In the New Testament, Jesus performs many miracles in and around a town called Bethsaida. We see him walk on water, cure a blind man, and feed 5,000 people from five loaves of bread and two fish. Three of Jesus’s apostles (Simon-Peter, Andrew, and Philip) are said to have been born there. While other excavations contend for Biblical Bethsaida, an archaeological team led by Rami Arav believes they have located Bethsaida by the Jordan River to the north of the Sea of Galilee, at a site called et-Tell.
Bethsaida–Julias (et-Tell)
Betsaida/Bethsaida–Julias (et-Tell): The First Twenty-Five Years of Excavation (1987–2011)
Novum Testamentum et Orbis Antiquus—Series Archaeologica 4
By Heinz-Wolfgang Kuhn (Göttingen and Bristol: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2015), 310 pp., color and b&w illustrations, $375.00 (hardback)
A quarter-century into archaeological exploration of et-Tell (alleged Bethsaida), Heinz-Wolfgang Kuhn has conveniently compiled in this single volume his essays published between 1989 and 2011. Spanning the long historical period from the Early Bronze Age to the Early Roman period, these essays offer a broad view of the exploration of the site, focusing especially on the time of Jesus.
Preceded by a list of bibliographic references grouped according to the major topics covered in the book, Part I contains 16 essays (ten in German, six in English) that report on the archaeological work at et-Tell while also addressing selected historical issues, such as the earliest occupation of the site, identification of et-Tell with Biblical Bethsaida and the image of Bethsaida in the New Testament. The author is especially interested in the stories of Jesus and his disciples. Except for the last essay—a résumé of 25 years of excavation from the viewpoint of a New Testament scholar—that was written for this volume, each text is followed by a postscript that brings the previously published information up to date. Part II presents additional photographs, and Part III consists of archaeological plans of the site that document the progress of fieldwork from 1987 to 2013.
The volume is richly illustrated with maps, photographs, drawings, and plans. While only readers of both German and English can fully appreciate the volume, it stands as a useful reference to anyone interested in the archaeology of possible Bethsaida/Julias.
In the New Testament, Jesus performs many miracles in and around a town called Bethsaida. We see him walk on water, cure a blind man, and feed 5,000 people from five loaves of bread and two fish. Three of Jesus’s apostles (Simon-Peter, Andrew, and Philip) are said to have been born there. While other excavations contend for Biblical Bethsaida, an archaeological team led by Rami Arav believes they have located Bethsaida by the Jordan River to the north of the Sea of Galilee, at a site called et-Tell.
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