March 21St
Road to Gennesaret
Our road for this day leads down to, and then along the shore of that beautiful Gennesaret, so interesting to every Christian mind, and to the ruins of those cities where our Lord wrought most of his mighty works. We are in the very center of that region in which he passed the greater part of his life on earth, and on all sides are the deserted sites of villages and towns which he must have visited. They have the usual marks of antiquity, but nothing is known of their history. His eye, however, saw them crowded with inhabitants, and from them poured forth the thousands of Galilee to hear his sermons, eat his miraculous loaves, and be healed by his divine skill.
Descent
This half hour has brought us down in the world immensely.
And there is still a heavy descent to the lake, which lies full six hundred feet below the Mediterranean, according to my aneroid. This small plain which we are now crossing is called Kaiserîyeh (Cæsarea) by some lost historical association; and below it we must pick our way over and through a very rocky mar for half an hour.
We are passing over limestone, with strata dipping at a sharp angle into the wady. I had expected to find trap rock as we approached the lake.
So we shall below Rŭbŭdîyeh, and the same volcanic formation continues to the south of us quite down to Beisan. And now we have reached the bottom of Wady Sulamy, and find it entirely dry. The stream that drove the mills west of el Mughar has vanished beneath the strata, only to reappear, however, lower down, where it takes the name of Rŭbŭdîyeh, and is carried by canals over a considerable part of the fertile plain of Gennesaret. This Rŭbŭdîyeh was once a considerable town, as appears from the extent of ground cumbered by these shapeless heaps of rubbish.
Farmers
These farmers about us belong to el Mughar, and their land extends to the declivity immediately above Gennesaret, a distance of at least eight miles from their village.
Their Habits
Our farmers would think it hard to travel so far before they began the day's work, and so would these if they had to do it every day; but they drive their oxen before them, carry bed, bedding, and board, plow, yoke, and seed on their donkeys, and expect to remain out in the open country until their task is accomplished. The mildness of the climate enables them to do so without inconvenience or injury. How very different from the habits of Western farmers! These men carry no cooking apparatus, and, we should think, no provisions.
Scrip
They, however, have a quantity of their thin, tough bread, a few olives, and perhaps a little cheese, in that leathern bag which hangs from their shoulders — the “scrip” of the New Testament; and with this they are contented. When hungry, they sit by the fountain, or the brook, and eat; if weary or sleepy, they throw around them their loose 'aba, and lie down on the ground as contentedly as the ox himself. At night they retire to a cave, sheltering rock, or shady tree, kindle a fire of thorn-bushes, heat over their stale bread, and if they have shot a bird or caught a fish, they boil it on the coals; and thus dinner and supper in one are achieved with the least possible trouble. But their great luxury is smoking, and the whole evening is whiled away in whiffing tobacco and bandying the rude jokes of the light-hearted peasant. Such a life need not be disagreeable, nor is it necessarily a severe drudgery in this delightful climate. The only thing they dread is an incursion of wild Arabs from beyond the lake, and to meet them they are all armed as if going forth to war.
ILLUSTRATION
Do you suppose that this wallet, in which they carry their provisions, is the “scrip” which the disciples were directed not to take in their first missionary tours? (Matt. 10:1010Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat. (Matthew 10:10); Mark 6:88And commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse: (Mark 6:8); Luke 9:33And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece. (Luke 9:3)). No doubt; and the same, too, in which the young David put the five smooth stones from the brook (1 Sam. 17:4040And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine. (1 Samuel 17:40)). All shepherds have them, and they are the farmer's universal vade-mecum. They are merely the skins of kids stripped off whole, and tanned by a very simple process. By the way,
the entire “outfit” of these first missionaries shows that they were plain fishermen, farmers, or shepherds; and to such men there was no extraordinary self-denial in the matter or the mode of their mission. We may expound the “instructions” given to these primitive evangelists somewhat after the following manner: Provide neither silver, nor gold, nor brass in your purses (Matt. 10:9-109Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, 10Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat. (Matthew 10:9‑10)).
