2. _Chief seats_, elevated, near and around the "ark," for the elders and leading men (Matt. 23. 6). 3. A desk for the reader standing upon a platform. 4. Places for the worshipers, carefully graded according to rank, the Gentile visitors having seats near the door of entrance. 5. A lattice gallery where women could worship without being seen. V. =Its Officers.= These were: 1. Three _rulers of the synagogue_, who directed the worship, managed the business details, and possessed a limited judicial authority over the Jews in the district (Mark 4. 22; Acts 13. 15). One of these was the presiding officer, and called "_the_ ruler." 2. The _chazzan_ (Luke 4. 20, "the minister"), who united the functions of clerk, schoolmaster, sexton, and constable to administer sentence on offenders. 3. The _batlanim_, "men of ease," seven men who were chosen to act as a legal congregation, were pledged to be present at the regular services, and sometimes received a small fee for being present. VI. =Its Services.= These were held on Saturday, Monday, and Thursday, and were conducted by the members in turn, several taking part in each service. They consisted of: 1. Forms of prayer, conducted by a leader, with the responses by the worshipers. 2. Reading of selections from the law and the prophets, according to an appointed order (Acts 15. 21). The reading was in Hebrew, but it was translated, verse by verse, into the language of the people, whether Greek or Aramaic. 3. Exposition or comment upon the Scripture, in which any member might take part (Luke 4. 20, 21; Acts 13. 15, 16). VII. =Its Influence.= It is easy to perceive how widely and how powerfully the results of such an institution would reach. 1. It perpetuated the worship of God and united the worshipers. 2. It supplied a more thoughtful and spiritual worship than the elaborate ritual of the Temple. 3. It promoted the study of the Old Testament Scriptures and made them thoroughly familiar to every Jew. 4. It attracted the devout and intelligent among the Gentiles, many of whom became worshipers of God and were known as "proselytes of the gate" (Acts 10. 1, 2). VIII. =Its Preparation for the Gospel.= It is evident that the apostles and early Christian teachers were greatly aided by the synagogue. 1. It furnished a _place_; for everywhere the church began in the synagogue, even though it soon left it (Acts 13. 5; 18. 4; 19. 8). 2. It prepared a _people_; for the synagogue was attended by the earnest and thoughtful, both of Jews and Gentiles, who were thus made ready for the higher truths of the gospel (Acts 13. 42, 43). 3. It supplied a _plan of service_; for it is evident that the early Christian worship was modeled, not on the ritual of the Temple, but on the simpler forms of the synagogue. 4. It gave a _system of organization_; for the Government of the early church was similar to, and doubtless suggested by, that of the synagogue. Blackboard Outline