The Galilee

The Jordan River near its northern outlet into the Sea of Galilee.

Just 5 miles north of the kibbutz is Capernaum, situated on the northwestern shore of the Galilee. This is were Christ lived during most of his ministry.

Capernaum and nearby Tabgha have several churches commemorating the Biblical significance of the area. There are also extensive excavated ruins of Capernaum including:

• A synogogue dating back to Christ’s time that he would have likely attended
• The foundation of the traditional site of St. Peter’s house. The foundation is actually one of the few New Testament sites that has a strong liklihood of being the actual place. This is because records going back to a few decades after Christ indicate Peter lived in a house with an octagonal shape, which is the case with this foundation.
• The ruins at Capernaum were very peaceful—especially along the shore of the coast, making it a very nice place to contemplate the events that occurred there including Christ’s calling of Peter and Andrew and his later calling of Peter to lead his church. It is thought that Christ’s walking on the water occurred near here.

Mt. of Beautitudes
Close to Capernaum on a very tall hill overlooking the Galilee is the Mt. of Beautitudes where Christ traditionally gave the Sermon on the Mount. I enjoyed reading the plaques outside the church highlighting the beautitudes and pondering the signficance of these teachings.

A view of the northern part of the Galilee from the traditional mountain where the Sermon on the Mount was given.

Bethsaida, Korazim and Kursi

Along the northeastern shore is Bethsaida where Peter, Andrew and some of the other disciples were from. There is a tel (hill with layers of ruins of civilizations) here that is still being excavated. One of the excavations includes a road that dates back to the time of Christ. Also, there was a fishermen’s house and winemaker’s house (based on artifacts found in the homes). (Peter and Andrew were fishermen.)

We also saw the ruins of Korazim and Kursi. Both of these villages, along with Capernaum, are mentioned (cursed, actually) in the New Testament. Korazim’s ruins included a synogogue. Kursi is the likely site of the running of the swine.

Ancient synagogue in Korazim.

We stopped for lunch at Kibbutz Ein Gev where Jen had an assortment of “salads” (a little too different for our American tastes) and Garry had St. Peter’s Fish, a famous variety of tilapia specific to the Galilee.

The St. Peter's Fish Garry ordered in Ein Gedi.