The village of Peqi’in occupies the northeastern slope of the Peqi’in Valley, and its ancient nucleus was located some 80 meters above the Peqi’in streambed. The location of the village under these ecological conditions – a favorable niche, and close to water, attracted inhabitants and supported a viable economy for its residents, who enjoyed the nearby water sources. The most common occupation was agriculture with human or rain-irrigated fields, while the forests were used for grazing, hunting, and as a source for timber for construction and fuel.

The village is mentioned in ancient documents from the Roman and Byzantine periods that discuss the concentration of agricultural population in the area.

The ancient synagogue also served as a hiding place for Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai and his son. It was after an extensive stay in the synagogue that they reached the famous cave in Peqi’in.

The ancient synagogue in Peqi’in was built, according to tradition, following the destruction of the Second Temple, on the ruins of a house of study associated with R. Yehoshua ben Hananya, a Tana (Sage from the Mishnaic period) and a Levite, who became a leading Sage after the death of R. Gamliel (his well known adversary) in 130 CE. This synagogue is testimony to the ancient Jewish settlement of Peqi’in, which dates to the Second Temple period when R. Yehoshua’s house of learning was teeming with life and Torah study.

The scholar S. Klein compared the ancient inscriptions from the synagogue and dated them to the period of R. Shimon Bar Yohai, c. 170 CE. This finding is consistent with the assertion of scholars Kohl and Watzinger, who date the building of synagogues in the Galilee to the late 2nd c. CE, the end of the Mishnaic period.

The wisdom of R. Yehoshua was well known in his times, particularly in debates and polemical disputations. “I have never been triumphed [in argument] except for by a woman, a lad, and a maiden,” R. Yehoshua declared of himself. It is believed by some that R. Yehoshua moved to Peqi’in following a disagreement with Rabban Gamliel. The scholar A.M. Luntz, espoused the view that R. Johsua ben Hananya took up residence in the Galilee after the Sanhedrin moved there.

When Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai and his son were fleeing for their lives from the Romans, they hid at various locations in the Galilee. Among their hiding places was this very house of study where R. Yehoshua ben Hananya presided, in Peqi’in.  After a long period during which they remained in the house of study, the two reached the famous cave in Peqi’in where they hid for 13 years and where, according to tradition, R. Shimon bar Yohai composed the Zohar.

Scholars agree that following the destruction of the Second Temple, priestly families arrived from Jerusalem to the Galilee, and a number of them settled in Peqi’in. According to local tradition, they were all descendents of the priestly divisions who performed rotations in the Temple, and some even trace their lineage to R. Yosei of Peqi’in. Tradition also relates that these priests brought stones from the Temple to the synagogue, engraved with a lamp (menorah), citron (etrog) and date palm branch (lulav), as well as the image of the Nicanor Gate, one of the gates of the Temple. Between 1926-1931 archaeologists examined the structure of the synagogue and the special stones, and reached the conclusion that they are not authentic relics from the Temple, but rather two ancient stone slabs that survived from an ancient synagogue. The archaeologists determined that one slab contains a relief of the Holy Ark, and the other, a relief of a lamp (menorah), date palm branch (lulav), ram’s horn (shofar) and an incense pan, sure signs of an ancient presence of Jews in Peqi’in in the days of the Mishna and the Gemara. During the Bar Kokhba rebellion (132-135 C.E.), Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai and his son Rabbi Elazar hid from the Roman authorities in a cave in Peqi’in, to escape the harsh and cruel treatment of the Jews.

They remained in the cave for thirteen years, where, according to tradition, R. Shimon wrote the holy “Zohar”. The cave is to this day considered a sacred site, also for the non-Jewish inhabitants of Peqi’in.