Most of Jesus’ ministry was in the Galilee region. It is estimated that of his thirty-six-month ministry, eighteen to twenty months were based at Capernaum. Nowadays, many Christians call it the City of Jesus.

"Capernaum is a village with a Christian and a Jewish history. Located on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, its name is a distortion of the Hebrew words Kefar ("village of") and Nahum (which is a personal name)."

"The first mention of Capernaum is found in the writings of Josephus. In The Jewish Wars he described it as "a highly fertile spring called by the inhabitants Capharnaum." The New Testament refers to the village in several places. Jesus chose Capernaum as his place of residence; Capernaum is sometimes even termed "his own city." He was also said to have preached at the village synagogue. As Capernaum is on the Sea of Galilee, it served as a fishing center. Five of the apostles of Jesus were said to be fishermen from Capernaum."

"Jews and Christians lived in Capernaum through the Talmudic period (to 500 C.E.). Several notable ruins of historical importance remain there. One of these ruins is called Tell Hum in Arabic. The most significant reminder of the past is, however, a synagogue which was unearthed in 1905."

"The synagogue dates from the late second or early third century and is one of the best preserved Galilean synagogues of the early type. The exterior is finely decorated. It has one large and two small entrances which lead to a main hall. Within the hall there are two parallel rows of columns and stone benches along the walls. The interior is undecorated and no evidence of a Torah ark is to be found. There are steps leading to an upper gallery, probably used for women worshipers. The walls of the gallery were decorated with art work depicting plants of Erez Israel and Jewish religious symbols, including the Tabernacle, menorah and Torah Ark." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)

One of the reasons scholars want to date the synagogue to "after Jesus" is because of its beautiful Roman architecture. Yet there are some simple, convincing evidences that I have found that connect the building t Jesus’ time. First, Luke tells us about the builder.

"Now when he had ended all his sayings in the audience of the people, he entered into Capernaum. And a certain centurion's servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die. And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this: For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue." (Luke 7:1-5)

Secondly, the artistic renditions of the "Magen David" (Star of David) on the Synagogue building have a mark worthy exception. One of them is straight up, all others (everywhere), are at a slight right slant. The indication is that the symbol is slanted denoting the destruction of the Temple. The one at Capernaum and a few others that are straight seems to indicate their creation was done while the Temple was still standing. Incidentally, all Synagogues are faced toward Jerusalem.

Thirdly, there are two doorways in and out of the Synagogue. After the Temple was destroyed, all Synagogue entrances (coming from Jerusalem) were closed and a back door was opened. I suppose the symbolism is that we are now coming from the Diaspora into the place of worship and must exit back to the Diaspora. Jews’ synagogue prayers used to end with the hopeful words, "Next year in Jerusalem." Now that Jerusalem is restored, the prayers read, "Next year in Jerusalem - rebuilt." The Capernaum Synagogue has both a pre and post entrance construction.

It is the custom nowadays, to read the scriptures, the Law and the Prophets, three times a week. That would occur on Mondays, Thursdays and Sabbaths (Saturdays). It takes one year and the entire "Old Testament" is completed. Although they lack a "correlation department" (as the Latter-day Saints have), every congregation reads the same sections on the same day. That is why a lad anticipating his Bar Mitzvah selects a date and practices reading the section he has chosen.

In Jesus’ day, it seems apparent that the Jews only publicly read the scriptures in the Synagogue on the Sabbath day. Since they only read once a week, it stands to reason that it would take three years to read through the entire Law and Prophets. In that context, please note that the Savior’s ministry was three years in length. Could it be that he chose that time frame so that he could bring his Disciples through all of the Law and the Prophets - once.

The scriptural connection to reading once a week is corroborated by Luke’s account.

"And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read." (Luke 4:16)

In that reading, the Isaiah text was the scripture of the day! Isaiah had written it approximately seven-hundred years previously and he wrote it in the "first person." As Jesus read the word "anointed" he was stating that he was the Messiah, which means anointed. The local inhabitants knew him as the son of Mary and her husband as the "craftsman." The original language of the New Testament was Greek and in that account, Joseph is a craftsman. The craft of Nazareth was and still is a huge quarry.

