A few years ago, a brief book review
I published (“On Not Understanding the Book of Mormon”) dealt with, in part,
the issue of pre-exilic synagogues, and how the Book of Mormon’s reference
thereto are not anachronistic as if often thought by critics.
Synagogues in the Book of Mormon
It has been a long-standing
criticism of the Book of Mormon that its mention of "synagogues"
represents an impossibility in the text. But Webster's 1828 dictionary defined
the term in a rather generic manner as a place of assembly for Jews, so its
appearance in the Book of Mormon as an English translation is not problematic.
The
original scholarly consensus was that synagogues did not exist until after the
destruction of the second temple in AD 70, notwithstanding the mention of
synagogues in the Gospels. With the discovery of synagogues in Egypt dating to
the first and second centuries BC, the date was extended to the postexilic era.
And further evidence indicates an even earlier date for the origin of the
synagogue. In 621 BC, with the discovery of the Book of the Law (probably
Deuteronomy), the Deuteronomic reformation occurred with Josiah at its head
(see 2 Kings 22–24). At this time blood sacrifices and temple worship were
centralized in Jerusalem, resulting in local congregations of Israelites who
met for worship, prayer, and instruction.15 According to some scholars, such
gatherings that took place in the chambers of city gates were the original
synagogues. Furthermore, the use of certain terms such as bet haʿam (Jeremiah
39:8), miqdash-me ʿat (Ezekiel 11:16), and moʿade ʾel (Psalm 74:8) have been invoked to
substantiate a preexilic date for synagogue origins. [16]
Note for the following:
[16] Lee Levine, The Ancient Synagogue: The First Thousand Years, 2nd ed. (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press,
2005), 21–34
Another good resources would be A.
Keith Thompson, "Nephite Insights into Israelite Worship Practices beforethe Babylonian Captivity" published by the Interpreter: A Journal of
Mormon Scripture.
