Theodotos inscription

The Theodotos Inscription is an ancient limestone inscription discovered in Jerusalem, dating to the late Second Temple period. It was found in December 1913 by archaeologist Raymond Weill on what was then known as Mount Ophel. It is now commonly referred to as the City of David (Wadi Hilweh), south of the Temple Mount. The inscription is significant as the earliest known synagogue inscription and the earliest extra-textual evidence for a synagogue in Jerusalem, confirming that such institutions existed there during the Second Temple period and functioned alongside the more ancient Temple cult.

The inscription contains ten lines of Koine Greek text, paleographically dating it to the Herodian or early Roman periods (1st century BCE–70 CE). It commemorates the construction of a synagogue complex by Theodotos, son of Vettenus, who is identified as a priest and a synagogue leader (archisynagogos). The text indicates that Theodotos followed a lineage of leadership, stating that both his father and grandfather had held the same title.

The inscription provides an inventory of the building's specific functions. It states that the structure was built for the "reading of the Law" and the "teaching of the commandments." The complex also included a guesthouse and water installations providing lodging and purification for travellers and pilgrims from the Jewish diaspora.