Explanation of Instructions
You are going to your brethren in the neighboring villages, and the best way to get to their hearts and their confidence is to throw yourselves upon their hospitality. Nor was there any departure from the simple manners of the country in this. At this day the farmer sets out on excursions quite as extensive, without a pars in his purse; and the modern Moslem prophet of Tarshiha thus sends forth his apostles over this identical region. Neither do they encumber themselves with two coats. They are accustomed to sleep in the garments they have on during the day; and in this climate such plain people experience no inconvenience from it. They wear a coarse shoe, answering to the sandal of the ancients, but never take two pair of them; and although the staff is an invariable companion of all wayfarers, they are content with one. Of course, such “instructions” can have only a general application to those who go forth, not to neighbors of the same faith and nation, but to distant climes, and to heathen tribes, and under conditions wholly diverse from those of the fishermen of Galilee; but there are general principles involved or implied, which should always be kept in mind by those who seek to carry the gospel to the masses of mankind either at borne or abroad.
Why do you suppose our Lord commanded the disciples to “salute no man by the way?” (Luke 10:44Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way. (Luke 10:4)). This seems to be a departure from the general rule, to become all things to all men. Would it not appear very churlish and offensive to refuse the salam even of a stranger?
It would; but I do not think that the prohibition extended so far. But the disciples were sent upon important and urgent business — they were ambassadors from their Lord and King — and were not to loiter by the way in idle conversation with friends whom they might chance to meet. The same is now required of special messengers.
No Time to Be Wasted
No doubt the customary salutations were formal and tedious, as they are now, particularly among Druses and other non-Christian sects, and consumed much valuable time. There is also such an amount of insincerity, flattery, and falsehood in the terms of salutation prescribed by etiquette, that our Lord, who is truth itself, desired his representatives to dispense with them as far as possible, perhaps tacitly to rebuke them. These “instructions” were also intended to reprove another propensity which an Oriental can scarcely resist, no matter how urgent his business. If he meets an acquaintance, he must stop and make an endless number of inquiries, and answer as many.
Salutations
If they come upon men making a bargain or discussing any other matter, they must pause and intrude their own ideas, and enter keenly into the business, though it in no wise concerns them; and, more especially, an Oriental can never resist the temptation to assist where account., are being settled or money counted out. The clink of coin has a positive fascination to them. Now, the command of our Savior strictly forbade all such loiterings. They would waste time, distract attention, and in many ways hinder the prompt and faithful discharge of their important mission.
Going From House to House
Upon the same principle he forbade them to go from house to house (Luke 10:77And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the laborer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house. (Luke 10:7)). The reason is very obvious to one acquainted with Oriental customs. When a stranger arrives in a village or an encampment, the neighbors, one after another, must invite him to eat with them. There is a strict etiquette about it, involving much ostentation and hypocrisy; and a failure in the due observance of this system of hospitality is violently resented, and often leads to alienations and feuds among neighbors. It also consumes much time, causes unusual distraction of mind, leads to levity, and every way counteracts the success of a spiritual mission. On these accounts the evangelists were to avoid these feasts; they were sent, not to be honored and feasted, but to call men to repentance, prepare the way of the Lord, and proclaim that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. They were, therefore, first to seek a becoming habitation to lodge in, and there abide until their work in that city was accomplished. “Go not from house to house” (Luke 10:77And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the laborer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house. (Luke 10:7)) was a most important precept, and all evangelists in our own country must act upon the spirit of it whenever they go forth to call men to repentance.
El Mudowerah, or Round Fountain
Let us now turn southward a little, and examine 'Ain el Mudowerah, the famous Round. Fountain, which for a long time was supposed to mark the site of Capernaum. This Gennesaret was and is extremely well watered. There are fountains far up Wady Hamm, which irrigate the southwestern part of it. The streams from Rŭbŭdîyeh spread over the western side, and the Round Fountain waters the portion lying between it and the lake. Toward the northwest the Nahr 'Amûd, and the Leimûny from above Safed, cross the plain to the lake; and the northeastern part was anciently fertilized by the powerful fountains of Tabiga. Here is the Round Fountain, covered up with bushes and briers. Dr. Robinson correctly describes it as “enclosed by a low circular wall of mason-work, forming a reservoir nearly a hundred feet in diameter. The water is perhaps two feet deep, beautifully limpid and sweet, bubbling up and flowing out rapidly in a large stream to water the plain below.
