Though first-century Palestine was mostly illiterate, theological education remained a high priority for Jews. So the illiterate gathered with the literate and learned the Scriptures together in a place named for the Greek word for assembly—the synagogue. They heard the Scriptures read and sermons preached, and they discussed the meanings of the passages.

Synagogues provided a spectrum of services from hotel to courtroom, but these activities were secondary to the synagogue's main function as a place of Scripture reading and worship. In fact, outside Judea, the word synagogue was often replaced by the phrase place of prayer. So what was a synagogue service like?

Synagogue services in the New Testament era would have been similar regardless of geographical location—similar but not uniform. Architecture and interior design differed from synagogue to synagogue. In fact, among the more than 50 or so synagogue ruins found in Israel this century, no two are alike. Services ...

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