holy place into which a priest entered daily (Luke 1:8–23), and behind it, the holy of holies into which the high priest entered once a year on the Day of Atonement. Even as the temple in Jerusalem was the visible sign of religion and national identity for Jews, the synagogue functioned in local communities as a weekly gathering place. Although the word “synagogue” typically evokes the idea of a building, better would be to read the word as referring to the “gathering” rather than the physical place.