Our knowledge of synagogue worship in the first century of the Common Era (c.e.) is limited by a lack of source material. It seems clear, however, that readings from the Law and the Prophets, the recitation of the Shma‘, and the prayers or benedictions formed the order of the service.
Apart from a few scattered references in the New Testament, Philo, and Josephus, most of our knowledge of early synagogue worship comes from the Mishnah, which does not date before 200 c.e. Although some traditions in the Mishnah may go back to the first century, the Mishnah represents only one form of Judaism (Pharisaic), in contrast to the diversity within Judaism reported by Philo, Josephus, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the New Testament. Further, the first Jewish prayer books did not appear until the ninth century (for example, Seder Rav Amram Gaon, which represents Babylonian Jewish usage); therefore, even the earliest complete texts of the majority of Jewish liturgical prayers are relatively late.
The Place of Worship
First-century Jewish sources call the place of worship synagōgē (“place of gathering”) and proseuchē (“place of prayer”). Philo and Josephus both witness to the function of these communal buildings as places where the Law was read. Detailed archaeological evidence for the synagogue dates only from the third-century c.e. Some synagogues may have contained mosaics and walls painted with biblical scenes.
Reading
First-century synagogue worship probably involved readings from the Torah and prophets, the Shma‘, the tfillah, and the so-called priestly blessing (Num. 6:24–26).
Scripture Reading. The reading of Scripture is the most widely attested activity of first-century synagogue services (Luke 4:16–27; Acts 13:15, 27; Acts 15:21). Attempts to discern a lectionary cycle for Sabbath and festival day services have been unsuccessful. The New Testament and Mishnah witness to the custom that any (male) member of the congregation could be invited to read from the Law or Prophets and to expound on the reading (Luke 4:16–27).
Shma‘. The Shma‘ (Deut. 6:4–9; 11:13–21; Num. 15:37–41) may also have been recited, as a creedal confession rather than as a reading per se.
Tfillah, or Prayer. Later sources refer to the praying of a prayer consisting of a number of sections, each ending with a brakhah, or blessing. By the end of the first-century c.e., the number of these sections was standardized: seven on the Sabbath and eighteen on weekdays. This prayer is known as the tfillah, or “Prayer”; Shmoneh ’Esreh, or “the Eighteen [Benedictions]”; and ‘Amidah, or “the Standing [Prayer].” This omnibus prayer covered the spectrum of God’s blessings on Israel. While the subject of each portion of the tfillah may have been relatively fixed from at least the second century, the actual wording of each was left to the individual.
Although later Jewish prayer consisted almost entirely of blessings (“Blessed are you … ”) there is evidence that some first-century Jewish prayer also consisted of “thanksgiving” (which can also be translated as “confession” or “acknowledgment”). Contemporary liturgical scholarship has sought the origins of Christian prayers of thanksgiving (particularly the eucharistic prayer) within this diversity of first-century Jewish prayer forms.
The Leadership of Worship
The archaeological evidence for the leadership of synagogues in late antiquity suggests that women, as well as men, could have the title archisunagōgos, or “ruler of the synagogue,” a title that also appears in the New Testament. Therefore it is possible that in some places in the Greco-Roman world women led some portions of synagogue worship. However, the leadership of synagogue worship would not necessarily have been limited to this individual.