In Ḥuqoq (Yaqûq in Arabic), a little to the NW of the Sea of Galilee, the second season of excavation at the 4-6th c. CE Byzantine site by a team working under the direction of Professor Jodi Magness from the University of North Carolina and Dr. David Amit from the Antiquities Authority brought to light an ancient synagogue and a stunning fragment of a large mosaic floor illustrating the story of biblical Samson, featuring e.g. the tails of paired foxes bound together with a burning torch. A Hebrew inscription in white letters on black background appears between two medallions presenting the faces of two women. According to the July 2012 news release from the Israeli Antiquities Authority, from which I’m quoting, the six-line inscription (I see only five lines) is a blessing, something like: “In all your good deeds, may your labor … peace” In the photograph, I see:
- שחן…… (at least 6 letters missing?)
- מ….. בכל
- מצותכן יחא
- …עמלכן וא (last letter a lamed?)
- ?..ל..?
The town of Ḥuqoq is known from the talmud, especially the Yerushalmi: e.g. Shevi`it 38c. See Shmuel Klein, Sefer hayishuv (part 1. Jerusalem: Bialik/Dvir, 1939; reprinted in 1977): 43; Gottfried Reeg, Die Ortsnamen Israels nach der rabbinischen Literatur (Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag, 1989): 248–49. Mentioned also in Eusebius’ Onomasticon as Εἰκώκ (Klostermann’s 1904 ed.: 88.7), Icoc in Jerome’s translation. Michael Avi-Yonah, Gazetteer of Roman Palestine (Qedem, No. 5, 1976): 66; M. Avi-Yonah, Historical geography of Palestine (Jerusalem: Bialik, 1984, in Hebrew): 141; Salomon E. Grootkerk, Ancient sites in Galilee: a toponymic gazetteer (Leiden: Brill, 2000): 235; Tsafrir, Y., Segni, L. D., & Green, J. Tabula Imperii Romani Iudaea–Palaestina: Eretz–Israel in the Hellenistic Roman and Byzantine Periods. Maps and Gazetteer (Jerusalem: Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, 1994): 148, with more bibliography.
Again according to the news release, the existence of an ancient synagogue in Ḥuqoq was known from 13–14th c. R. Estori ha-Farḥi’s account in his book Kaftor va-Feraḥ (Bud and flower) (fantastic!) and from early 20th c. archaeological surveys.