Reader Questions Answered –

What's the origin of the rabbinical system and the Seat of Moses?

More Reader Questions Answered
Copyright information, disclaimers, and sponsors
Return to homepage

The words "synagogue" and "rabbi" do not occur in the Old Testament, so the rabbinical system must have arisen during the Inter-Testamental period. Is there a reliable history of the roots of the system? And how did the "Seat of Moses" come into existence? (4/26/08)

Rabbinical system: Likely the office of the rabbi originated in Babylon along with the synagogue.

Seat of Moses: There wasn't any physical seat – it is a figure of speech similar to what we mean by a college "chair."

Synagogue

The Interpreter’s Bible Dictionary has fifteen pages of tiny print devoted to the synagogues of Biblical times. I’m going to give you a very brief summary.

The Greek word synagogue means “gathering place,” without any particular religious connotation. Among Greek-speaking Jews and Christians, it gradually came to mean “a house of worship and instruction,” and this is the sense of “synagogue” in the New Testament.

There seem to be three basic views on the origin of the synagogue:

• We don’t know, because the old rabbinic sources don’t say;
  
  
• The institution goes back to Moses, per for example, Acts 15:21; or
  
  
• The institution goes back to the Exile, which is apparently the dominant view.

The idea that synagogues originated during the Exile in Babylon comes from Carolus Sigonius, a 16th-century expert on the political institutions of the Greeks and Romans. Here’s what Sigonius had to say, from Interpreter’s Dictionary:

“The origin of the synagogues is by no means an old one. We find, indeed, no mention of it [in scripture]…. I would surmise that synagogues were first erected in the Babylonian exile for the purpose that those who have been deprived of the temple of Jerusalem, where they used to pray and teach, would have a certain place similar to the temple, in which they could assemble and perform the same kind of service. The same, I think, did the other Jews in the Dispersion, be it in Asia or in Egypt or in Europe. It was for this reason that the custom of synagogues was first established in the provinces where there was no temple. After the return from Babylon and the restoration of the temple of Jerusalem, the Jews still retained the well-established institution of the synagogue, namely so that while the residents of the city of Jerusalem attended the reading of the Law in the temple, all those coming to the city from the provinces attended the reading of the Law in the respective synagogues.”

Scholars have bickered back and forth since the time of Sigonius and added some details and nuances, as scholars are wont to do; however, in large part his view seems to be the prevailing one today.

According to The Layman’s Bible Encyclopedia, prayers and preaching were eventually added to the reading of the Law, and the synagogue became the regular place of worship. (Clearly, after the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD, synagogues became the only place of worship.) Each synagogue was led by Elders, who also had judicial authority over the members. The Ruler ran the synagogue on a day-to-day basis and appointed the people who were going to participate in the service. Someone could be chosen on the fly to read the scripture; for example, see Mark 6:1 (Matthew 13:54, Luke 4:16), where Jesus is visiting a synagogue and reads from Isaiah. Visiting rabbis might also be asked to teach, and we see Jesus teaching in synagogues throughout Judea and Galilee (for example, Matthew 4:23, Matthew 9:35, Luke 13:10).

I once attended Temple Albert here in the city. Had I been blind, I would have had some difficulty telling it from a typical Protestant church. We sang hymns, we prayed, and we heard a sermon. There was no cross in the front of the sanctuary, which would have been a clue, but would not necessarily have ruled out a Christian worship service. The big giveaway was when a worship leader – possibly the rabbi or the cantor, but I forget – took the Scroll of the Torah from the Ark and walked through all the aisles, and everybody who was within reach made an effort to touch it. There was no mention of Jesus, of course, but I was perfectly comfortable with the worship service and would attend a synagogue again if no Protestant or Catholic church were available.

Rabbi

“Rabbi” literally means “my master.” Apparently it came into the language as a loan-word from the Babylonian “rab,” which meant “chief.” This suggests that the office of the rabbi originated in Babylon along with the synagogue. By the time of the first century in Palestine, “Rabbi” was used in the same way as “master” or “teacher.” In John 1:38, John equates the Hebrew word rabbi and the Grek word didaskale, and we know that the latter means “teacher,” pure and simple. “Rabbi” could be used as a polite form of address to anyone who was held to be more knowledgeable than the speaker, especially about the Law. Early rabbis were not worship leaders (except by coincidence). Worship was led in the Temple by the priests, and in the synagogues by the elders. Some rabbis were acknowledged experts in the Law, and they studied and interpreted the Law, taught their own disciples, argued with other rabbis, and wrote. We would probably call these rabbis “professors.” Sometimes the NT refers to them as “teachers of the law,” and we might also call them “lawyers.”

The destruction of the Temple by the Romans in AD 70 precipitated a crisis. How were Jews to worship properly without the ability to make sacrifices? The emphasis shifted from sacrifices to studying and applying the Law and the oral traditions surrounding the law, and the rabbis were and still are the experts there.

Over the course of time, some rabbis have retained the original role and others have become worship leaders and pastors. Specially trained rabbis also give binding judgments under the Law about specific cases. Today rabbis go to special schools and are ordained, like ministers of the gospel.

Seat of Moses

In Matthew 23:2-3, Jesus says, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. So do whatever they tell you and follow it, but stop doing what they do, because they don't do what they say.”

I consulted several references about the Seat of Moses, and amazingly enough they all said about the same thing. There wasn’t any physical “Seat of Moses.” It is a figure of speech. It’s almost exactly like what we mean when we refer to a college “chair,” which is not furniture, but rather a specially funded teaching or research position held by some professor who is thought to be particularly worthy. The Law and its interpretation were handed down from Moses to Joshua to the judges and tribal elders to the prophets to the scribes and Pharisees. Each of these leaders in turn held the “chair.” The Contemporary English Version has a really excellent translation of this idea: “The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law are experts in the Law of Moses. So obey everything they teach you, but don't do as they do. After all, they say one thing and do something else.”

There were sometimes “seats” (no capital letters) in the synagogues that were the places of honor for the local teachers, and some of these are called “the Seat of Moses” in various publications. Nevertheless, that is not what this verse is talking about, because this verse is using a figure of speech.


Copyright 2008, 2013 by Regina L. Hunter. All rights reserved. This page has been prepared for the web site by RPB.

Opinions expressed on this page are solely those of the author, Regina Hunter, and may or may not be shared by the sponsors or the Bible-study participants.  Thanks to the Holy Spirit for any useful ideas presented here, and thanks to all the readers for their support and enthusiasm.  All errors are, of course, the sole responsibility of the author.

Our Sponsors:

St. John's United Methodist Church, "Transforming Lives Through Christ."
2626 Arizona NE, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87110

St. John's Music Ministries now has a YouTube channel, bringing you free concerts and choral music. Check it out!

Traditional worship services are held Sundays at 8:15 and 11:00 a.m. in the sanctuary.  Casual worship services are held Sundays at 9:30 a.m. in the Family Life Center.  Jazz Vespers are held monthly on the second Saturday at 5:00 p.m. in the sanctuary. St. John's feels especially called to the worship of God and to the service of our neighbors through our music program.

Storm Dragon Software^TM

Ducks in a Row, Inc.

This website is supported in part by the generosity of Mrs. J. Jordan.