Capernaum. City of Galilee, mentioned only in the Gospels, which was the headquarters of much of Jesus’ ministry. It lay on the northwest side of the Sea of Galilee (or Lake of Gennesaret), but its site is unknown. Its name means “village of Nahum.” But it is impossible to say who this Nahum was, whether the OT writer or someone else. Matthew gives us the only location we know: “And leaving Nazareth he went and dwelt in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali” (Mt 4:13). The west shore of the lake was settled by the tribe of Naphtali. Two of the characters described as being in Capernaum help to identify its location as near the border of the Jordan and the political frontier. The story of the centurion (Mt 8:5; Lk 7:2) points to the small garrison of about 100 men found at such a frontier town. The story of Levi’s call to leave the customs post controlling the taxation of the area reflects on the same border character of the town (Mt 9:9; Mk 2:14; Lk 5:27). These are the only scant indications we have, for the supposed sites of Capernaum have not been excavated adequately to determine which it is. The two possible sites are within two miles of each other: Khan Minya (or Khirbet el-Minyeh) and Tell Hum (or Telhūm). Until the end of the last century Khirbet el-Minyeh was favored, lying at the seventh milestone on the road from Tiberias to Safed. Stones for building the road were used from this site. E. Robinson identified Khirbet el-Minyeh as Capernaum, but does not indicate why he favored the site. Josephus (War 3.10.8) describes in glowing terms the fertility of the countryside of Gennesaret and describes “a very copious spring” called Capernaum. This could well be the springs of the Seven Wells in the Tabgha delta, one of which is the most abundant spring in Galilee. Its water served to drive mills and to irrigate the Tabgha plain. It also fed two cisterns which in turn supplied a Roman bath northeast of Khirbet el-Minyeh. Older Jewish evidence has argued for Tell Hum. The Greek Capharnaum is rendered by the Hebrew Kāphar nahūm in Midrash Kohelet 1.8 and 7.26 (c. A.D. 110), proving that Capernaum still existed in the 2nd century. There is no further mention until 1160, when Benjamin of Tudela refers to “Capharnaum which is Kaphar Nachum.” The Franciscans, who acquired the site, have found a considerable number of coins of that period at Tell Hum, and the ruins of the synagogue there may well date from the 3rd century A.D. Preliminary excavations have failed to reveal an older synagogue lying beneath the present ruins that could be identified as the one built by the centurion in Luke 7:5. In the absence of further evidence the Israeli government has labeled Tell Hum “Kefar Nahum,” leaving it an open question where Capernaum was located. Consequently most of what we know of Capernaum is from the Gospel narrative. It was an important settlement, with a Roman garrison, adopted by Jesus as “his own city” after his rejection by Nazareth (Mt 9:1). Here he was “at home” (Mk 2:1) and performed many miracles (Mk 1:34): the healing of the centurion’s servant (Mt 8:5); the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law (Mk 1:31); and the exorcism of the unclean spirit (Mk 1:23; Lk 4:33). Thus highly favored by the ministry of Jesus, there was also a heavy curse imposed on the city because of its unrepentance: “And you Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades” (Mt 11:23; Lk 10:15). Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. (1988).Baker encyclopedia of the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Jul 2013 21:24:22 +0000
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