Free Republic

Israeli archaeologists recently found two areas which might have been part of the ancient city of Bethsaida, which was mentioned prominently in the Bible. A Byzantine church may be the missing link needed to establish one of them as the city where two apostles were born. The areas have both Byzantine as well as Roman ruins from the eras through which the city flourished. What the researchers call “Area A” at El-Araj has the remains of the southern, western, and northern walls of the Byzantine-era Church of the Apostles. Also in that same area are the remains from the Roman...

Stunning stone etching of two horned individuals at prayer found at mouth of rare circa-11th century citadel in Israel’s north; could predate famous Geshur site, Tel Bethsaida Dating to around the time of King David 3,000 years ago, what may be the earliest fortified settlement in the Golan Heights was recently discovered during salvage excavations ahead of the construction of a new neighborhood. Incredible rock etchings of two figures holding their arms aloft — possibly at prayer with what could be a moon — were uncovered inside the unique fort, which was dated to circa 11th-9th century BCE. The striking...

The archaeologists consider that the fort was built by the kingdom of Geshur, the ally of King David, in order to control the region. The excavation was undertaken prior to the construction of a new neighborhood in Hispin, and funded by the Ministry of Housing and Construction and the Golan Regional Council, with the participation of many residents of Hispin and Nov, and youth from the pre-military academies at Natur, Kfar Hanasi, Elrom, Metzar and Qaztrin. According to Barak Tzin and Enno Bron, excavation directors on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, "The complex we exposed was built at a...

About 25 years ago, the Government Naming Committee for State of Israel renamed a large mound on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, which in the past had been known by the name et-Tell, as Bethsaida. The following is why they did so... Still, to solve the problem of the location of Bethsaida, scholars in the 19th century suggested there might be two Bethsaidas: They identified the one mentioned by Josephus with et-Tell and suggested a second Bethsaida existed at some still unidentified location in the Galilee. For the second Bethsaida, Robinson suggested the site of Tabgha, which...

Lost Church of the Apostles where Jesus’ disciples once lived ‘finally found’ The legendary Church of the Apostles, believed by Christians to be the site of some of Jesus’ disciples’s homes, has likely been discovered. The incredible discovery was made in an area believed to be the ancient village of Bethsaida by the Sea of Galilee. This is where some religious scholars believe Jesus’ disciples Peter and Andrew lived. Kinneret Academic College and Nyack College of New York archaeologists believe the ancient Jewish village of Bethsaida, which is mentioned in the Bible’s New Testament, was far larger than previously thought....

In Matthew 11, Jesus expresses his frustration with the people in his native region who, despite witnessing his mighty works, refused to repent and believe the Gospel. He singled out the residents of Bethsaida, the home town of Peter, Andrew and Philip. “Woe to you, Bethsaida!” he declared. “For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you.” Other mentions of Bethsaida in the...

Since 2009, archaeologists have been slowly excavating the ancient town of Magdala—thought to be the home of Mary Magdalene—near the Sea of Galilee. Among their finds has been a first-century synagogue where, experts say, Jesus likely preached. Image: Israel Antiquities Authority Although Jerusalem and Bethlehem are the sites most commonly associated with Jesus, Father Eamon Kelly—vice president of Israel's Magdala Center and vice chargé of the Pontifical Institute Notre Dame of Jerusalem Center—points out that Jesus spent almost his entire life in what is now northern Israel. "Eighty percent of Jesus' public life was here," he tells the Israeli...

The highlight of the excavation was the discovery of a Judea Capta coin, which was minted by Roman Emporor Domitian during his reign of 81 – 96 CE in honor of the conquest of Judea and the destruction of Jersusalem in 70 CE by his father, Vespasian, and brother, Titus. Christie Cobb, a doctoral student at Drew University in New Jersey, discovered the coin. There are only 48 other versions of this coin that have been found, and fewer still at Biblical sites such as Bethsaida. “The coin confirms other ceramic data about the date of the large Roman period...