Category:Capernaum (subject)

Capernaum was a village in Galilee on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee.

Overview

Capernaum was a small village in Galilee.

The site was more structurally inhabited starting from the mid 2nd-century BCE and declined by the 12-13th centuries CE. During the Second Temple period, it remained a small settlement of farmers and fishermen, with no walls or fortifications. Mentioned by Josephus, it was the center of the preaching of Jesus of Nazareth.

In Byzantine period, Capernaum remained a small village in Galilee with a Jewish population, including a Christian community.

Capernaum in ancient sources

Gospel of Mark

Mark.1.21 And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching.

Mark.2.1 And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home.

Mark.9.33 And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?”

Gospel of Matthew

Matt.4.13 And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali,

Matt.8.5 When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him,

Matt.11.23 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.

Matt.17.24 When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the half-shekel tax went up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?”

Gospel of Luke

Luke.4.23 And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself.’ What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.”

Luke.4.31 And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath,

Luke.7.1 After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum.

Luke.10.15 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades.

Gospel of John

John 2:12 -- After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days.

John 4:46 -- So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill.

John 6:17 -- got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.

John 6:24 -- So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.

John 6:59 -- Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.

Capernaum in Scholarship

Capernaum was first described by American explorer Edward Robinson in 1838: "The whole place is desolate and mournful. A few Arabs only of the Semekiyeh were here encamped in tents, and had built up a few hovels among the ruins which they used as magazines." He also noticed "the prostrate ruins of an edifice which, for expense, labour and ornament, surpasses any thing we have yet seen in Palestine." He later correctly identified the ruins as that of a synagogue.

In 1866 British explorer Charles W. Wilson made some soundings and described two monumental tombs.

To protect the site from damage and vandalism, the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land purchased it in 1894.

In 1905 the excavation of the synagogue started under the direction of Heinrich Kohl and Carl Watzinger of the Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft, followed (1906-1915) by Franciscan architect Wendelin von Menden.

Between 1921 and 1926, Fr. Gaudentius Orfali of Nazareth made additional excavations of the site and completed the restoration of the synagogue (1922-1925). It was believed that the monumental synagogue dated from the first century and was the one mentioned in the Gospels.

From 1986 to 1991, Virgilio Corbo and Stanislao Loffreda directed a systematic excavation that included not only the synagogue but also the ruins of a Byzantine octagonal church and of the entire site. In the same years, V. Tzaferis of the Department of Antiquities conducted five seasons of excavations in the nearby Greek-Orthodox property (1978-1982).

The excavations demonstrated that the monumental synagogue was built in the late 4th century. Some elements seems to suggest the presence of a previous synagogue, but the evidence is disputed.

Close to synagogue, the ruins of a Byzantine octagonal church from the 5th century CE were excavated. The church was built on some older buildings, which have been suggested could be the house where Peter and Andrew lived.

In 1986 the remains of a 1st-century fishing boat were found, and are now on display at the Yigal Alon Museum in Kibbutz Ginosar, Tiberias. Although no evidence connects the artifact to Jesus or his disciples, the boat provides a good example of the type of boat used of the time.

Today, Capernaum is a popular archaeological site. The major attractions are the ruins of the monumental synagogue and of the socalled House of Peter, and the remains of the Sea of Galilee boat.

References

Chen 1986: D. Chen, On the Chronology of the Ancient Synagogue at Capernaum, "Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins" 102 (1986), pp. 134-143.

Corbo-Loffreda 1975: V. Corbo-S. Loffreda-A. Spijkerman-E. Testa, Cafarnao, I-IV, Jerusalem 1985.

Foester 1981: G. Foester, "Notes on Recent Excavations at Capernaum", in L..J. Levine (ed.), Ancient Synagogues Revealed, Jerusalem 1981, pp. 57-59.

Guérin 1880: V. Guérin, Description géographique, historique et archéologique de la Palestine: Galilée, I, Paris 1880, pp. 226-239.

Kohl-Watzinger 1959:H. Kohl-C. Watzinger, Antike Synagogen in Galiläa, Leipzig 1916.

Kopp 1959: C. Kopp, Die heiligen Stätten der Evangelien, Regensburg 1959, pp. 215-230.

Loffreda 1985: S. Loffreda, Recovering Capharnaum, Jerusalem 1985.

Loffreda 1995: S. Loffreda, Cafarnao, Jerusalem 1995.

Loffreda-Tzaferis 1993: S. Loffreda-V. Tzaferis, Capernaum, voce in E. Stern (ed.), The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, voll. I-IV, Jerusalem 1993.

Loffreda-Tzaferis 1994: S. Loffreda-V. Tzaferis, Capernaum, voce in Y. Tsafrir-L. Di Segni-J. Green, Tabula Imperii Romani. Judaea-Palaestina. Maps and Gazetter, Jerusalem 1994.

Neemann 1967: D. Neemann, Capernaum, Tel Aviv 1967.

Orfali 1922: G. Orfali, Capharnaüm et ses ruines, Paris 1922.

Riesner 1985: R. Riesner, Neues von den Synagogen Kafarnaums, "Bibel und Kirke" 40 (1985), pp. 133-135.

Tzaferis 1983: V. Tzaferis, New Archeological Evidence on Ancient Capernaum, "Biblical Archaeologist" 46 (1983), pp. 198-204.

Tzaferis 1989: V. Tzaferis et alii, Excavations at Capernaum, I, Winoina Lake 1989

Capernaum in Fiction

Related categories

External links

• Wikipedia