3/20/2023 0 Comments Tiberius river bibleOnly further survey and excavation of the northern shores of the Galilee and discourse among the scholarly community can begin to elucidate this predicament of identity. Mordechai Aviam.Īs it stands, archaeologists from two separate sites now claim to be excavating Biblical Bethsaida, and both boast historical and archaeological evidence to support their case. Pieces of the Roman tile mosaic found at el-Araj. Arav cites occupation and substantial growth of the town throughout the Roman period as evidence corroborating Josephus’s account. In 30 C.E., Philip had renamed the city Julias after Livia-Julia, Roman emperor Augustus’s wife and mother of Tiberius, the reigning emperor at the time. For years, director Rami Arav has asserted that et-Tell’s archaeological remains sync up with historical accounts of the ancient village, including ancient Jewish historian Josephus’s report that under Philip the Tetrarch (one of Herod the Great’s sons), the town was improved, “… both by the number of inhabitants it contained, and its other grandeur” ( Antiquities 18:2). ![]() Could a mosaic inscription at the site of El-Araj be the smoking gun archaeologists are looking for to determine the true location of biblical Bethsaida? Read More in this BHD article.Ī consortium of schools headed by the University of Nebraska, Omaha, claim to be excavating Biblical Bethsaida at the site of et-Tell on the east bank of the Jordan River and have published their findings as the Bethsaida Excavations Project since 1991. Bethsaida is also said to be the fishing village where Jesus fed the masses with just five loaves and two fish (Luke 9:10–17 Mark 6:30–44).ĭiscovering Biblical Bethsaida. Here he led a blind man away from the village, restored his sight, and instructed the man not to reenter the town nor to tell anyone of the miracle he had performed (Mark 8:22–26). The town-including its nearby shore-is identified as the location where Jesus performed some of his most indelible miracles. When Jesus was first calling his disciples, he traveled to Galilee and found there Philip, who is described as being of Bethsaida along with Peter and Andrew (John 1:43-44). Recent discoveries at the site of el-Araj have called into question the decades-old claim that et-Tell on the eastern shore of the Jordan River is this lost Biblical city.Īlong with Jerusalem and Capernaum, Bethsaida is frequently mentioned in the Gospels. The ancient village of Bethsaida is believed to be located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, but where precisely the abandoned city lies remains a fiercely-debated question among scholars. Photo: Duby Tal and Moni Haramati, Albatross/Courtesy of Bethsaida Excavations. ![]() Where is Biblical Bethsaida? One contender is the site of et-Tell, a mile and a half north of the Sea of Galilee.
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