Josephus’ Account of Gennesaret
Josephus thus boasts of the fertility of Gennesaret: “Its nature is wonderful as well as its beauty. Its soil is so fruitful that all sorts of trees can grow upon it, and the inhabitants, accordingly, plant all sorts of trees there; for the temperature of the air is so well mixed, that it agrees very well with those several sorts; particularly walnuts, which require the coldest air, flourish there in vast plenty. One may call this the ambition of Nature, where it forces those plants which are naturally enemies to one another to agree together. It is a happy conjunction of the seasons, as if every one laid claim to this country; for it not only nourishes different sorts of autumnal fruits beyond men's expectations, but preserves them a great while. It supplies men with the principal fruits; with grapes and figs continually during ten months of the year, and the rest of the fruits, as they become ripe, through the whole year; for, besides the good temperature of the air, it is also watered from a most fertile fountain. The people of the country call it Capernaum. Some have thought it a vein of the Nile, because it produces the Coracin fish, as well as that lake which is near Alexandria. The length of this country extends itself along the bank of this lake, that bears the same name, for thirty furlongs, and is in breadth twenty; and this is the nature of this place.”
Changes Now
This extract shows, at least, the “ambition” of the historian to magnify his own country; but it is very interesting, as a vivid contrast between what this country was eighteen centuries ago and what it now is. The soil may be as good as ever, and the climate the same; but where are the walnuts, the figs, the olives, the grapes, and the other fruits coming on in their season the year round? Alas! all gone. The canal, too, from the fountain of Capernaum is broken, and there are no inhabitants to restore it, and to cultivate this “ambition of Nature.”
Size of the Plain
The dimensions of the plain, as given by Josephus, are correct enough, though it is a little longer than thirty, and not quite twenty furlongs in breadth. In summer time all the streams which enter the plain disappear before they reach the lake. I once rode along the margin of the water from Mejdel to 'AM et Tiny, and was often obliged to wade in the lake itself to get round sharp corners covered with bushes, and no brook of any sort or size at that season entered it from the plain. In winter and spring, however, both the Rŭbŭdîyeh and the Leimûny send strong brooks across to the lake.
Petrified Wood
This Leimûny, where it issues forth from the mountains, has uncovered an immense formation of petrified cane and wood, such as I have seen in no other place. I carried away a donkey-load on one of my visits to this region.
Gennesaret is now pre-eminently fruitful in thorns. They grow up among the grain, or the grain among them, and the reaper must pick the “harvest ... out of the thorns,” as Job says the hungry robber shall do with that of the foolish, whose habitation be suddenly cursed (Job 5:55Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh it even out of the thorns, and the robber swalloweth up their substance. (Job 5:5)).
Thorns
Do you suppose that Job refers to gleaning out that which grows thus among thorns? They would certainly take all the rest first; and so this threat would imply that the robbers would make thorough work of it, and leave nothing behind them, not even that which grew among the thorns.
There is another explanation possible. The farmers, after they have threshed out the grain, frequently lay it aside in the chaff in some private place near the floor, and cover it up with thorn-bushes, to keep it from being carried away or eaten by animals. Robbers who found and seized this would literally take it from among thorns; and the disappointment to the “silly one” would be aggravated by the reflection that he had gathered and threshed it, and needed only a day of wind to make it ready for storing in his granary. These farmers all need the exhortation of Jeremiah: “Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns” (Jer. 4:88For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl: for the fierce anger of the Lord is not turned back from us. (Jeremiah 4:8)). They are too apt to neglect this; and the thorns, springing up, choke the seed, so that it cannot come to maturity.
‘Ain Et Tiny
And now here is the 'Ain et Tiny (Fountain of the Fig), concerning which Dr. Robinson has discoursed largely, and about which we shall have something to say by-and-by.
Does it take name from these wild fig-bushes growing in the cliff above it?
Probably. There may have been, and I suppose were, such there in the days of Josephus; they are always found at such places. The Jewish historian, however, does not mention this fountain, at least not under this name.
According to the parable of our Lord, we may know that summer is nigh from this fig-tree, for “his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves” (Matt. 24: 32).
True; but in this sheltered spot, six hundred feet below the level of the ocean, summer comes on very early. The translator of my Josephus pauses to expound, in a note upon his assertion that fig-trees here yield fruit ten months in the year, that most difficult passage in Mark 11:1313And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. (Mark 11:13), where our Savior is said to have sought figs on a tree near Jerusalem at the time of the Passover, and found only leaves.
Fig and Fig-Trees
The explanation is, that they were old leaves which he saw, and old figs that had remained on all winter which he expected to find; for he supposes that in Gennesaret figs must have remained on the trees all winter through. But, whatever may be the true solution of the difficulty, this will not pass; for fig leaves are among the very earliest to fall in autumn, and no old leaves could have been found on a tree on Olivet in the month of April, though fresh. ones certainly might.
