The Messianic theme in the painting of the Dura synagogue

"The paintings of the Dura-Europos synagogue, excavated in 1932, are the earliest known pictorial representations, of this scope, of biblical scenes. Although a number of he thirty panels have been interpreted, a few among them have until now defied explanation. The author here offers a complete interpretation of the entire series of paintings. Mrs. Wischnitzer demonstrates in this volume that the synagogue decorations clearly were based upon a distinct ideological concept. According to this concept every episode appears as part of a cycle, carrying the spectator to the messianic idea of Return, Restoration, and Salvation."