Title
Description
This photograph shows a close-up of one of the panels of the mosaic floor in the 6th century CE synagogue at Beit Alpha. The panel tells the story of the Akedah, or the binding of Isaac (Genesis 22:1-19). At the left two servants stand with a beast of burden. At the right the altar blazes up, while Abraham (whose name appears in Hebrew above and to the left of his head) holds the knife in his right hand and Isaac (also labeled in Hebrew) in his left hand. In the center a ram stands tethered to a bush. The Hebrew above its head reads, 'And behold, a ram' (Genesis 22:13). Above the bush the hand of the angel of the Lord emerges from a cloud and the command 'Do not send forth [your hand]' (Genesis 22:12) appears below the hand. Underneath the main panel, between the lion and the ram, is a dual language inscription, in Greek and Aramaic. The first commemorates the artists who made the inscription and the second refers to the donations made toward its costs. The Aramaic inscription dates the event to the days of 'King Justin.' Two emperors by that name reigned in the sixth century.