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One of the main features at the ruins in Capernaum (Kfar Nanum in Hebrew, meaning Village of Nahum) is the remains of an ancient synagogue that was made of white limestone. It was a two-story structure built in the 300’s AD. There is no doubt that this is NOT the synagogue of Capernaum in the New Testament, but there is good evidence that it was built on the foundation of it. Even as early as 381 AD, the pilgrim Egeria said she visited "the synagogue where the Lord cured a man possessed by a devil."
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Jesus was familiar with this synagogue and also taught in it (Mark 1:21). Jesus taught He was the Bread of Life that came down from heaven in the synagogue of Capernaum (John 6:59). The people of Capernaum asked Jesus to heal the slave of a Roman officer because he had built their synagogue (the one that would have stood on the black basalt foundation seen in these photos - Luke 7:1-5).
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Here is a little known fact about Capernaum and its synagogue: The Mishna records more Rabbis from Capernaum than from the rest of the world combined. The school of Judaism was adjacent to the synagogue in Capernaum. While Jerusalem was the political capital of Judaism, Capernaum was the educational capital (IsraelJerusalem.com).
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