Beth Alpha

Binding of Isaac

The northern panel depicts the "Binding of Isaac" (Genesis 22: 1–18). To the right, Abraham is depicted dangling Isaac over the fiery altar as he raises his hand to perform the sacrifice. In the center, God, symbolized by the small fire- encircled hand appearing in the upper center, instructs Abraham to sacrifice a nearby ram instead of Isaac. The hand of God is aptly labeled with "al tishlah" or "do not raise", taken from God's command to the angel that Abraham not "raise his hand against the boy [Isaac]" (Genesis 22:12).[10] In the lower center of the composition, immediately below the hand of God, the ram that served as Isaac's substitute is positioned standing sideways, trapped in the nearby thicket.[11] The odd positioning of the ram may perhaps be a convention the artists used to convey the distance that the Bible says separated Abraham and Isaac, from the two servant boys (Genesis 22:5), who accompanied Abraham and Isaac on their journey, and are depicted standing to the left. All the figures in the scene, except for the two servants, are identified with Hebrew labels.

The iconographic significance of the "Binding of Isaac" is unclear. There is a wide variety of opinions, with some scholars seeing this narrative as an affirmation of God's mercy, others as symbolic of his continuing covenant with Israel, and others as embodying the rabbinic notion of "zechut avot" or the merit of the fathers.[12] In contemporaneous Christian church art, where the "Binding of Isaac" was also a popular theme, the narrative was seen as a typological pre-figuration for the crucifixion.[13]

Zodiac Wheel with Hebrew Labels

The central panel features a Jewish adaptation of the Greco-Roman zodiac. The zodiac consists of two concentric circles, with the twelve zodiac signs appearing in the outer circle, and Helios, the Greco-Roman sun god, appearing in the inner circle.[14] The outer circle consists of twelve panels, each of which correspond to one of the twelve months of the year and contain the appropriate Greco-Roman zodiac sign. Female busts symbolizing the four seasons appear in the four corners immediately outside the zodiac.[15] In the center, Helios appears with his signature Greco-Roman iconographic elements such as the fiery crown of rays adorning his head and the highly stylized quadriga or four-horse-drawn chariot.[16] The background is decorated with a crescent shaped moon and stars. As in the "Binding of Isaac" panel, the zodiac symbols and seasonal busts are labeled with their corresponding Hebrew names.

This zodiac wheel, along with other similar examples found in contemporaneous synagogues throughout Israel such as Naaran, Susiya, Hamat Tiberias, Huseifa, and Sepphoris, rest at the center of a scholarly debate regarding the relationship between Judaism and general Greco-Roman culture in late-antiquity.[17] Some interpret the popularity that the zodiac maintains within synagogue floors as evidence for its Judaization and adaptation into the Jewish calendar and liturgy.[18] Others see it as representing the existence of a "non-Rabbinic" or a mystical and Hellenized form of Judaism that embraced the astral religion of Greco-Roman culture.[19] Still others see it as simply a common decorative pattern, whose pagan origin was probably forgotten by the time the synagogues were built.[20]

The southern panel, which was laid before the synagogue's Torah Shrine, is a liturgically oriented scene that emphasizes the centrality of the Torah Shrine. The Torah Shrine stands at the center of the composition and is depicted with a gabled roof. The Torah Shrine is decorated with ornamented panels featuring diamonds and squares.[21] The floating conch shell seen in the center of the roof, is a stylized representation of the Torah Shrine's inset arch.[22] A hanging lamp is suspended from the gable of the roof.[1] As a symbolic marker of its importance, the lower register of the Torah Shrine is flanked by two roaring lions and is surrounded by Jewish ritual objects such as the lulav, etrog, shofar, and incense shovel.[1] Two birds flank the gabled roof in the upper register of the Torah Shrine.[23]

Synagogue Scene

Two large seven-branched Menorot candelabras stand on either of the Torah shrine. The base and branches of the two Menorot are not identical in form; the right-hand Menorah has an upright base, while the left-hand Menorah has two crescent shaped legs and one upright leg.[24] Lastly, the entire scene is framed by the two pulled back curtains, which served to demarcate the sacred space of the Torah Shrine.[25]

The presence of the Menorah, which originally stood in the Jerusalem Temple, comes to highlight the continuing importance that the Jerusalem Temple occupied in the development of the synagogue.[26] Additionally, the Menorah also maintained a practical function, as the primary light source for the area around the Torah Shrine.[27] Sukenik believed that the two Menorot depicted flanking the Torah Shrine in this scene, likely stood adjacent to the Torah Shrine within the actual Beth Alpha synagogue.[28]

• Avigad, Nahman. "Beth Alpha". Encyclopaedia Judaica vol. 4. Jerusalem: Keter Publishing House, 1972.
• Fine, Steven. Art and Judaism in the Greco-Roman World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010. ISBN 978-0521145671
• Goodenough, E. R. "Astronomical Symbols" in Jewish Symbols in the Greco-Roman Period vol. 8, II. New York: Bollingen Foundation, 1958.
• Hachlili, Rachel. Ancient Jewish Art and Archaeology in the Land of Israel. Leiden: Brill, 1997. ISBN 978-9004081154
• Magness, Jodi. "Heaven on Earth: Helios and the Zodiac Cycle in Ancient Palestinian Synagogues". Dumbarton Oaks Papers vol. 59 (2005): 1–52.
• Sukenik, Eleazar Lipa. The Ancient Synagogue of Beth Alpha. New Jersey: Georgias Press, 2007. ISBN 978-1593336967