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A view looking south-southwest at the mosaic floor of the sixth century A.D synagogue at Bet Alpha.
The synagogue faces towards Jerusalem and is basilica in shape with a central nave and two side aisles. There may have been (womens') balconies over each of the two side aisles.
In the foreground of the central nave, the panel depicts the "Binding of Isaac" by Abraham (Genesis 22). In the central panel is a square with the four seasons at each corner, and a Zodiac that surrounds a circle in which the sun god Helios is riding in a chariot that is drawn by four horses. In the far panel is a depiction of the "ark" in which Torah scrolls were kept. This is surrounded by Menorahs (menoroth) and other Jewish objects associated with the long destroyed Temple in Jerusalem
The synagogue dates to the sixth century A.D. and was destroyed by an earthquake. It was discovered in 1929 and excavated by E. L. Sukenik of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Today it is located on the grounds of Kibbutz Hetzi–Ba.
