Biblical and Historical Sites
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Beersheba in Hebrew can mean “well of the oath or covenant,” or, in another tradition, “well of seven.” It is located nearly midway between the southern end of the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean. It is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. It was the area … |
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Beit She’an is a city in the North District of Israel which has played an important role historically due to its geographical location at the junction of the Jordan River Valley and Jezreel Valley. Beit She’an’s location has often been strategically significant, essentially controlling access from the … |
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Bethel in Hebrew means “house of God.” Its former name was Luz – the royal Canaanite city (Genesis 28:19). It was located in the central hill country of Palestine, about 10 miles north of Jerusalem. The area was conquered by the tribe of Ephraim. When Abram entered Canaan, his second … |
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Bethlehem is a village in Judea six miles south and slightly west of Jerusalem. It is first mentioned in Genesis (35:19) as Ephrath, the burial place of Rachel, Jacob’s wife. It becomes the setting for most of the book of Ruth (David’s great-grandmother). David is born in this area and … |
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BETHSAIDA Long ago, Bethsaida was thought to be located near the present-day shore of the Sea of Galilee; however, not all biblical archaeologists believed that to be true. In 1987, Dr. Rami Arav, an Israeli archaeologist, spent ten days examining what he thought was the real location. He found a … |
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Between the years 22 B.C.E. and 9 B.C.E., Herod the Great created a magnificent city along the northwestern Mediterranean seacoast of Palestine and called it “Caesarea Maritima” after Caesar Augustus, his patron. The man-made harbor was a triumph of ancient engineering, the first large-scale harbor ever built in the open … |
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Caesarea was located two miles east of the large city of Dan, twenty-five miles north of the Sea of Galilee, and forty miles southwest of Damascus. The region was known as Lower Gaulanitis (the modern area of the Golan Heights). Gaulanitis included the territory east of the Jordan River and … |
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Cana was a village in Galilee mentioned exclusively in the Gospels. There are two probable sites of this village, one “Kefr Kenna” and one “Khirbet Qana.” Kefr Kenna was the known site for pilgrims up through the medieval times. It’s about four miles from Nazareth and on the road from … |
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Chorazin was a village in northern Galilee, two and a half miles from Capernaum on a hill above the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Chorazin, along with Bethsaida and Capernaum, was named in the gospels of Matthew and Luke as “cities” (more likely just villages) in which Jesus … |
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The Church of the Nativity is a basilica located in Bethlehem, Palestinian territories. The church was originally commissioned in 327 C.E. by Constantine and his mother Helena over the site that is still traditionally considered to be located over the cave that marks the birthplace of Jesus of Nazareth. The Church … |
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The Church of the Primacy of St. Peter is a Franciscan church located in Tabgha, Israel, on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. It commemorates Jesus’ reinstatement of Peter as chief among the Apostles. History The modern structure was built in 1933 … |
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Ein Gedi is an oasis in the wilderness. It is located near the western shore of the Dead Sea, the lowest place on earth, at the feet of the majestic mountains and cliffs. It’s a natural setting, wild animals – ibexes, for example, roam the environ-ment. Freshwater streams run through … |
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From biblical times to more recent history, this one location has been a place where armies gathered prior to battle, where great battles were fought, and where an army in the making, trained. The Spring of Harod flows from Gideon’s Cave. This is the place where Gideon gathered his men … |
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Through the centuries, the exact location of the “walk to Emmaus” has been lost to scholars. However, out of the many possible sites, the one that scholars and archaeologists are currently focusing on is Colonia (or Kulonieh) near the modern Jewish neighborhood of Moza. One New Testament scholar, Carsten Thiede, … |
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Constructed from roughly 23-20 B.C.E., Herodium was located fifteen miles from Jerusalem and five kilometers southeast of Bethlehem on roads to the Dead Sea. Herod had his slaves cut off an entire hilltop and carry the dirt to another hill until it formed a man-made, volcano-like mountain. It grew to … |
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Jerusalem is located on a plateau in the Judean Mountains between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea, and is one of the oldest cities in the world. It is considered holy to the three major Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Israelis and Palestinians both claim Jerusalem as their capital, as … |
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The Jezreel Valley is a large, green, fertile plain and inland valley south of the Lower Galilee region in Israel. It is covered with fields of wheat, cotton, sunflowers, and corn, as well as grazing tracts for multitudes of sheep and cattle. The Samarian highlands and Mount Gilboa border the … |