Guide
Proseuchē Inscriptions
3rd–1st Centuries BCE
Proseuchai (“houses of prayer” or “prayer halls”) seem to have served as focal points for the Jewish communities in Egypt. These inscriptions highlight the good standing of many of these communities and the close ties they had to the Ptolemaic dynasty.
Related Primary Sources
Primary Source
Greek Inscription from Arsinoë-Crocodilopolis
On behalf of King Ptolemy, son of Ptolemy, and Queen Berenice his wife, and his sister, and their children, the Jews of Crocodilopolis dedicated the prayer hall [proseuchē] and . . .…
Primary Source
Greek Inscription from Nitriai
2nd Century BCE
On behalf of King Ptolemy and Queen Cleopatra his sister and Queen Cleopatra his wife, benefactors, the Jews of Nitriai dedicated the prayer hall [proseuchē]…
Primary Source
Greek and Latin Inscription from Lower Egypt
On the orders of the Queen and King, in place of the previous tablet concerning the dedication of the prayer hall [proseuchē], let the following be written: King Ptolemy Euergetes proclaimed the…
Primary Source
Greek Inscriptions from Athribis
On behalf of King Ptolemy and Queen Cleopatra, Ptolemy, son of Epikydes, the chief of police, and the Jews of Athribis dedicated the prayer hall [proseuchē] to God Most High.…
Primary Source
Greek Inscription from Alexandria
On behalf of the queen and the king, to the great God who hears prayer [?], Alypus built the prayer hall [proseuchē] in the fifteenth year, Mecheir . . .
Source: JIGRE 13 /…
Primary Source
Proseuchē Inscription, Alexandria, Egypt
This dedicatory inscription comes from a proseuchē (“house of prayer” or “prayer hall”). Many scholars see the Egyptian proseuchai as forerunners to later synagogues.