Have you met with anything in this country which can clear away the apparent injustice of seeking figs before the proper time for them? There is a kind of tree which bears a large green-colored fig that ripens very early. I have plucked them in May, from trees on Lebanon, a hundred and fifty miles north of Jerusalem, and where the trees are nearly a month later than in the south of Palestine; it does not, therefore, seem impossible but that the same kind might have had ripe figs at Easter, in the warm, sheltered ravines of Olivet.
Barren Fig-Tree
The meaning of the phrase, “The time of figs had not yet come” (Mark 11:1313And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. (Mark 11:13)), may be that the ordinary season for them had not yet arrived, which would be true enough at any rate. The reason why he might legitimately (so to speak) seek fruit from this particular tree at that early day, was the ostentatious show of leaves. The fig often comes with, or even before the leaves, and especially on the early kind. If there was no fruit on this leafy tree, it might justly be condemned as barren; and hence the propriety of the lesson it was made to teach, — That those who put forth in profusion only the leaves of empty profession are nigh unto cursing.
Right of Travelers to Fruit
The objection that this tree did not belong to our Saviour, and therefore he had no right to take the fruit, is answered by a reference to the Mosaic law in such cases. Josephus thus expounds it: “You are not to prohibit those that pass by, when your fruits are ripe, to touch them, but to give them leave to fill themselves full of what you have.” And the custom of plucking ripe figs, as you pass by the orchards, is still universal in this country, especially from trees by the road side, and from all that are not enclosed. And after the “feast of the Cross,” which occurs in September, the figs that remain on the trees are common property, and the poor have permission to enter the orchards and gather all they can find. This singular custom seems to have come down from remote antiquity, and is in beautiful correspondence with the spirit of more than one of the precepts of Moses.
Need of Culture
Are barren fig-trees still found, and does their fruitfulness depend greatly upon careful culture, as may be inferred from the parable in Luke 13:6-96He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. 7Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? 8And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: 9And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down. (Luke 13:6‑9)?
There are many such trees now; and if the ground is not properly cultivated, especially when the trees are young — as the one of the parable was, for only three years are mentioned — they do not bear at all; and even when full grown they quickly fail and wither away if neglected. Those who expect to gather good crops of well-flavored figs are particularly attentive to their culture — not only do they plow and dig about them frequently, and manure them plentifully, but they carefully gather out the stones from the orchards, contrary to their general slovenly habits. But here come our mules, and we will go on with them to Tabiga, where it will be more safe to spend the night than at this solitary 'Ain et Tiny. Take notice, in passing, that this Fountain of the Fig comes out close to the lake, and on a level with the surface, and therefore could not have irrigated the plain of Gennesaret. Our path is in the channel of the ancient canal which conveyed the water from Tabiga westward to this plain. The bold bluff above, with its artificial Tell, was once occupied by a castle, built, I suppose, to command this pass round the lake, and also the road to Jŭb Yûsŭf and Jisr Benat Yacobe. It is called Arreîmeh, and, when occupied as a fort, no one could pass this way without permission from its commander.
Tabiga
It has taken us just fifteen minutes from 'Ain et Tiny to these great fountains of Tabiga; and while the servants are pitching the tent and preparing dinner, we may ride on half an hour farther, to the site of Tell Hûm. These Arabs seem never to leave this shore, for I always find just such an exposé of semi-black, semi-naked urchins to stare and grin at me: Dr. Robinson also mentions them.
Teil Hum
Traces of old buildings extend nearly all the way along the shore from Tabiga to Tell Hum, to which we must descend over these heaps of lava boulders which encumber the shore and the fields. Whatever we may conclude with regard to Tell Hum, it is evident that there was once a large town at this place. The shapeless remains are piled up in utter confusion along the shore, extend up the hill northward for at least fifty rods, and are much more extensive and striking than those of any other ancient city on this part of the lake. With two exceptions, the houses were all built of basalt, quite black, and very compact.
