Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Capernaum"
From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary (easton)
Capernaum
Nahum's town, a Galilean city frequently mentioned in the
history of our Lord. It is not mentioned in the Old Testament.
After our Lord's expulsion from Nazareth (Matt. 4:13-16; Luke
4:16-31), Capernaum became his "own city." It was the scene of
many acts and incidents of his life (Matt. 8:5, 14, 15; 9:2-6,
10-17; 15:1-20; Mark 1:32-34, etc.). The impenitence and
unbelief of its inhabitants after the many evidences our Lord
gave among them of the truth of his mission, brought down upon
them a heavy denunciation of judgement (Matt. 11:23).
It stood on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. The "land
of Gennesaret," near, if not in, which it was situated, was one
of the most prosperous and crowded districts of Palestine. This
city lay on the great highway from Damascus to Acco and Tyre. It
has been identified with Tell Hum, about two miles south-west of
where the Jordan flows into the lake. Here are extensive ruins
of walls and foundations, and also the remains of what must have
been a beautiful synagogue, which it is conjectured may have
been the one built by the centurion (Luke 7:5), in which our
Lord frequently taught (John 6:59; Mark 1:21; Luke 4:33). Others
have conjectured that the ruins of the city are to be found at
Khan Minyeh, some three miles further to the south on the shore
of the lake. "If Tell Hum be Capernaum, the remains spoken of
are without doubt the ruins of the synagogue built by the Roman
centurion, and one of the most sacred places on earth. It was in
this building that our Lord gave the well-known discourse in
John 6; and it was not without a certain strange feeling that on
turning over a large block we found the pot of manna engraved on
its face, and remembered the words, 'I am that bread of life:
your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.'",
(The Recovery of Jerusalem.)
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