Hello again! I’m Danny. I was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for 60 years.
During those years, I studied the Book of Mormon many times and still do. Because Joseph Smith said the Book of Mormon “… was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book,” I took it to heart. However, the more and more I read the Book of Mormon, I discovered teachings that were anachronistic for the time and setting of the Book of Mormon, along with numerous additional problems. Today, I’m going to address one of these anachronisms - Synagogues! That’s right, Jewish Synagogues.
If you’re not familiar with the Book of Mormon, or it’s been a while since you’ve read it – Jewish Synagogues are mentioned as having existed in the New World hundreds of years before the Europeans discovered the Americas. How did that happen?
The question is - Was the Book of Mormon correct about the timeline of these synagogues being in existence at the time Lehi and Nephi left Jerusalem in 600 BC? There lies the problem.
It’s first necessary to consider how and why the synagogue initially came into existence. It must be noted that there is virtually no mention of it in the Old Testament and nothing that suggests God commanded its institution. The only verse in the Old Testament in which the English word “synagogue” occurs is Psalm 74:8 “They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together: they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land.”
Biblical history tells us that in 586 BC., the Babylonian army invaded Jerusalem. Many Jews were killed in the process and Soloman’s temple was destroyed. The Babylonians took captive many thousands of Jews, leaving Jerusalem in ruins. But, as prophesied in Scripture, the Jewish people would be allowed to return to Jerusalem after 70 years of exile. And that prophecy was fulfilled in 537 B.C., when the Jews returned to their homeland and begin rebuilding the city of Jerusalem and the temple.
But it was during Israel’s captivity and exile that the practice of meeting in synagogues emerged. Because the Jewish temple was gone, it required an alternative gathering place for the dispersed Jews who desired to gather for prayer and communal worship. Thus, synagogues like church buildings came into existence.
After the Jews were allowed to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple, the biblical and archaeological record for synagogues isn’t mentioned in the Old Testament Hebrew Bible. The earliest evidence of synagogues we know of dates to the 3rd Century BCE., during the Intertestamental period which was that 400-year gap between the Old Testament and the New Testament. The practice of having synagogues began to emerge once again in Jewish culture closer to the meridian of time.
By the time of Yeshua, synagogues had again become common as local structures and gathering places for worship throughout Israel. The New Testament mentions synagogues over 60 times largely in connection with the ministry of Yeshua and His apostles. Yeshua taught regularly in the synagogue, including the Bread of Life Discourse, which is recounted in John 6:22-59.
The synagogue tradition of reading from the Torah scrolls were practiced by the Jewish people. The Torah consists of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible written by Moses. Traditionally, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy are divided into weekly portions or readings so that the entire volume can be read in the Synagogue every Sabbath over a period of one or three years. Once complete, the process starts all over again.
On one occasion, Yeshua as an itinerate rabbi returned to the town of his youth and was allowed to participate during the reading of the Torah. Not coincidently, the portion of Scripture to be read on this Sabbath Day had a specific reference to the coming Messiah. Listen to this amazing account recorded in Luke 4:14-21 “And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all. And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day and stood up for to read. And there was delivered, unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” This greatly upset the Pharisees hearing this and they attempted to drag Yeshua out of the Synagogue and to throw Him over a cliff, but He miraculously escaped.
Even after the death and resurrection of Yeshua, the synagogues throughout Israel were used as locations for Paul and the other apostles to be a launching point for evangelizing activities. Upon arriving in a new community, Paul would go to the synagogue and request to speak. He would then teach the gospel of the resurrected Yeshua as the Messiah to the people.
Then in 70 AD., the Roman Army attacked Jerusalem killing over a million Jews and destroying the temple. Since worship could no longer take place in the temple after that – the synagogues became the central places of worship for the Jews. Historically, the synagogue has continued to play an essential role in the practice of Judaism. When I visited Israel a few years ago, I was able to see synagogues. Even on the way to Israel I happened upon a functioning synagogue in all places – Chicago O'Hare International Airport. It was open to the public in a slightly secluded part of the Airport complex.
Okay, now let’s turn to the Book of Mormon.
The Book of Mormon story begins in 600 BC with Lehi warning the people that the city of Jerusalem was about to be destroyed. To avoid the danger, God told Lehi to leave Jerusalem with his family and travel to a new place called the Promised Land in the Western Hemisphere. Once they were in the Promised Land, it was revealed to Lehi around 550 BC in 2 Nephi 4:1 “For, behold, said he, I have seen a vision, in which I know that Jerusalem is destroyed; and had we remained in Jerusalem we should also have perished.”
Also in 550 BC we read in 2 Nephi 26:26 “Behold, hath he commanded any that they should depart out of the synagogues, or out of the houses of worship? Behold, I say unto you, Nay.” This is the first time in the Book of Mormon the word “synagogues” appears which from the Greek means “a place of gathering.” The term “synagogue” or “synagogues” occurs 25 times throughout the entire Book of Mormon. Truthfully, synagogues didn’t exist in Jerusalem before Lehi and his family left for the Promised Land. So how did they show in the Book of Mormon?
It's recorded about 80 BC., in Alma 16:13 “And Alma and Amulek went forth preaching repentance to the people in their temples, and in their sanctuaries, and also in their synagogues, which were built after the manner of the Jews.” Unlike biblical sites in Israel where ancient synagogues have been uncovered, there has been no evidence of these buildings ever being found in the Americas.
Nevertheless, we know the large ancient Mayan civilization covering the same time-period as the Book of Mormon had their own cities and pagan temples scattered throughout a huge area of today’s Mexico and Central America which have been discovered and excavated. Archaeology has fully supported the existence of the Mayan Empire – but archaeology has not revealed any evidence of the claimed Book of Mormon Nephite cities, temples, or synagogues.
How could Alma and Amulek know how the Jews built synagogues, when the Jews were not building them before Lehi left for the New World in 600 BC? They could not have known the Jews even built synagogues at all or what they looked like. However, a certain writer with a creative imagination living in the early 19th Century who had a copy of the entire Bible would indeed know.
Joseph Smith probably thought using the term “synagogue” made his fictional novel sound more Hebrew and biblical. But you can clearly tell by reading the Book of Mormon, he didn’t have a very comprehensive understanding of the Law of Moses or Jewish customs, practices, and rituals.
So, what can we do in, light of all this? We could ignore the evidence and pretend all is well, and that the Book of Mormon is historically true and “the most correct book on earth.” Or we can honestly recognize and admit that for “synagogues” to be used among the Nephites was a glaring anachronism, in a list of numerous anachronisms in the Book of Mormon.
I fully intend to do more videos on other anachronisms written into the Book of Mormon by Joseph Smith.
Thanks for watching this one. Please share with family and friends. For more videos like this watch on YouTube or my website at Talking to Mormons.com.
Until next time, God Bless!