The two best-preserved of the synagogue mosaics are the exquisite figures in Hammat Tiberias (4th century C.E.), overlooking the Sea of Galilee, and the child-like but charming art of Beit Alfa (6th century C.E., shown above), at the foot of Mt. Gilboa.
There can be no doubt about their identity as synagogue interiors: Each has Aramaic inscriptions, characteristic Jewish motifs like seven-branched menorahs, rams’ horns, lions, a synagogue holy ark, the lulav and etrog used on Sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacles), incense pans used in the long-gone Temple, and, at Beit Alfa, a scene of the biblical Binding of Isaac, with Hebrew captions.
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