This book, a revision of the author's doctoral dissertation at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2012), provides a close examination of the archaeological remains of ten synagogues located in southern Palestine—defined as the stretch of land south of Jerusalem that is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea on the east and Jordan River on the west. Chronologically, Werlin examines the excavated remains of synagogues that postdate the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–135 CE). The introduction outlines the book's two main research problems: to reassess the chronologies of these synagogues and address the question of regionalism—what, if any, characteristics unite these synagogues? To answer these questions, Werlin studies the synagogues of Na‘aran, Jericho, En-Gedi, Khirbet Susiya, Eshtemoa, Ma‘on (in Judea), Ḥorvat ‘Anim, Ḥorvat Rimmon, Gaza-Maiumas, and Ma‘on-Nirim. In chapters 1–5, Werlin examines each synagogue's location, identification, research history, physical context (i.e. the surrounding settlement, when known), art, architecture, significant features, associated material culture, and the structure's phases and dates. In contrast to previous scholarship, Werlin dates these synagogues’ construction and use from the fourth through early eighth centuries. Significantly, no synagogue dates to the second or third centuries—which contrasts with literary sources (Eusebius and rabbinic texts) that indicate the existence of Jews in the south. In this way, Werlin's book contributes to the ongoing discussion among scholars of late antique Judaism on the nature of Jewish society in the second and third centuries. In contrast to Seth Schwartz's position (Imperialism and Jewish Society, 200 B.C.E. to 640 C.E. [Princeton UP, 2001]), Werlin does not read the absence of synagogue finds as an absence of Jews or Jewish identity in the second–third centuries. Rather, Werlin posits that synagogue functions were housed in modest structures that are difficult to identify in the archaeological record, as large ornate synagogues would not be built until the Byzantine age. In general, Werlin aligns with the approaches of Steven Fine, Lee Levine, Stuart Miller, Ze'ev Weiss, and others who see less conflict between rabbinic attitudes towards art and the (especially figural) artwork that has emerged from excavations. On the problem of regionalism (see especially chap. 6), Werlin finds nothing distinctive about the synagogues of the south (in contrast to David Amit, Gideon Foerster, and Zvi Ma'oz). Rather, they are very similar to synagogues of the Lower Galilee and Beit Shean region—all of which are different from those in the Upper Galilee and Golan. He also contributes to the ongoing discussion, dating back to Eleazar Sukenik and Michael Avi-Yonah, about synagogue typology—whereby the structure's layout is used to determine its chronology. Werlin finds that the southern synagogues do not support the traditional tripartite typological-chronological scheme. Werlin's study frequently converses with Joshua Schwartz's work on rabbinic sources on Jews in the south (Jewish Settlement in Judaea: After the Bar-Kochba War until the Arab Conquest, 135 CE–640 CE [Hebrew] [Magnes, 1986]). Notably, Werlin's findings do not necessarily support Joshua Schwartz's conclusions that the rabbis of the south and their traditions were different from those of the north. The book closes with suggestions for further research (e.g. on Jewish-Christian relations); 137 pages of plates (many in color); useful appendices on architectural features and dates, inscriptions, and prominent symbols and artistic themes; and an index.

What makes this book so important is that these synagogues all lack final excavation reports—the large, comprehensive, often multivolume publications by excavation teams that present, analyze, and synthesize the finds in high detail. In the absence of final reports, Werlin painstakingly collects and processes all available data. This includes information scattered across preliminary reports (e.g. short articles), popular publications, unpublished master's theses and doctoral dissertations, unpublished photographs from the excavations, personal communication, and other sources. While Werlin is right to highlight that this book cannot replace final excavation reports on these synagogues, it nevertheless provides the most up-to-date and comprehensive study of these buildings, significantly enhancing our knowledge of Jewish society in the late antique south.

If one must identify weaknesses, they would include (as Werlin himself notes) that the boundaries of “southern” Palestine are artificial. Rather, what binds these synagogues together is a product of modern choices—they have been excavated and relatively overlooked by scholars, who tend to replicate rabbinic literature's “northern bias.” Moreover, the pairing of synagogues by subregion seems, in light of Werlin's negative findings on regionalism, to be artificial and unnecessary. One last quibble is that it is not always clear which sites Werlin has visited, or which synagogue's finds and records may still exist but were unavailable to him (and the reasons for their unavailability). This would have been useful for future research on these synagogues, providing a road map for scholars to add more pieces to the puzzle.

This book is very well organized and clearly written, as Werlin has made this study accessible to scholars of religion (especially ancient Judaism) who do not necessarily specialize in archaeology. Encyclopedic in fashion, it constitutes an essential reference work on the southern synagogues, making it an indispensable resource for the study of ancient synagogues and late antique Palestine. This book also contributes to our knowledge of Jewish-Christian relations (e.g. evidence that Jews and Christians shared artisans in the construction of their religious edifices); iconoclasm (evidenced in three of the synagogues); art (e.g. development of the menorah as a symbol); the reception of certain biblical motifs (e.g. Daniel); and an array of other topics to which synagogue studies typically contribute. It will be of interest to scholars of Roman- and Byzantine-era archaeology, biblical studies, and religions of late antiquity, particularly ancient Judaism.