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1. Term Synagōgē is a Greek term meaning “gathering, conventicle,” used first by Philo (15–10 b.c.–a.d. 45–50), then by Josephus (ca. 37–ca. 100), and also in the NT for a place of gathering. The Hebrew equivalent is bēt ha-kĕneset (Aram. bē kĕništā), meaning “community house” or “house of the assembly” (from the root kns, “assemble”). In the Egyptian diaspora and in Josephus we also find the term proseuchē, “place of prayer.” Other terms such as sabbateion (house in which a Sabbath service was held) are infrequently used. M. Luther’s (1483–1546) translation Judenschul in the NT is ba…