City just north of the Sea of Galilee where Jesus performed many miracles. Jesus condemned the city for its unbelief.
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Tiberias Area
Easily visible from Jesus' hometown of Capernaum, Tiberias, the regional capital built by Herod Antipas, stood on the western side of the sea. The city was shunned by religious Jews because it was supposedly built over a cemetery, ma...
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The father of the Jewish nation (Gen. 12-25). God called Abraham out of his home country and promised to give him the land of Canaan (Gen. 15). God also promised that all the people on earth would be blessed through Abraham; God's people today can...
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Means "Yes, this is true!" or "Let it be so!"
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Raised platform; the Seat of judgment. Also, place from which scripture is read in the synagogue.
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Hebrew word meaning "totally given to the Lord," often through destruction. Only God's judgment could reclaim anything placed under this curse.
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A short sermon offered by the reader of the Torah or Haftarah in the synagogue. Any adult member of the community was eligible to speak the sermon, and it was frequently quite short (Jesus spoke only a few words, Luke 4:21).
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Temple surrounded with two rows of columns.
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The Hebrew word for disciple is talmid. This word stresses the relationship between rabbi (teacher or master) and disciple (student). A talmid of Jesus' day would give up his entire life in order to be with his teacher. The disciple didn't only se...
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Shrine or temple dedicated to a demigod or deified hero.
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City gaurding the Valley of Harod and the route from the Valley of Jezreel to Beth Shean. Here Ahab and Jezebel had a summer palace, Ahab stole Naboth's vineyard, and Jezebel was killed.
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Korazin stood in the northwestern corner of the Galilee region, about three miles from the Sea. The nearby cities of Capernaum and Bethsaida joined Korazin as part of the "orthodox triangle," an area inhabited primarily by devout J...
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Known in the Bible as the Great Sea, it formed the western border of Israel. Since the Jews were not a seafaring people, the Mediterranean was more of a boundary than an integral part of their lives.
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This closeup shows the somewhat decayed and broken seating stone on the left. The fine craftsmanship of the tekton (i.e., carpenter) who carved it is seen along the bottom.The care with which thousands of these stones were cut for this structure h...
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Temple surrounded by a row of columns.
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A person God has chosen to bring his message to the people.
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Dipteral temple without inner row of columns.
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Jewish religious practice after the Temple was destroyed (AD 70) that centered around the Torah and its interpretation by the rabbis.
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Authority given to a rabbi to proclaim his own interpretation of Torah, rather than simply referring to what other rabbis had said. The crowds were amazed at Jesus' teaching, because he taught like one who had "s'mikheh" (Matt. 7:28%u201...
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One of the oldest Decapolis cities. Originally, Beth Shean, renamed Scythopolis, or "City of Scythians," following Alexander the Great's conquest. Reputation for abundant water and fertile land. Located on the road Galileans walked in th...
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' Modern worldview based on an evolutionary model that considers human beings the ultimate life form and denies the existence or relevance of God. Right and wrong are determined by human standards, not God's.'
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The Soreq was a five-foot-tall stone wall that surrounded the inner courts of the consecrated temple area and was designed to keep Gentiles and their "unacceptable" people out of the inner courts. Gentiles could not pass the Soreq on pai...
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Valley linking the coastal plain and the Judea Mountains through the Shephelah. Samson lived here.
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A Greek word meaning "to gather." The Jews would gather at buildings called synagogues to worship God and to study the Scriptures. Each Jewish community also used the synagogue to teach young people.
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Port city and provincial capital of the Roman province of Judea. Herod built a spectacular man-made harbor with two breakwaters to link the country with world commerce.
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A small rectangular box containing scripture affixed to a doorpost. Meant to remind observant Jews to obey the commandments whether at home or "along the road."
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This photograph displays the remains of the first tier of seats in the theater. The elaborate stone benches are fitted into foundations cut into bedrock on this first section.The seats are carefully shaped with a lip edge for spectators' comfort. ...
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This beautiful wall on one of the Western Hill mansions is decorated with fresco panels painted in red and yellow. This design is typical of those used among the wealthy (probably Sadducees) in the time of Jesus. The blackened areas are the result...
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Rabbi and TalmidimThe people of Galilee were the most religious Jews in the world in the time of Jesus. This is quite contrary to the common view that the Galileans were simple, uneducated peasants from an isolated area. This perspective is probab...
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The Domitian Gate:
Hierapolis, known for its healing hot springs, was about six miles from Laodicea. What is left of the entrance to the city?a gate complex of two gigantic towers and three arches that opened onto a paved street about a mile and a...
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The Jewish RevoltsJewish people of Jesus' day had a passionate desire for freedom from the domination of the pagan Romans and the oppressive Herod dynasty that had ruled them for many years. Revolt seethed continuously, mostly underground, for mor...
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Sea of Galilee Climate and LifeSeveral hot mineral springs surround the Sea of Galilee. The largest of these springs is located near the ancient capital city of Tiberias, where Herod Antipas once included it in his hot baths. The number of sick pe...
