Galilee and Beyond

Today was a day full of visits. We did see many different and interesting sites … many remains and overturned stones … but as they say “stones speak”. A telling expression used here is “the fifth Gospel”, referring to the Land as helping us to understand better the written Gospels. And it is very true. The day ended with an amazing view of the Lake of Tiberias, or of Genessaret, or of Galilee.

A view of the Lake at sunset from Hippos

Korazim

We visited the remains of these Jewish town, which the Babylonian Talmud (Menahot 85, A) mentions as renowned for good wheat grown here. Jesus condemns this city together with Bethsaida for not believing in him. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes” (Matt 11, 21, also Luke 10, 13). The central quarter of the town contains a synagogue, remains of three large buildings and a prominent paved square. These hail mainly from the Talmudic period, that is from the fourth to sixth centuries AD.

The Synagogue at Korazim

The Synagogue looks towards Jerusalem, from where all synagogues take their orientation (as for Muslims, they need to pray in the direction of Mecca). The pillars have their capitals in the Ionic Order, or better still in the scroll-form, with an egg at the centre. The scroll refers to the Scroll of Sacred Scripture, while the egg represents eternity. This synagogue has, close to the main door, the “cathedra of Moses”, which was “an honorary place”, not necessarily for someone to sit there but more as a symbol for those who observe the law, and the Aron kodesh, the place of the Torah.

Bethsaida

Then, we crossed the Jordan River and went over to visit Bethsaida. Now this crossing means that we passed from the region of Galilee to the ‘pagan lands’, as they were considered at the time of Jesus, as they were outside the territory of the promised land. Joseph Flavius refers to this city as Bethsaida Iulia. The name Bethsaida means “the land of fishing”, as in Maltese “sajda”. There are some questions whether this is the Bethsaida mentioned in the Gospels, especially because it is not in Galilee. In John 12,21, the reference is to Bethsaida in Galilee. Another question regarding the distance of today’s city from the lake has been partly answered by different studies which said that, at least up to the fourth century after Christ, the Lake reached close to the city. Peter, Andrew and Philip would be from this city (John 1,44), and David married the daughter of the King of Geshur (the former name to this city), from whom Absalom was born (2 Sam 3,3).

Bethsaida: A stele with an image of a god in the form of a bull.

Among the remains, there is the gate to the city, where some seven stele were found. One of these bears the image of a god with a bull’s head. There is a bamah, high place, right in front of this stele. Within the city, then, there is an indication of a “fisherman’s house”.

Qasrin

Afterwards we went to visit the remains of an ancient city called Qasrin, with its Talmudic Village and Synagogue. The Village aims to provide a glimpse into the life of Jews during the Talmudic period, which corresponds to the Byzantine period, that is 3/4 – 6 Century AD. The Museum has remains coming from various sites through the Golan Heights (there were 27 Jewish sites in the Central Golan). These are remains both of Churches and of Synagogues. The Synagogue in Ancient Qasrin is the best preserved synagogue in the Golan. The Torah shrine was situated on top of a platform against the southern wall of the synagogue, oriented towards Jerusalem. According to archaeologists, here we have one of the very few times where a genizah is present. A genizah is a store-room or depository in a Jewish synagogue (or cemetery), usually specifically for worn-out religious books and topics.

A view of the Synagogue at Qasrin

The Columns in the Synagogue of Qasrin with Scroll-form capitels.
At the center, an egg representing eternity.

Gergesa – Kursi

Here we visited the region connected to the exorcism of a man from the presence of the devil, which then moved into a herd of swine (Luke 8,26-39; Matt 8,23-34; Mark 5,1-17). Archaeologists identify this place with Kurshi, mentioned in the Talmud as a center of idol worship. The remains brought to light here a monastery with its church, probably built in the 5^th Century AD. 

Kursi -- Gerasa: a view of the monastery-basilica
and the mountain where the exorcism may have taken place.

The Church was built in the basilica form. Near the apse is the baptistery, which here is also called Photistery (meaning: bearing light, from phos, light). Some biblical scholars also say that the second multiplication of bread recorded in the Gospels could have been done here, in the land of the pagans, thus underlining that even the pagans are called to the plenitude of the faith (7 baskets – Matt 15, 37). Here we have also the remains of a Church hewn in the rock in the hill right above the Basilica. The exorcism could have occurred in this place.

A detail of the Basilica at Gerasa (Kursi)

A beautiful view of the Lake of Tiberias from Kursi

Hippos

Further south on this side of the Lake we visited the city on the hill-top, Hippos, an Hellenistic city, which was one the cities included in the Decapolis. In Matthew’s Gospel Jesus makes reference to a city built on a hill (5,14). This city knows its origin some two centuries before Christ, reaching eventually its golden period in the second/third centuries after Christ. Remains were found of a Cathedral, which has a baptistery with it, and eight other Churches. The community seems to have been well-to-do since there are columns made of granite, presumably imported from Aswan and from Italy. From this site, there is a fantastic view of the Lake of Tiberias, especially as the sun began to set.

Fallen Granite Columns at Hippos. The destruction happened as a result
of the earthquake in 649 AD 

An ornate capitel of a column at Hippos

Sunset on the Lake of Tiberias (from Hippos)

In the evening, I attended again for a beautiful moment of prayer at the Basilica of the Annunciation, organized by the young people here. Today we had an hour-long adoration in preparation for the beginning of Advent. I prayed for several intentions before the Grotto of the Annunciation.