Preaching, Teaching, and Study in the Synagogue

The synagogue had become a site of preaching and teaching no later than the first century CE. Jesus taught in synagogues, as did Paul in order to bring Jews over to believe in Jesus as the Messiah (see also Jesus’ Teaching and Paul the Jew). Later rabbinic texts also testify to the synagogue as a place where rabbis taught community members and students. While synagogues and study halls are often mentioned together in rabbinic literature, the underlying implication is that these were two separate entities. In the archaeological record, some synagogues have adjoining benched rooms, which scholars speculate may have been classrooms or study halls.