Biblical Geography

Capernaum

Town · New Testament · Tell Hum

Scripture first

Matthew 4:13 · WEBU

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Leaving Nazareth, Jesus dwells in Capernaum by the sea, and Isaiah's prophecy of light on Galilee begins to be fulfilled.

Capernaum on the north-west shore of the lake was Jesus' headquarters in Galilee. He taught in its synagogue, healed in its houses, called Matthew at its toll booth, and finally pronounced woe on it for its unbelief.

The lakeside fishing town Jesus made his base: his own city, where Peter lived and the synagogue stood.

Biblical names
Capernaum, Kfar Nahum (village of Nahum)
Modern identification
Tell Hum · Israel

Capernaum stood on the border between the territories of Herod Antipas and Philip, with a toll station and a detachment of soldiers, which is why a tax collector and a centurion both appear in its stories.

  • Leaving Nazareth, Jesus dwells in Capernaum by the sea, and Isaiah's prophecy of light on Galilee begins to be fulfilled.
  • Teaching with authority in the Capernaum synagogue; Peter's mother-in-law healed
  • The paralytic lowered through the roof
  • The bread of life discourse in the synagogue
  • Capernaum warned for refusing the works done in it

What we know

Certain

  • Capernaum's role as Jesus' base is stated across the Gospels.

Probable

  • The ruins at Tell Hum, with a first-century basalt synagogue beneath the later limestone one, are widely accepted as the site.