Bible and archaeology news
A well-stocked wine cellar at Bethsaida dates to the Hellenistic era (332–37 B.C.E.)—a time of regrowth for Bethsaida thanks to its strategic location between the Seleucid and Ptolemaic empires.
While excavations at the Roman-period site yielded impressive remains, the site’s importance is not limited to its relationship with the New Testament. The Bethsaida excavations, under the direction of University of Nebraska at Omaha Professor Rami Arav, have also uncovered the remains of an Iron Age city buried beneath the Hellenistic-Roman town, which is likely to have been the capital of the kingdom of Geshur, a kingdom documented in the Bronze Age Amarna letters that played a central role in the Hebrew Bible. After a revival in the Hellenistic period, Bethsaida played a central role in Jesus’ Galilean ministry.
BAS Library Members Read Rami Arav, Richard A. Freund and John F. Shroder’s “Bethsaida Rediscovered” as it appeared in the January/February 2000 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, including the sidebars “Bethsaida in the New Testament” and “The Case for el-Araj.”
Life as an Archaeology Volunteer at Bethsaida, Israel
Judaea Capta Coin Uncovered in Bethsaida Excavations
Bethsaida Excavations Reveal Possible Royal Escape Tunnel
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