Biblical Archaeology: Bethsaida, Birthplace of Jesus’ Apostles

The possible birthplace of three of Jesus’s disciples has been discovered. Or, at least, revised. The city is Bethsaida. Besides being another place-name mentioned in the Bible, this town was also the home to three of the apostles, Peter, Andrew and Philip.

“Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida” (John 1:44).

[Editor’s Note: In 2017, archaeologists began revising theories about the location of the ancient fishing village of Bethsaida. The traditional site of Bethsaida known as, El Tell, is about a mile away from the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. But what is a fishing village doing a mile away from the water? Well, it was believed that the water levels in that area were higher 2,000 years ago. But, archaeologist Stephen Notley and others found evidence that the water levels there didn’t really change in that time, effectively ruling out el-Tell. Subsequent digs closer to water, uncovered a more likely candidate for Bethsaida at the el-Araj dig site, just a few yards from the share.] Here is a quick video of the discovery:

Reports by the National Geographic echoed these findings, but in a more tempered tone stating that:

“The “lost home of Jesus’ apostles” has just been found, according to a recent Israeli newspaper report. Yet while the actual discovery is not nearly as sensational as many headlines suggest, the new results are adding very interesting fuel to an ongoing debate about the location of one of the most important cities in the New Testament”.

Kristin Romey, “The Real Story Behind the ‘House of Jesus’ Apostles’ Discovery” Geo. (2017).

While this discovery is not yet definitive, it has generated more discussion about the location of the ancient city of Bethsaida. The discovery was found on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilea as pictured below:

Besides being mentioned in the Bible and the hometown of three disciples, Jesus performs two miracles in Bethsaida. 1. Healing the blind man (Mark 8:22) and 2. Miraculously feeding of the 5,000 multitude with five loaves and two fish (Luke 9:16). If this discovery pans out, then this is a major breakthrough in biblical archaeology.

For more on this discovery see:

“The Real Story Behind the ‘House of Jesus’ Apostles’ Discovery” by Kristin Romey National Geographic | August 7, 2017

“The Lost City of Jesus’ Apostles Has Just Been Found, Archaeologists Say” by Noa Shpigel and Ruth Schuster Haaretz | August 8, 2017

“Is this unearthed fishing village the birthplace of three of Jesus’ apostles?” by Michele Chabin Religious News Service | August 7, 2017

“Archaeological Discovery: Home of 3 of Jesus’ Disciples Possibly Found” by Michael Gryboski ChristianPost| August 7, 2017

Recommended Resources:

Why We Know the New Testament Writers Told the Truth by Frank Turek (mp4 Download)

The Top Ten Reasons We Know the NT Writers Told the Truth mp3 by Frank Turek

Early Evidence for the Resurrection by Dr. Gary Habermas (DVD) , (Mp3) and (Mp4)

Cold Case Resurrection Set by J. Warner Wallace (books)

J. Steve Lee has taught Apologetics for over two and a half decades at Prestonwood Christian Academy. He also has taught World Religions and Philosophy at Mountain View College in Dallas and Collin College in Plano. With a degree in history and education from the University of North Texas, Steve continued his formal studies at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary with a M.A. in philosophy of religion and has pursued doctoral studies at the University of Texas at Dallas and is finishing his dissertation at South African Theological Seminary. He has published several articles for the Apologetics Study Bible for Students as well as articles and book reviews in various periodicals including Philosophia Christi, Hope’s Reason: A Journal of Apologetics , and the Areopagus Journal. Having an abiding love for fantasy fiction, Steve has contributed chapters to two books on literary criticism of Harry Potter: Harry Potter for Nerds and Teaching with Harry Potter . He even appeared as a guest on the podcast MuggleNet Academia (“ Lesson 23 : There and Back Again-Chiasmus, Alchemy, and Ring Composition in Harry Potter”). He is married to his lovely wife, Angela, and has two grown boys, Ethan and Josh.

Originally posted at: https://bit.ly/3V7fyUV