He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the seacoast… (Matthew 4:13).
As we learned in Part 3, Jesus was not able to make much headway in his hometown Nazareth (cf. Lk.4:16-20). His teachings were not stirring hearts as he had hoped. So he heads down to the shores of the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum, a fishing village known also as “his town” in the Gospels (Mt. 9:1). Capernaum is the Greek form of the Hebrew Kefar Nahum, or “Village of Nahum,” which is either the name of an unknown person, or “village of comfort,” in Hebrew “nahum.”
Josephus mentions the village as being on the border of Galilee and the Jordan, which is why we find Matthew the Tax Collector and author of the Gospel stationed in a customs house collecting taxes on imports and exports between the regions. The town was first identified as Kefar Nahum from the ruins known in Arabic as Tell Hum, where the remains of a...
Become a Member
-
Read all member content
Get exclusive in-depth reports from Israel.
-
Get exclusive in-depth reports from Israel
Connect with Israel, right from your home.
-
Lift up the voice of truth and hope
Support Jerusalem-based Zionist journalism.
Already a member? Login here.