The imagery of one who works with stone is supported so much better than the "western" interpretation of Joseph being a carpenter. Think of it, Jesus is the Rock of Salvation, he is the stone which the builders rejected. He was rejected at Nazareth and they wanted to stone him by casting him to his death over an abandoned quarry and cover him with rocks (that is the Biblical method of stoning).

"O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation." (Psalms 95:1)

"The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner." (Psalms 118:22)

"And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner:" (Mark 12:10)

The central geographic highlight of the Galilee area is the Sea of Galilee. Small as a lake, it is referred to as a sea because in ancient Hebrew, there were fewer words and the word for body of water was simply, Yam, (pronounced yum). Hence, we have the Yam Hatichon (Mediterranean), Yam HaMelach (the Salt Lake) and Yam Kinneret (Sea of Galilee).

"The Kinneret is a fresh water lake in northeast Israel. It covers an area of 64 square miles; its maximum length (north to south) is 15 miles and its maximum width (east to west) is 10 miles. The surface of the lake is approximately 696 feet below the level of the Mediterranean Sea and, at its deepest, the water is about 144 feet deep. The Kinneret is fed by a number of fresh water streams. There are also salty springs at the lake bottom and along its shores. These add to the salt content (salinity) of the water which is intensified by the high evaporation rate due to the hot climate. The amount of water in the lake varies a great deal with the shift from rainy to drought years. Until the winter of 1973/74 several years of drought had lowered the surface considerably but that exceedingly rainy winter restored it to its average. The river Jordan flows out of the southern end. In 1964 the National Water Carrier was completed to bring sweet water to the more southern sections of Israel; Lake Kinneret is the main reservoir from which the water is taken."

"Because of its abundant water supply, warm climate and surrounding fertile area, Lake Kinneret has attracted man since prehistoric times. The most ancient human remains and artifacts found in Erez Israel come from an area not far from Lake Kinneret's shores. In the Early Bronze Age some of the largest cities of Canaan were situated nearby and the Via Maris ("Maritime Route") passed its shores contributing to the wealth of the cities. In fact, Egyptian documents mention the hot springs on the shores of Lake Kinneret and their beneficial effects. In Bible times, Kinneret served as a prominent boundary mark: in the Canaanite era, it was the border of Sidon, king of the Amorites, and after Israel's conquest of the land, it marked the boundary between the territories of Naphtali on its western shores and Manasseh on its eastern shores."

"In the period of the Roman occupation, King Herod received the city of Hippus (Susitha), which bordered on the east of the lake, and Herod's sons, Antipas and Philip, founded the cities of Tiberias and Julias (Bethsaida). (Subsequently the lake also became known as the Sea of Tiberias.) Moreover, it was also during the Roman period that the Lake Kinneret region served as the setting of Jesus' preaching, and later as the center of his apostles' activities. As a result, many churches were later built on these same shores. The crusaders fought to control the lake area because of its historic connections with Christianity. The New Testament refers to the lake as the Sea of Galilee and the Sea of Gennesareth." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)

To this very day, the fishermen ply their craft on the waters of this beautiful lake. Often, they use two boats. One is larger and has a main mast that has a pulley to pull the nets up and out of the water. The other end of the net is connected to a smaller boat. The fish (there are more than twenty varieties in the lake) swim through the nets, only the larger ones get caught and are then plucked out of the nets as it comes out and up and then into the larger boat.

Fishermen still prefer the night and hours just before dawn to do their fishing. They use lanterns to attract the fish. Imagine fishing all night and catching nothing, then a "perfect" stranger uses your boat to talk to the people. And changes your life!

"And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord." (Luke 5:4-8)

Note that this was probably the largest catch they had ever encountered in their professional life, yet they could not quite bring it in. They were also told to let it go, for now they were to become fishers of men.

"And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him." (Matthew 4:19-20)

In a subsequent lesson we will study the repeat of this event, not as Dejavue but as a chiasmus. The first catch before their training, the last catch after their training. The first catch failed, the second catch succeeded. Getting hooked?!

 

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