The origins of the synagogue

The sweedish young New Testament scholar Anders Runesson (presently at McMaster University Department of Religious Studies, Ontario  Canada), has written an suggestive and informative article on the origins of the Synagogue in the latest issue of  Studia Theologica:

"The origins of the synagogue in past and present research - some comments on definitions, theories, and sources," Studia Theologica Volume 58, Number 1 / May 2004 , pp. 60-76.

Abstract:
"The idea that the synagogue originated in the Babylonian exile has been so frequently repeated over the centuries that, despite the fact that this consensus broke down over 20 years ago, some researchers still quote it as if it were an incontestable historical fact. The present study analyses the history of scholarship on the origins of the synagogue, from the first century writings of Philo to the recent work of Lee Levine. Challenging old assumptions and ideas, it takes a new approach to the study of the synagogue and proposes a radical solution to this ancient riddle."

A. Runesson also has another article out on Web on the origin of the Synagogue,; you can read it here: The Nature and Origins of the 1st-Century Synagogue.  It is an abbreviated version of the journal article mentioned above, and both draws on his dissertation from the University of Lund, Sweeden: The Origins of the Synagogue: A Socio-Historical Study. ConBNT 37. (Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell International, 2001).