Remains
Like all such ruins, the stones were rudely cut; but like them also, they are preserved entire, and will remain so for thousands of years. The stone of this temple, synagogue, church, or whatever it may have been, is a beautiful marble cut from the mountains yonder to the northwest, where it is seen in place, and very abundant. I think, with Dr. Robinson, that the edifice was a synagogue, of the same age as those of Kŭdes, Kefr Bŭriam, Marone, and other places of Galilee; the work, however, is more massive, and in a higher style than at any of the above named places. The site of this building was much more exposed when I was here many years ago than it is at present, and I found more columns, entablatures, cornices, and other fragments laid bare than can be seen now. Some of them were of a beautiful pale pink or 'rose-colored marble. These Arabs have piled up the ruins into a few rickety huts for themselves and their cattle; but when I was here in 1848 there was not a human being in sight, and very probably he who comes here next spring will find it equally solitary.
Luxuriant Vegetation
How luxuriantly everything grows about it! These nettles and thistles are the largest, sharpest, and most obstinate we have yet encountered.
They will be still more so two months hence; and nowhere else will you see such magnificent oleanders as at the bead of this lake. I saw clumps of them here twenty feet high, and a hundred in circumference, one mass of rosy-red flowers — a blushing pyramid of exquisite loveliness.
What can be more interesting? A quiet ramble along the head of this sacred sea! The blessed feet of Immanuel have hallowed every acre, and the eye of divine love has gazed a thousand times upon this fair expanse of lake and land.
Evening
Oh! it is surpassingly beautiful at this evening hour. Those western hills stretch their lengthening shadows over it, as loving mothers drop the gauzy curtains round the cradle of their sleeping babes. Cold must be the heart that throbs not with unwonted emotion. Son of God and Savior of the world! with thee my thankful spirit seeks communion here on the threshold of thine earthly home. All things remind me of thy presence and thy love.
“There's nothing bright above, below,
From flowers that bloom to stars that glow,
But in its light my soul can see
Some feature of thy Deity.”
And I am thankful that God, manifest in the flesh, selected this lonely, lovely shore for his dwelling-place, and sanctified it by his mighty miracles and deeds of divine mercy. I would not have it otherwise; and most sweet is it at this calm and meditative hour,
“For twilight best
Becomes even scenes the loveliest.”
There is something spirituelle in the coming on of evening,
“Kindly calling
Earth's many children to repose;
While round the couch of nature falling.
Gently the night's soft curtains close.”
As you seem to run into the poetic, listen to another lay, such as your soft muse in silk slippers never sang:
“How pleasant to me thy deep blue wave,
O Sea of Galilee!
For the glorious One who came to save
Hath often stood by thee.
Fair are the lakes in the land I love,
Where pine and heather grow,
But thou hest loveliness above
What nature can bestow.
It is not that the wild gazelle
Comes down to drink thy tide,
But He that was pierced to save from hell
Oft wandered by thy side.
Graceful around thee the mountains meet
Thou calm reposing sea;
But ale! far more, the beautiful feet
Of Jesus walked o'er thee.
Those days are past — Bethsaida, where?
Chorazin, where art thou?
His tent the wild Arab pitches there,
The wild reed shades thy brow.
Tell me, ye mouldering fragments, tell,
Was the Savior's city here?
Lifted to heaven, has it sunk to hell,
With none to shed a tear?
O Savior gone to God's right hand,
Yet the same Savior still,
Graved on thy heart is this lovely strand,
And every fragrant hill”
M'cheyne.
Site of Capernaum
Is it certain that Tell Hûm marks the site of Capernaum? Far from it; but of that we will converse in our tent, at leisure after dinner.
I feel more than usual interest in this inquiry about Capernaum. We know where the angel appeared unto Mary — where our Lord was born — where he spent nearly thirty years of his life before he commenced his public ministry — where he closed that ministry in death; and we know, also, from what place he ascended on high after his resurrection from the dead; and it seems as though I must find out the home where he resided most of the time while he manifested to men on earth the glory of the only begotten Son of God.
There is at this day no occasion to enter on those inquiries which fix the site of Capernaum to some spot at the head of this lake, for of this there is now no doubt; and there are here but two places whose claims are earnestly discussed, — Khan Minyeh, at 'Ain et Tiny, and this Tell Hûm. Dr. Robinson has very learnedly argued in favor of the former, and I am slow to dissent from the conclusions of such a man on a question of topography which he has so thoroughly studied. But the truth must be told: he has not convinced me. I believe the Doctor fails in his main argument. He endeavors to prove that 'Ain et Tiny is the fountain of Capernaum. Now, what do we know of this fountain? Absolutely nothing but what is learned from Josephus.
