Bargil (Virgil) Pixner, OSB
[Father Pixner is a member of the Benedictine community in Israel, located at the Dormition Abbey on Mount Zion and at Tabgha. He lectures at the Abbey’s Theological Faculty on Christian archaeology and the topography of Jerusalem.]
Next to Jerusalem and Capharnaum, the town most frequently mentioned in the Gospels is Bethsaida, birthplace of the Apostles Peter and Andrew, and home of the Apostle Philip (John 1:44; 12:21). As part of the so-called ‘Evangelical Triangle’ (Tabgha, Chorazin and Bethsaida, with Capharnaum the mid-point of the triangle’s base), Bethsaida was in that area bordering the Sea of Galilee where Jesus preached and worked more than in any other (Cf. Matthew 11:21). It was there that a blind man was healed (Mark 8:22–26), and in its vicinity that the second feeding of the multitudes took place (Matthew 15:32–39; Mark 8:1–10, Luke 9:10–17; John 6:1–13). In the episode of the latter miracle, it is to Philip and Andrew, who knew the bakeries of nearby Bethsaida, that Jesus at first addresses the request to buy bread for the people (John 6:5–9). These two Apostles with Greek names must have been familiar with the Greek language spoken by many in their partly hellenized hometown. It is to them, therefore, that the Hellenes presented their request to see Jesus (John 12:20–22). In
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the opinion of some, Bethsaida was also the home-base of the fishermen Zebedee and his two sons James and John.
But despite Bethsaida’s importance as a biblical site, it has remained almost unknown to the general public and is seldom visited by pilgrims or tourists. This is somewhat surprising in view of the fact that, since 1967, the northeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee has been made accessible to visitors by the construction of new bridges over the Jordan River, as well as new approach roads. The reason for the neglect of so prominent a biblical site may be sought in the hesitancy of scholars regarding its precise location. In ancient times, the site of Bethsaida, though difficult to reach, was a recognized place of pilgrimage. In the year 725, for example, the Benedictine pilgrim Willibald, later to become the first Bishop of Eichstaett in Bavaria, visited the site as a matter of course. ‘And from there [Capharnaum]’ the report says, ‘they went to Bethsaida; Peter and Andrew were from there. A church now stands on the spot where their house had been.’ The church referred to may have been a successor to the prayer-house that had supposedly been erected by the Apostle Philip, as mentioned in an ancient account ascribed to the Syrian author, Simon of Bassora.
In modern times, two sites have been the main contenders for recognition as ancient Bethsaida. One is the Bedouin village of Messadiye, and the other, the ruin-covered hill of Et-Tell. Messadiye has the advantage of being on the lake, the ideal place for a fishing village, while Et-Tell lies two kms from the seashore. Moreover, the few topographers of the past 150 years who occasionally ventured over the Jordan to pick up samples of pottery from Et-Tell’s extensive ruins were unable to find any ceramic evidence for the hill’s occupation during Roman times. And yet — there is impressive evidence, as I shall show later in this article, pointing to Et-Tell as the real site of ancient Bethsaida.
Bethsaida in Non-Biblical Sources
The town of Bethsaida, situated in the territory of Philip the Tetrarch, one of the sons of Herod the Great, lay close to the point at which the Jordan River entered Lake Gennesareth (the Sea of Galilee). In the year 4 BC, at the outset of his reign, Philip dignified the towns by bestowing on it the privileges of a city. Josephus Flavius relates: ‘The village of Bethsaida, which was situated near Lake Gennesareth, was elevated by Philippos to the dignity of a
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Location of Bethsaida-Julias.
polis, both on account of its large number of inhabitants and of additional excellence, and was named Julias, after Augustus Caesar’s daughter Julia’ (Antiq. XVIII, 2, 1 §28). Bethsaida’s ‘additional excellence’ may have been its location beside the lake, which enabled Philip to provide his territory with a harbor, just as his brother Antipas was to do, by building the city of Tiberias, on the opposite, western shore of Lake Gennesareth. Julias, then, was probably the harbor of Bethsaida. Its inhabitants were no doubt a mixture of Jews, Syrians and Greeks. There, Philip built himself a splendid sepulchre, in which he was buried after a peaceful reign of
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40 years (Antiq. XVIII, 4, 6). That tomb, however, has yet to be discovered.
