Thursday, February 18, 2021

Where is Bethsaida?

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: Where Is Biblical Bethsaida? Recent discovery reopens the debate about its location (Samuel DeWitt Pfister).
The ancient village of Bethsaida is believed to be located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, but where precisely the abandoned city lies remains a fiercely-debated question among scholars. Recent discoveries at the site of el-Araj have called into question the decades-old claim that et-Tell on the eastern shore of the Jordan River is this lost Biblical city.

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PaleoJudaica has been following the debate for some years. Start here and follow the links. I take no position on the matter. To resolve it conclusively, we might need to dig up a first-century "Welcome to Bethsaida" sign at one of the sites.

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