1. an assembly of men: τοῦ Σατανᾶ, whom Satan governs, Revelation 2:9; Revelation 3:9.

2. a synagogue, i. e., a. "an assembly of Jews formally gathered together to offer prayer and listen to the reading and exposition of the Holy Scriptures"; assemblies of the sort were held every sabbath and feast-day, afterward also on the second and fifth days of every week (see references below): Luke 12:11; Acts 9:2; Acts 13:43; Acts 26:11; the name is transferred to an assembly of Christians formally gathered for religious purposes, James 2:2 (Epiphanius haer. 30, 18 says of the Jewish Christians συναγωγήν οὗτοι καλουσι τήν ἑαυτῶν ἐκκλησίαν καί οὐχί ἐκκλησίαν (cf. Lightfoot on Philippians, p. 192)); (cf. Trench, Synonyms, § 1, and especially Harnack's elaborate note on Hermas, mand. 11, 9 [ET] (less fully and accurately in Hilgenfeld's Zeitschr. f. wiss. Theol. for 1876, p. 102ff) respecting the use of the word by the church Fathers of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th centuries; cf. Hilgenfeld's comments on the same in his 'Hermae Pastor', edition alt., p. 183f).

b. the building where those solemn Jewish assemblies are held (Hebrew הַכְּנֶסֶת בֵּית, i. e. 'the house of assembly'). Synagogues seem to date their origin from the Babylonian exile. In the time of Jesus and the apostles every town, not only in Palestine but also among the Gentiles if it contained a considerable number of Jewish inhabitants, had at least one synagogue, the larger towns several or even many. That the Jews held trials and even inflicted punishments in them, is evident from such passages as Matthew 10:17; Matthew 23:34; Mark 13:9; Luke 12:11; Luke 21:12; Acts 9:2; Acts 22:19; Acts 26:11. They are further mentioned in Matthew 4:23; Matthew 6:2, 5; Matthew 9:35; Matthew 12:9; Matthew 13:54; Matthew 23:6; Mark 1:21, 23, 29, 39; Mark 3:1; Mark 6:2; Mark 12:39; Luke 4:15f, 20, 28, 33, 38, 44; Luke 6:6; Luke 7:5; Luke 8:41; (); ; John 6:59; John 18:20 (here the anarthrous (so G L T Tr WH) singular has an indefinite or generic force (R. V. text in synagogues)); Acts 6:9; Acts 9:20; Acts 13:5, 14, 42 Rec.; (Josephus, Antiquities 19, 6, 3; b. j. 2, 14, 4. (5; 7, 3, 8; Philo, qued omn. prob. book § 12)). Cf. Winers RWB, under the word Synagogen; Leyrer in Herzog edition 1, xv., p. 299ff; Schürer, N. T. Zeitgesch. § 27 (especially ii.); Kneucker in Schenkel v., p. 443f; (Hamburger, Real-Encycl. ii, p. 1142ff; Ginsburg in Alex.'s Kitto, under the word Synagogue; Edersheim, Jesus the Messiah, book iii, chapter x.).