What undoubtedly added to the ‘excellence’ of Bethsaida was the town’s proximity to one of the most important roads of antiquity, the Via Maris, which passed just to the north. Coming down from Capharnaum, the Via Maris (Cf. Matthew 4:15) cut right over the hill (east of present-day Kibbutz Almagor), bridged the Jordan at the exit of the river from a deep and long gully, then swung around a hill north of Bethsaida and continued on to Caesarea Philippi (Banias) and Damascus.
In Rabbinic sources, Bethsaida is called Saydan. From TJ Shekalim (VI, 2), it may be deduced that Saydan was close to the entry of the Jordan into the lake. The name ‘Bethsaida,’ which may be rendered either as ‘Huntingtown’ or as ‘Fishertown,’ reflects the reputation the area seems to have had, and still has, for both wild game and fish. According to Midrash Koheleth II, 8, Rabbi Yehoshua procured pheasants from Saydan for the table of Emperor Hadrian. The rich variety of fish in its waters is attested by Rabbi Simon ben Gamaliel, who remarks: ‘One day I happened to be in Saydan when they presented me with a bowl of three hundred species of small fishes’ (TJ Shekalim VI, 2).
Where Was Bethsaida-Julias?
Since 1967, when the region northeast of the Sea of Galilee again became accessible to researchers, notable progress has been made in the scientific investigation of the Bethsaida-Julias area. In the present writer’s view, there can no longer be any reasonable doubt that the long-sought Gospel site is on and around the hill of Et-Tell. What are the principal arguments in favor of this claim?
(1) Former topographers were hesitant about identifying Et-Tell with Bethsaida because of the absence of Roman pottery on the hill. This negative argument has been proved unfounded. The Syrian army, between 1948 and 1967, criss-crossed that strategic hill on the Jordan with trenches and bunkers, which have now permitted easy access to lower ceramic strata. Samples of pottery have been gathered by this writer and by some of his friends and submitted to ceramic experts working at Capharnaum. Their verdict was that Bethsaida shows evidence of an accumulation of pottery similar to the one at Capharnaum. Both range from Roman times (and possibly earlier) to the late Byzantine and Arabic periods. For this
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The large, basalt stone of Bethsaida commemorates the miracle of the blind man, which took place just outside the town on the way to Caesarea Philippi (Banias) (see map). The two eyes symbolize the blind man’s gradual regaining of sight (Mark 8:24). Netzer Yishai, ‘the branch from the root of Jesse’ (Isaiah 11:1), is a Judaeo-Christian symbol, common in the Golan. The Rainbow Cross, often found on rocks in Sinai, symbolizes for Christians God’s successive covenants with man (1 — Adam, Noah, Abraham; 2 — the twelve tribes; 3 — the Cross).
and other reasons, we can accept the view that at the time of Jesus a large village occupied the hill of Et-Tell.
(2) The second problem, namely the hill’s present distance (about two kms) from the lakeshore, can also be resolved. It is a common phenomenon that a large river tends to expand its delta through growing deposits of silt. Thus, the Jordan River has in the course of 2, 000 years gradually pushed the northern coastline of Lake Gennesareth southward. Two millennia ago, the lakeshore had no doubt extended further north, approximately to today’s highway. Since Et-Tell has so far produced no important monumental
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remains, it may be assumed that on the hill itself stood the ancient village of Bethsaida, while nearby, on the Jordan, was Philip’s harbor, Julias, which has since disappared under the alluvial soil carried down by the river. The fact that Israeli engineers, trying to construct a permanent bridge over the Jordan to replace two provisional ones there, have failed to find any terra firma on which to erect the bridgeheads, argues for the alluvial composition of the terrain.
