A bema was an elevated platform used as an orator's podium in ancient Athens. The term can refer to the raised area in a

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...

. In Jewish

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of wor ...

s, where it is used for

Torah reading Torah reading (; ') is a Jewish religious tradition that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Torah scroll. The term often refers to the entire ceremony of removing the scroll (or scrolls) from the Torah ark, chanting th ...

during services, the term used is bima or bimah.

Ancient Greece

The Ancient Greek ''bēma'' () means both 'platform' and 'step', being derived from '' bainein'' (, 'to go'). The original use of the bema in Athens was as a tribunal from which orators addressed the citizens as well as the courts of law, for instance, in the

Pnyx The Pnyx (; grc, Πνύξ ; ell, Πνύκα, ''Pnyka'') is a hill in central Athens, the capital of Greece. Beginning as early as 507 BC ( Fifth-century Athens), the Athenians gathered on the Pnyx to host their popular assemblies, thus makin ...

. In Greek law courts the two parties to a dispute presented their arguments each from separate bemas. By

metonymy Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something closely associated with that thing or concept. Etymology The words ''metonymy'' and ''metonym'' come from grc, μετωνυμία, 'a change of name ...

, bema was also a place of judgement, being the extension of the raised seat of the judge, as described in the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chris ...

, in and , and further, as the seat of the Roman emperor, in , and of God, in , when speaking in judgment.

Judaism

Etymology

The post-Biblical

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

''bima'' (), 'platform' or 'pulpit', is almost certainly derived from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...

word for a raised platform, ''bema'' (). A philological link to the

Biblical Hebrew Biblical Hebrew (, or , ), also called Classical Hebrew, is an archaic form of the Hebrew language, a language in the Canaanite branch of Semitic languages spoken by the Israelites in the area known as the Land of Israel, roughly west of t ...

''bama'' (), 'high place' has been suggested.

Alternative names

The ''bimah'' (Hebrew plural: ''bimot'') in synagogues is also known as the ''almemar'' or ''almemor'' among some Ashkenazis (from the Arabic, ''al-

minbar A minbar (; sometimes romanized as ''mimber'') is a pulpit in a mosque where the imam (leader of prayers) stands to deliver sermons (, '' khutbah''). It is also used in other similar contexts, such as in a Hussainiya where the speaker sits a ...

'', meaning 'platform'). Among Sephardic Jews it is known as a ''tevah'' (literally 'box, case' in Hebrew) or ''migdal-etz'' ('tower of wood').

Purpose

The importance of the ''bimah'' is to show that the reader is the most important at that moment in time, and to make it easier to hear their reader of the Torah.

Description and use

The bimah became a standard fixture in synagogues from which the weekly

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

portion ('' parashah'') and the '' haftarah'' are read. In antiquity the bimah was made of stone, but in modern times it is usually a rectangular wooden platform approached by steps.''Britannica Concise Encyclopædia'': "bema" The synagogue ''bimah'' is typically elevated by two or three steps, as was the ''bimah'' in the Temple. A raised bimah will typically have a railing. This was a religious requirement for safety in bimah more than 10 handbreadths high, or between . A lower bimah (even one step) will typically have a railing as a practical measure to prevent someone from inadvertently stepping off. In

Orthodox Judaism Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses o ...

, the bimah is located in the center of the synagogue, separate from the

Ark Ark or ARK may refer to: Biblical narratives and religion Hebrew word ''teva'' * Noah's Ark, a massive vessel said to have been built to save the world's animals from a flood * Ark of bulrushes, the boat of the infant Moses Hebrew ''aron'' * ...

. In other branches of Judaism, the bimah and the Ark are joined together. Prior to

Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous sear ...

, all synagogues had their ''bimah'' in the middle . The Reform movement moved theirs close to or around the '' aron kodesh'' (Holy Ark). At the celebration of the Shavuot holiday when synagogues are decorated with flowers, many synagogues have special arches that they place over the ''bimah'' and adorn with floral displays.

Christianity

The ceremonial use of a bema carried over from Judaism into early Christian church architecture. It was originally a raised platform with a lectern and seats for the clergy, from which lessons from the Scriptures were read and the

sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. ...

was delivered. In

Western Christianity Western Christianity is one of two sub-divisions of Christianity ( Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the Old Catholi ...

the bema developed over time into the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. ...

(or presbytery) and the pulpit. In

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

, West Syriac and Alexandrian Rites of

Eastern Christianity Eastern Christianity comprises Christian traditions and church families that originally developed during classical and late antiquity in Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, Northeast Africa, the Fertile Crescent an ...

''bema'' generally remains the name of the platform which composes the sanctuary; it consists of both the area behind the iconostasion and the platform in front of it from which the

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

leads the ektenias (litanies) together with the ambo from which the priest delivers the

and distributes Holy Communion. It may be approached by one or several steps. The bema is composed of the altar (the area behind the iconostasion), the '' soleas'' (the pathway in front of the iconostasion), and the ''ambo'' (the area in front of the Holy Doors which projects westward into the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-typ ...

). Orthodox

laity In religious organizations, the laity () consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non- ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother. In both religious and wider secular usage, a lay ...

do not normally step up onto the bema except to receive Holy Communion.

Islam

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

, a pulpit, called

, in a standard furnishing in every Friday mosque. The earliest record of a minbar dates back to between 628 and 631 CE.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Sacral architecture Synagogue architecture Pulpits Church architecture Eastern Christian liturgical objects Architecture of Athens Ancient Athens