Bethsaida
Bethsaida was a fishing village on the northeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, home to the apostles Peter, Andrew, and Philip, and the setting for Jesus feeding the five thousand and healing a blind man. Despite witnessing more of Jesus' mighty works than almost any other town, Bethsaida is one of only three cities Jesus specifically pronounced woe upon for its failure to repent, alongside Chorazin and Capernaum. Its name, meaning 'house of fishing' or 'house of the hunter,' fittingly reflects its identity as a fishing community along the Galilean shore.
Details
- Region
- Galilee
- Modern Location
- et-Tell or el-Araj, near the Jordan's entry into the Sea of Galilee
Key Passages
Woe unto Thee, Bethsaida
Matthew 11:21-24
Jesus pronounces judgment on Bethsaida for failing to repent despite witnessing his mighty works - a sobering warning that exposure to truth without response only increases accountability.
21oe 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.
Feeding of the Five Thousand Near Bethsaida
Luke 9:10-17
Jesus withdraws to a place near Bethsaida, where he feeds a crowd of five thousand from five loaves and two fish.
10nd the apostles, when they were returned, told him all that they had done. And he took them, and went aside privately into a desert place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.