(3) Et-Tell exactly fits the descriptions of the Jordan as passing close to Bethsaida-Julias, whereas Massadiye does not. The latter is actually situated east of the second-largest stream that flows into Lake Gennesareth, namely, the River Meshushim (in Arabic: Nahr Ez-Zahi). If it existed at all in the first century, Massadiye could have been a cluster of fishermen’s huts but hardly a city.
(4) Until recently, Et-Tell was the main encampment of the Tellawiyeh tribe. Some authors believe that the tribe’s name might have derived from the place-name, Tell-Julieh.
(5) But the most convincing argument against the possibility of Massadiye having been the site of Bethsaida-Julias derives from Josephus Flavius’ account of the battle of Julias, an account which beautifully fits in with the Et-Tell location. The battle took place in the late fall of AD 66 between the rebel forces led by Josephus and the army of Sylla, the commander of the troops of Agrippa II. A report of the battle was composed by Josephus himself, who had an intimate knowledge of the area.
An Analysis of Josephus’ Report (see map)
Gamala, the rock-bound fortress overlooking the Valley of Daliot, and Seleucia, on the the eastern shore of Lake Semochotis (Lake Hula), were the only towns to the east of the Jordan that were still in revolt against Agrippa II, who continued to support his Roman allies. Agrippa hoped that by besieging Gamala he would compel its defenders to submit to the Romans. But it was only in the summer of AD 67, following a seven-month siege, that three Roman legions under Vespasian succeeded in breaking the resistance of Gamala, in one of the fiercest battles of the Jewish War. The town, indeed, deserved the title of ‘Masada of the North.’ At the onset of the siege. King Agrippa sent his commander, Sylla, to cut off the supply routes from Galilee leading to Gamala. To do that, Sylla pitched camp on a semi-circular terrace some five stadia (about one km) north of
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The Battle of Bethsaida-Julia (AD 66)
‘At that time, troops arrived from the King [i.e., Agrippa II], both cavalry and footmen, together with their commander, Sylla, who was captain of the King’s bodyguard. This Sylla pitched his camp at a distance of five stadia from Julias, and placed guards on the [two] roads, on the one which ran to Seleucia and on that which led to the fortress of Gamala. Thus he intended to prevent the inhabitants from receiving provisions from Galilee.
‘As soon as I [i.e., Josephus Flavius] learned of this, I dispatched 2,000 armed men under the command of Jeremias. They put up an embankment at a distance of one stadium from Julias, close to the Jordan River. But they did no more than engage the enemy in skirmishes until I, taking 3,000 men [with me], came to [their aid]. Setting up an ambush in a certain ravine (pharangga) not far from the men on the embankment, I provoked the King’s troops to come out and do battle. I ordered my own soldiers to turn their backs to the enemy [i.e., to feign retreat], until they had drawn Sylla away from his camp and brought him out into the [open] field.
‘And that is what happened. For Sylla, believing that our men were indeed running away, came out in pursuit. The soldiers who had been in hiding attacked [Sylla’s men] from behind, throwing them into great disarray. At that. I abruptly turned my own forces around and met the royalists straight on, putting them to flight.
‘I could have done great things that day, if a bit of bad luck had not intervened. For my horse, from which I was directing the battle, fell into a quagmire and threw me to the ground. I injured my wrist and was carried into a village called Cepharnome [i.e., Capharnaum]. My soldiers, hearing of this mishap, feared that I had been hurt more badly than was actually the case. Consequently, they did not continue the pursuit, but returned [to their camp], greatly concerned for me. I thereupon sent for physicians, and while under treatment that day, I constantly felt feverish. On the physicians’ instructions, I was transferred that night to Tarichaea.