ILLUSTRATION
‘Ain Et Tiny — Arguments for and Against
Will his account of it apply to 'Ain et Tiny? I think not; and if not, then the whole argument falls to the ground. In accounting for the fertility of the plain of Gennesaret, the Jewish historian says,”It is watered by a most fertilizing fountain, called Capernaum.” The Doctor, aware that 'Ain et Tiny could not water the plain, translates it “most potable fountain,” and supposes that Josephus was not thinking of irrigation, but of water to drink. The Doctor, however, is alone in this rendering. No translator of Josephus, in any language, has thus made him speak of water to drink, when he is stating the reasons for the unparalleled fertility of a plain. He could not have meant potable, because 'AM et Tiny is not good water, while the whole lake itself lies within a few rods of it, and is sweet and pleasant. I can never abide this water of 'AM et Tiny, but always drink that of the lake. When, however, the fountain is full and strong, it can be used. Still, Josephus could not have meant this fountain; for, besides the lake, everywhere accessible, and actually used by all the dwellers on Gennesaret, there are four streams of good water which cut across the plain from the mountains to the lake, and half a dozen fountains in and around it, of far better water than this at Khan Minyeh. As, therefore, Josephus could not have meant to commend this for its potable qualities, so neither could he have mentioned it because of its fertilizing the plain by irrigation: for Dr. Robinson admits that it comes out on a level with the lake and close to it, so that it could not be made to irrigate an acre of the plain; and, moreover, if it could be elevated high enough, there is not sufficient water to make it worth while, especially in the season of the year when irrigation is needed. The conclusion is irresistible that 'Ain et Tiny is not the fountain of Capernaum, and Khan Minyeh, near it, does not mark the site of that city.
Again, the argument for 'Ain et Tiny drawn from the fable about the Nile and the fish Coracinus will be found equally untenable. We may admit that this fish was actually found in the fountain of Capernaum, and that this is a valid reason why the Round Fountain near the south end of Gennesaret could not be it, as Dr. Robinson observes; but this is no evidence that 'AM et Tiny is.
Springs of Tabiga
Certain kinds of fish delight to come out of the lakes and rivers in cold weather to those fountains that are tepid and slightly brackish, and they do so at more than one such fountain along the shores of this very lake, but. not to 'AM et Tiny, — it has none of the qualities which attract them; but these great springs of Tabiga, where we are encamped, are one of their favorite places of resort, and I believe that here, in fact, is the fountain of Capernaum. It entirely meets every specification of Josephus, as to situation, quality, quantity, and office. They are at the head of the lake, and sufficiently copious to irrigate the plain. The cisterns by which the water was collected, and elevated to the proper height to flow along the canal, are still here; the canal itself can be traced quite round the cliff to the plain, rendering it certain that the water was thus employed; and, lastly, it is just such a fountain as would attract to it the fish from the lake, and there is no rival fountain to contest its claims in any of these essential attributes: there is, therefore, not another identification of an ancient site in this land more entirely to my mind than this. The fountain of Capernaum is at Tabiga.
Tell HûM The True Site
All this, however, does not prove that Capernaum itself was at this precise spot, and I think it was not, but at Tell Hum. In the first place, I attach great weight to the name. Ham is the last syllable of Kefr na hûm, as it was anciently spelled, and it is a very common mode of curtailing old names to retain only the final syllable. Thus we have Zib for Achzib, and Fîk for Aphcah, etc. In this instance Kefr has been changed to Tell-why, it is difficult to comprehend, for there is no proper Tell at that site. Still, a deserted site is generally named. Tell, but not Kefr (which is applied to a village); and, when Capernaum became a heap of rubbish, it would be quite natural for the Arabs to drop the Kefr, and call it simply Tell Hum; and this I believe they did. The ruins there are abundantly adequate to answer all the demands of her history, while those few foundations near Khan Minyeh are not. No one would think of them if he had not a theory to maintain which required them to represent Capernaum. And, finally, in this connection, it seems to me that more importance should be attached to native tradition in this case than the Doctor is willing to accord. So far as I can discover, after spending many weeks in this neighborhood off and on for a quarter of a century, the invariable tradition of the Arabs and the Jews fixes Capernaum at Tell Him, and I believe correctly.