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The enormous Temple Mount of Herod had a 45-foot-wide colonnade around it. The eastern colonnade was called Solomon's Colonnade and was used by Jesus and the early Christians as a place of meeting and teaching. More than 40 feet high, the roof of ...
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Sea of Galilee GeographyAlthough it has many names, most New Testament readers recognize "the Sea of Galilee" as its common designation. It is also called the Sea of Kinnereth (Num. 34:11; Josh. 12:3), the Lake of Gennesaret (Luke 5:1), ...
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Local elders governed the synagogue as a kind of democracy. While all adult members of the community could belong to the synagogue, only adult males age 13 or older could be elders.A local caretaker called the hazzan (sometimes called "ruler&...
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A Galilean BoatThis replica has been constructed based on the remains of a first-century boat found recently in the mud of the Sea of Galilee.It is considered to represent the type of boat the disciples used for fishing and in their travels across...
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Ancient Anchors these stone anchors were found in one of the ancient harbors in the area of Galilee. Each is a large piece of basalt in which a hole has been made and to which a rope has been attached.These anchors would have been thrown into the ...
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This section of the Temple Mount Wall dates from the time of Herod. The Temple stood on the floor above the wall shown here. This particular wall would have been more than 40 feet above the street in Jesus day. The Roman destruction of the Temple ...
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The town of Capernaum stood near the northwest corner of the Sea of Galilee, situated along the busy Via Maris trade route, also known as the 'Way of the Sea.'The prophet Isaiah predicted that the Messiah would live by "the way to the sea,&qu...
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Herod built the fortress-palace of Masada on a huge rock plateau overlooking the Dead Sea in the barren, remote, Judea Wilderness.Protection
The top of the plateau, being more than twenty acres in size and nearly 1,300 feet above sea level, provid...
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Only recently have these scattered remains been identified as Herod's palace. In the center was a freshwater pool now largely filled with silt and stones from the building itself. In the center is the podium believed to be the base for a large sta...
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Modern-day FishingToday fishermen catch the same fish and use the same nets as the disciples did. The Sea of Galilee is near the hills of today's Golan Heights and the Decapolis of Jesus' day. The cool wind blowing off the hills sinks rapidly onto...
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This aerial view shows the remains of Capernaum, a small village on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee ("Capernaum" comes from the Hebrew Kfar Nahum, which means "Nahum's Village"). Jesus chose this place as the hub of hi...
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The SoreqThe Soreq was a five-foot-tall stone wall that surrounded the inner courts of the consecrated temple area and was designed to keep Gentiles and other "unacceptable" people out of the inner courts. Gentiles could not pass the Sor...
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Sacred StonesLong before the Israelites entered Canaan, pagans in the Middle East erected sacred stones to honor their gods, to declare covenants and treaties between cities, or to honor an important event that could only be explained by the super...
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There are many theories about the origin of a gathering place called "synagogue." The Greek word for synagogue means "assembly" and is used in place of the Hebrew word meaning "congregation" or "community of Isra...
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The Holy of Holies was reached by climbing two steps. This provided the symbolism of going up to God that is so central to the biblical idea of worship.In this small room were two standing stones. Scholars debate whether these stones represented t...
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Altar of sacrifice: It measures 4.5 feet high and 7.5 feet square, the same dimensions as the altar of the tabernacle. It is made of unworked stones, just as God commanded. A large stone on top provided a place for the sacrifice to be made. Archae...
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This aerial view looks north over the fertile plain of Gennesaret. The road follows the route of the biblical Way of the Sea (Matt. 4:12-17). The modern-day Kibbutz Ginnosar is not far from what was Gennesaret in Jesus' time.In the distance along ...
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Located on the main street between the theater and a sacred pool, this forty-by-sixty-foot temple was dedicated to the supposed god of light, Apollo. The entrance faced west and was approached by a broad flight of stairs.Beneath the Temple of Apol...
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This spectacular theater was built during the Roman period in the Decapolis city of Beth Shean, known also by its Greek name, Scythopolis. It was more than 360 feet in diameter and seated over 7,000 people. As seen here, one tier of seats remains....
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The Seeds of RevoltThe Seeds
After the Romans began their occupation of Judea in 64 BC, the Jews became divided on how to respond.The religious leaders, particularly the Pharisees, believed the Messiah would come from the Jewish people and make Is...
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This photograph is taken from the hills north of the Sea of Galilee, looking south. The sea is nearly 13 miles long and more than seven miles wide. The area in the foreground is the northwestern corner of the sea, where most of Jesus' miracles wer...
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From Galilee to AsiaThe remains of the towns and villages of Galilee give evidence to the simple lifestyle of the Jewish people of the first century. Few were wealthy or poor. Most were hardworking people living comfortable lives as extended famil...
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Huge marble columns lie where they fell when an earthquake devastated Beth Shean in AD 749. Note the depth of soil that has covered the remains of the last major settlement on this site.
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A hint; referring to a rabbinic teaching technique in which a rabbi would hint at a meaning without actually coming out and saying it. Example: Jesus saying that the sellers and money changers had made the Temple a "den of robbers," refe...
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