‘When Sylla and those about him learned what had happened to me, they took courage again. Guessing that the watch in our camp that night was being kept badly, they placed a body of horsemen in ambush beyond the Jordan under the cover of darkness and, at daybreak, challenged us to fight. Our men did not decline but went out into the plain. Suddenly, the horsemen, emerging from ambush, threw [our men] into disorder and put them to flight. Six of our soldiers were killed. Still, they [i.e., Sylla’s troops] were unable to complete their victory. For upon hearing that some armed men had sailed from Tarichaea to Julias, they feared [for their camp] and withdrew.’
From Josephus Flavius, Vita, 71–74 §§398–407
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Julias. From there, he could oversee the traffic moving from the direction of Capharnaum along the Via Maris and also send out a guard to patrol both the route running north to Seleucia and the one branching off from there and ascending the north flank of Wadi Daliot to Gamala,
Josephus’ headquarters were located at that time at Tarichaea-Magdala, west of today’s Kibbutz Ginnossar. To reduce the pressure on his beleaguered allies in Gamala, Josephus sent his commander, Jeremias, to their aid. The latter set up camp at a distance of just one stadium (184 m) from Julias, on the western bank of the Jordan. The encampment, consisting of 2,000 men, could have been located at the mouth of a ravine (‘pharangga’), which is to be identified with Wadi Qila’i. The four topoi — the ‘pharangga’, the camp, the Jordan, and Julias — must have been in an east-west line and close to one another. From Josephus’ account it emerges, therefore, that Massadiye cannot be the site of ancient Julias, for there is no ravine or valley anywhere in the plain that surrounds the abandoned Bediun village.
But now to the battle itself. Josephus arrives with 3,000 fresh troops. During the night, he places a large contingent of his men in ambush in the ravine not far from his camp. Wadi Qila’i is an ideal place for the purpose, as it is well-hidden from the view of the men in Sylla’s camp. Next morning, Josephus begins his strategic maneuvers to draw Sylla’s forces from their camp. Sylla’s troops advance towards Josephus, who feints a retreat, withdrawing towards his camp. Then, suddenly emerging from the ravine where they have been concealed, the rebel soldiers attack Sylla’s men in their flank, throwing them into disarray. At that, Josephus turns his own troops around and charges the enemy. Unfortunately, his horse loses its footing in the marshy terrain on the river bank. Thrown to the ground, Josephus wrenches his wrist. The troops in the field, noticing that their commander has been injured, give way to discouragement and break off pursuit of the enemy. Josephus is carried to Capharnaum, where physicians give him preliminary treatment and send him off to Tarichaea.
Sylla reorganizes his forces and plans an offensive. Under cover of darkness, he sets up an ambush of horsemen beyond the Jordan, and at daybreak he leads the bulk of his troops towards Jeremias’ camp. Jeremias’ men come out of the camp and poise for battle on the Jordan plain. Without warning, Sylla’s horsemen, storming
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down the river valley, attack Jeremias’ troops in their flank.
But once again the battle remains undecided, for Sylla is forced to withdraw his troops. News has reached him that a large contingent of rebel soldiers dispatched by Josephus from Tarichaea by boat, has landed at Julias. (This last detail supports the contention that Julias must have had a harbor, one which has disappeared, as noted above, under the alluvial soil of the Jordan dieta.)
Recently, the responsible Israel Government authority laid out a beautiful park between the Jordan River and the hill of Et-Tell, site of ancient Bethsaida. The spot may now be conveniently visited by Israelis and by Christian pilgrims and tourists. For the benefit of Christian pilgrims, it would be appropriate to have a small area on top of Et-Tell set aside for the reading of the pertinent Bible passages and for quiet meditation as a mark of respect for the birthplace of the Prince of the Apostles and of his brother, Andrew.
(Reprinted by permission from Christian News From Israel. Vol. XXVII, No. 4, 1982.)
And He cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto Him, and besought Him to touch him. And He took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when He had spit on his eyes, and put His hands upon him, He asked him if he saw aught. And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. After that He put His hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly. And He sent him away to his house, saying, neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town. (Mark 8:22–26)