Mark 8:22-26\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
The ruins of Bethsaida may well have been found, at the northern end of the Sea of Galilee. \u00a0(A major modern road runs right past them.)<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
But this isn\u2019t universally conceded. \u00a0Why? \u00a0Because those ruins sit at a considerable distance \u2014 fully two kilometers \u2014 from the lake shore, and Bethsaida (the name of which means \u201chouse of fishing\u201d or \u201chouse of hunting\u201d) is supposed to have been a fishing village.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Those who argue for the site, however, suggest three possible factors which, taken together, might explain the current situation:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
1) Tectonic activity may have raised the north end of the lake up.<\/p>\n
2) Sedimentary deposits from the Jordan River, which enters the Sea of Galilee nearby, may have effectively pushed the lake back, southwards.<\/p>\n
3) Vastly increased human use of water from the lake for culinary and agricultural purposes may have lowered the surface level of the lake, as recent years of serious drought certainly have.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
There are reasons to believe Bethsaida Julias, as it\u2019s called, to be the Bethsaida of the New Testament. \u00a0But, as so often happens in archaeology, there\u2019s no smoking gun, no definitive proof, and no absolutely unanimous consensus.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Incidentally, Jesus didn\u2019t seem to expect a glorious future for either Bethsaida or its neighboring village of Chorazin:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.<\/strong> \u00a0(Matthew 11:21)<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 Matthew 16:1-4 Mark 8:11-13 Compare Matthew 12:38-39; Luke 11:16, 29; 12:54-56; John 6:30 \u00a0 A generation that seeks for a sign may well be literally adulterous, as ours quite undeniably is. \u00a0But it\u2019s certainly \u201cadulterous\u201d in the metaphorical sense illustrated by the Old Testament story of the prophet Hosea, who\u2019s called \u2014 think […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-72214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
New Testament Notes 154-156<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\" Matthew 16:1-4 Mark 8:11-13 Compare Matthew 12:38-39; Luke 11:16, 29; 12:54-56; John 6:30 A generation that seeks for a sign may well\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/new-testament-notes-154-156.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New Testament Notes 154-156\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\" Matthew 16:1-4 Mark 8:11-13 Compare Matthew 12:38-39; Luke 11:16, 29; 12:54-56; John 6:30 A generation that seeks for a sign may well\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/new-testament-notes-154-156.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sic et Non\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-03-30T16:18:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2015\/05\/Hosea.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/new-testament-notes-154-156.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/new-testament-notes-154-156.html\",\"name\":\"New Testament Notes 154-156\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-03-30T16:18:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-03-30T16:18:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\"},\"description\":\" Matthew 16:1-4 Mark 8:11-13 Compare Matthew 12:38-39; Luke 11:16, 29; 12:54-56; John 6:30 A generation that seeks for a sign may well\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/new-testament-notes-154-156.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/new-testament-notes-154-156.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/new-testament-notes-154-156.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"New Testament Notes 154-156\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/\",\"name\":\"Sic et Non\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\",\"name\":\"Dan Peterson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dan Peterson\"},\"description\":\"\\\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\\\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"New Testament Notes 154-156","description":" Matthew 16:1-4 Mark 8:11-13 Compare Matthew 12:38-39; Luke 11:16, 29; 12:54-56; John 6:30 A generation that seeks for a sign may well","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/new-testament-notes-154-156.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"New Testament Notes 154-156","og_description":" Matthew 16:1-4 Mark 8:11-13 Compare Matthew 12:38-39; Luke 11:16, 29; 12:54-56; John 6:30 A generation that seeks for a sign may well","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/new-testament-notes-154-156.html","og_site_name":"Sic et Non","article_published_time":"2019-03-30T16:18:11+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2015\/05\/Hosea.jpg"}],"author":"Dan Peterson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dan Peterson","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/new-testament-notes-154-156.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/new-testament-notes-154-156.html","name":"New Testament Notes 154-156","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-03-30T16:18:11+00:00","dateModified":"2019-03-30T16:18:11+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045"},"description":" Matthew 16:1-4 Mark 8:11-13 Compare Matthew 12:38-39; Luke 11:16, 29; 12:54-56; John 6:30 A generation that seeks for a sign may well","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/new-testament-notes-154-156.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/new-testament-notes-154-156.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/03\/new-testament-notes-154-156.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"New Testament Notes 154-156"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/","name":"Sic et Non","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045","name":"Dan Peterson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dan Peterson"},"description":"\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1019"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72214"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72214\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Hosea,](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2015\/05\/Hosea.jpg\")
<\/a>