 2 km northeast from it. Ben-Yosef places the site of the Upper Horvat Anim at a distance of 5 km northeast of the lower site (grid position 1583/0855

). Excavations at Upper Horvat Anim have uncovered the remains of a larger regional Byzantine church outside the village, overlooking it from the hill to the east and joined to it by a pathway - a configuration repeatedly met in the Southern Hebron Hills.Doron Bar
'The Christianisation of Rural Palestine during_Late Antiquity'

Journal of Ecclesiastical History ''The Journal of Ecclesiastical History'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Cambridge University Press. It was established in 1950 and covers all aspects of the history of the Christian Church. It deals with the church bot ...

, Vol. 54, No. 3, July 2003, pp.401-421; p.413. Rabbi Shimon ben Yehudah, mentioned in ''

Pesikta Rabbati ''Pesikta Rabbati'' (Hebrew: פסיקתא רבתי ''P'siqta Rabbita'', "The Larger P'siqta") is a collection of aggadic midrash (homilies) on the Pentateuchal and prophetic readings, the special Sabbaths, and so on. It was composed around 845 C ...

'', came from the village of Anim. (reprinted from 1880 edition)

References

{{reflist

External links

The Design of the Ancient synagogues in Judea: Horvat Ma’on and Horvat ‘Anim
by D. Chen & D. Milson. Ancient synagogues in the Land of Israel Archaeological sites in Israel Mosques converted from synagogues 8th-century mosques 4th-century synagogues 8th-century disestablishments in the Abbasid Caliphate Ancient Jewish settlements of Judaea he:חורבת ענים#בית הכנסת

History

See also

References

External links