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(Capharnaum, Kfar Nahum)
According to Matthew 11: 20-24, Jesus performed most of
his miracles in Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum. This evangelist tells us that
"leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum" (4:13) and later he
singles out the village as "His own city" (Mt 9:1). Indeed, many
references in the gospels place Jesus very centrally here. Why did Jesus choose
Capernaum as a base? The Bible gives no reason, and we shall probably never
know. The principles of historical geography apply mainly to large groups; in
the case of a teacher and a handful of students, more particular motives may
come into play.
At its height in the Byzantine period, Capernaum probably did
not have more than 1500 people. It spread over 15 acres, stretching for 300
yards along the north shore of the Lake of Galilee. Graves mark its northern
limit at less than 200 yards inland. (Jews do not bury inside their towns.) The
sole village on this shore, it included within its sphere of influence the
springs of Tabgha almost two miles to the west and the mouth of the Upper Jordan
three miles to the east.
Although the Franciscan archaeologists found walls and
pavements dating from the second millennium BC, they discovered nothing from the
entire Israelite period (1200 - 587 BC). This makes good geographical sense: in
that time, there were as yet no bridges in the land, so the Great Trunk Road
could not cross the mouth of the Upper Jordan en route to Damascus. Instead it
stretched due north to Hazor, from which one could either head east to ford the
river or farther north to circumvent its springs.
The Romans introduced bridges. The trunk road could now make a
major shift, following the northern shore of the lake and crossing the mouth of
the Upper Jordan. To this shift the village of Capernaum owed its blossoming.
(Indeed, 100 yards to the north of its shoreline a Roman milestone was found.)
Thus, if you were using the trunk road coming from the tetrarchy of Herod
Philippus, this was the first town you encountered in the tetrarchy of Herod
Antipas. It makes sense, then, that the tax collector lived here.
Coins and imported pottery indicate that the village's
commercial contacts were mainly with the north: the Upper Galilee, the Golan,
Syria, Phoenicia, Asia Minor and Cyprus. There was hardly any contact, it seems,
with the central or southern parts of the country.
 The
village had other advantages, apart from the road. The northern shore is a
favorite haunt of tilapia galilaea, today called Peter's fish, a culinary
favorite then as now. Tilapia is found in nature only here and in the lakes of
eastern Africa, such as Lake Victoria. Both regions belong to the Syro-African
rift valley: there may have been a time (before the rising of the land and the
formation of the Dead Sea) when these bodies of fresh water were connected. If
this fish is of African origin, we can understand its preference for the
northern shore: the springs at Tabgha are warm. They are probably the springs
that Josephus meant, when he wrote of a spring called
"Capernaum, which some consider to be an offshoot of the Nile, because it breeds
a fish very like the perch caught in the lake of Alexandria."
In addition, the natural rock cover is a type of basalt that
has just the right texture for grinding grain. Many millstones, some unfinished,
were found at Capernaum, suggesting that it may have manufactured them for
export.
Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(r),
(c) Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The
Lockman Foundation. (www.Lockman.org)
© 2003 Near East Tourist
Agency (NET)
Text © 2003 Stephen Langfur
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