Bethsaida

I find biblical history and geography fascinating. I like to know where things mentioned in the Bible were located and how they fit into the lives of the important characters. Perhaps you can guess that one of my college majors was history. I like anything that gives me a clearer view of these ancient times because it helps me better understand the Bible.

The town of Bethsaida is mentioned seven times in the Bible. The name literally means a town of hunters and/or fishermen. We don't know its exact location, but most researchers believe it was on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee because Pliny the Elder wrote of it being there. There are three sites in that region that could be Bethsaida's location, however. Three important biblical figures in the New Testament called it home: Peter, Andrew, and Philip (John 1:44). Herod Philip II gave Bethsaida the status of polis and called it "Julia."

Jesus was near Bethsaida when He fed the 5,000 with just five loaves of bread and two fish (Luke 9:10-17), and he was just outside the town when he restored sight to the blind man in Mark 8:22-26. Depending on its exact location, it might have been close to where Jesus got into the boat with his disciples to rest and escape the crowds. Recent discoveries have unearthed buildings that could have been at Bethsaida but nothing to indicate with certainty that archaeologists have definitely found the town.

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