The large, impressive synagogue which was built of basalt stones and decorated with Jewish motifs is the most striking of the surviving structures. James raised the number of interesting questions. After 300 years of Roman defeats of the Jews and economic stagnation and tremendous emigration, How did the Jews still have enough money and people to build such an impressive synagogue? So how did the Jews get the Byzantine authorities to allow it?
There's a lot of interesting architectural features including three-dimensional sculptures. There is a pair of three-dimensional Stone lions! This was apparently a popular animal to include in synagogues because the synagogue at Kfar Bar'am has a similar set.
Many of the carvings were originally painted brightly. They feature images of wine-making, animals, a Medusa, an armed soldier, and an eagle.
In 1926, archaeologists discovered a "Seat of Moses," carved from a basalt block. According to the New Testament, this is where the reader of the Torah --what we might consider to have been the Rabbi-- sat to deliver his message to the congregation.
The site became involved in early Jewish-Jewish Christian disputes. Chorazin, along with Bethsaida and Capernaum, was named in the Christian gospels of Matthew and Luke as cities in which Jesus of Nazareth performed his mission. However, because these towns seemingly rejected his message.
"they had not changed their ways"
(Matthew 11:20-24; Luke 10:13-15).
The people of this town were cursed.
The Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius predicted that the Antichrist would be conceived in Chorazin!
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