The Berean Codex™Scripture Research Project
Research library · Reception history · Dependency analysis

Acts 6:9 — Jerusalem synagogue functions in the Theodotus inscription

A reusable research record with provenance and relationships kept separate from the presentation layer.

HISTORICAL_CONTEXTHIST_THEODOTUS_ACT_6_9

Evidence state: reasonable inference

The Theodotus inscription directly documents a Greek-inscribed Jerusalem synagogue associated with reading the Law, teaching commandments, and hospitality for visitors/foreigners. It is relevant context for Acts 6:9’s Jerusalem synagogue setting and diaspora groups, but it does not identify the inscription’s synagogue with any synagogue named in Acts.

Documented evidence

Claim: A Greek inscription from Jerusalem describes a synagogue and states instructional and hospitality functions.

Evidence Type: epigraphic/institutional

Confidence: documented fact

Sources: SRC_UMICH_THEODOTUS_INSCRIPTION

Competing interpretations

Classification: unsupported claim

Note: Equating this physical synagogue with a specific synagogue or group in Acts 6:9 would require evidence not supplied by the inscription.

What this does not establish

It does not identify the Synagogue of the Freedmen or any other Acts 6:9 group.
It does not prove that the exact practices listed in the inscription occurred in every synagogue.
It does not turn civic-religious context into a textual witness to Acts.
Release Introduced
v51
Passage Id
PASSAGE_ACT_6_9
Category
synagogue_and_diaspora_civic_religious_context
Evidence Classification
reasonable inference
Date Range
{
    "start_bce": 37,
    "end_bce": 4,
    "label": "Herodian-period script dating reported by the University of Michigan record",
    "certainty": "paleographic dating in institutional description"
}
Original Language
{
    "language": "Greek",
    "occurrence": "ἀρχισυνάγωγος … συναγωγή … νόμος",
    "text_state": "SELECTED_LEMMAS_FROM_INSTITUTIONAL_TRANSLATION_CONTEXT",
    "translation": "synagogue leader … synagogue … Law"
}
Exact Relevant Context
Jerusalem inscription found south of the Temple Mount; institutional description states that the synagogue served Torah reading, instruction in commandments, and lodging/bathing facilities for foreigners who needed them.
Status
ACTIVE_PASSAGE_CONTEXT_RECORD