Capernaum (ISRAEL)

Capernaum is located in Israel on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. According to the Bible, Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem and was raised in Nazareth. However, when he announced his ministry in Nazareth, the people rejected him. Capernaum then became the center of his ministry, most likely because it had a centralized location and high population.

BIBLICAL HISTORY OF CAPERNAUM:

Capernaum was founded after the Babylonian exile and the Jewish return from captivity. Its location on the shore of the Sea of Galilee made it a center of the Galilean fishing industry.

Capernaum was home to a large population and plentiful cultural amenities, including a Jewish synagogue built by Romans soldiers imprisoned in Capernaum. Though that structure no longer stands, a new synagogue has been built at the site. Relics from the original can still be seen today. Capernaum was also a center for the Roman tax system and had a tax collection office. Tax collectors ran most of Capernaum during Biblical times.

Jesus was said to have performed many miracles in Capernaum including healing the paralytic lowered through a hole in the ceiling of a local home, and the healing of a centurion's paralyzed servant.

Jesus is frequently depicted in the New Testament walking along the Sea of Galilee. It was on one of those walks that he called to Simon, Andrew, James and John, asking them to follow him. These men were all fishermen, a fact that inspired Jesus' famous call (to those who would later become apostles) to become "fishers of men." A short time later, while walking the streets of Capernaum, Jesus called upon Levi Matthew, a tax collector who, likewise, became an apostle.

Even though Capernaum was the center of Jesus’ ministry, the people of Capernaum did not follow his teachings. Because of their unbelief, the Bible states that Jesus placed a curse on the city, prophesying that the city would be made to ruin. Capernaum still exists as the modern-day Tell Hum. Until recently, the city of Tell Hum actually refused to identify itself as ancient Capernaum.