Capernaum Not in the Plain
It is very necessary to remark that Josephus does riot locate either the fountain or the village of Capernaum within the plain of Gennesaret. It is Dr. Robinson that does this, by drawing his own inferences from certain passages in the Gospels. But it is an obvious remark that the Evangelists had no thought of giving topographical indications, while Josephus, on the contrary, was writing a labored scenic description, and we should expect to find more light on this question in the latter than in the former; and this is the fact. And, moreover, the passages in the Gospels referred to admit, not to say require, an explanation in entire accordance with the supposition that Tell Hûm marks the site of Capernaum. The notices which bear upon this question are contained in the various accounts of the feeding of the five thousand, given in Matthew 14, Mark 6, John 6, and Luke 9 This miracle was regarded by all the Evangelists as one of great importance; and as they, in their different narratives, have mentioned Capernaum and Bethsaida in such connections and relations as to have occasioned no small perplexity to sacred geographers, and finally led to the invention of a second Bethsaida at the head of this lake, we may be excused for developing our own ideas on the subject with some particularity of detail. But as we shall pass the very site where, I believe, the miracle was wrought, during our ride tomorrow morning, we had better postpone the discussion until we see the scene and the scenery; it will, however, necessarily throw light upon the questions we have been canvassing tonight, and, as I believe, add materially to the evidence that Tell Him is the true site of Capernaum.
‘Ain Et Tiny, Perhaps Chinneroth
Admitting this, what do you make of the ruins at 'Ain et Tiny.
They may, perhaps, mark the site of old Chinneroth. The greatest objection that occurs to me is the inconsiderable amount of them. Chinneroth was given to Naphtali; and from it both this plain and lake may have derived their names, for Genashur and Gennesaret are only different forms of Chinneroth, or Cinneroth in Maccabees it is written Genasor, and also Nasor; and what more likely than that this city was on this plain, and gave name to it, and the lake also I am aware that many entertain the idea that the predecessor of the city of Tiberias was Chinneroth; and it may have been so, but I think not. We may examine this point on the ground, and for the present rest on the suggestion that Chinneroth stood at the head of the pretty plain to which it gave name.
Tabiga
Tell Mira being Capernaum, and Khan Minyeh Chinneroth, what do you make of this Tabiga?
It was the grand manufacturing suburb of Capernaum, and hence the fountains took name from the city. Here were the mills, not only for it, but for all the neighborhood, as is now the case, So also the potteries, tanneries, and other operations of this sort, would be clustered around these great fountains; and the traces of the necessary buildings may be seen all around us. I even derive the name Tabiga from this business of tanning. Tabiga, or Tabaga, is nearly identical with Dabbaga, the Arabic name for tannery; and, no doubt, the tanneries of Capernaum were actually at these fountains, whatever may be true in regard to the name. And if a city should again arise in this vicinity, the tanneries belonging to it would certainly be located here, for the water is precisely the kind best adapted to that business.
As there is considerable marshy land about this Tabiga, may not this account for the prevalence of fevers at Capernaum? for here it was, of course, that Peter's wife's mother lay sick of a fever (Matt. 8:1414And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever. (Matthew 8:14)).
Fevers of a very malignant type are still prevalent, particularly in summer and autumn; owing, no doubt, to the extreme heat acting upon these marshy plains, such as the Bŭtaiha, at the influx of the Jordan.
It must have been in this neighborhood that our Lord was so pressed by the multitudes who flocked from all parts to hear him, that he was obliged to enter a ship, and have it thrust out a little from the shore, that from thence he might address them without interruption.
Creeks at Tell HûM
No doubt; and I was delighted to find small creeks or inlets between this and Tell Ham, where the ship could ride in safety only a few feet from the shore, and where the multitudes, seated on both sides, and before the boat, could listen without distraction or fatigue. As if on purpose to furnish seats, the shore, on both sides of these narrow inlets, is piled up with smooth boulders of basalt. Somewhere hereabouts, also, Andrew and Peter were casting their nets into the sea, when our Lord, passing by, called them to follow him, and become fishers of men. And in one of these identical inlets, James, the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, were mending their nets, when they, being also called, immediately left the ship and their father Zebedee, and followed Jesus (Matt. 4:18-2218And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. 19And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. 20And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. 21And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. 22And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him. (Matthew 4:18‑22)). Here, yes, right here, began that organization which has spread over the earth and revolutionized the world. Viewed in this relation, is there a spot on earth that can rival this in interest?