Zebedee inscription in Capernaum

 

 

“Numerous stone artifacts found at the site include olive presses and millstones, dishes and craters (large bowls for mixing wine), and the earliest known

pictorial representation of the Ark of the Covenant”.

Mike Mason

In my recent article:

 

Whence that name, Capernaum?

 (2) Whence that name, Capernaum?

 

I suggested, following Charles Boutflower, that the prophet Isaiah (who is my Nahum), he and his family – a type of the Holy Family – had fled to Galilee to escape the wrath of king Ahaz of Judah. Instead of Boutflower’s Nazareth in Galilee, though, I had opted for Capernaum, allowing for the place to be named after a Nahum, thus Kfar Naḥum (כְּפַר נַחוּם), literally, ‘Nahum’s village’.

 

And further, since (Isaiah) Nahum was also Jonah (cf. Tobit 14:4), I had proceeded to suggest, in my follow-up article:

 

Were any Old Testament prophets from Galilee?

 

(2) Were any Old Testament prophets from Galilee?

 

that Jonah’s Gath-hepher (2 Kings 14:25) must have been the original name of the place, before it was re-named after the prophet Nahum (Jonah).

 

The Hebrew name, Gath-hepher (גַּת הַחֵפֶר), is apparently associated with “winepress”, “winepress of the well”, or “winepress of the digging”: 

Topical Bible: Gath-Hepher

 

As we read above: “Numerous stone artifacts found at the site include olive presses and millstones, dishes and craters (large bowls for mixing wine) …”.

It would be an appropriate site to have prompted Jesus to utter (Luke 17:2): ‘It would be better to be thrown into the sea with a millstone hung around your neck than to cause one of these little ones to fall into sin’.

 

And that leads us seamlessly into this insightful article by Dr. Noel Rabinowitz:

Millstones Made in Capernaum – Dr. Noel Rabinowitz

 

• Biblical Insights
• September 1, 2022

 

Millstones Made in Capernaum

 

Bible interpreters have much to say concerning Yeshua’s [Jesus’s] teaching about the humble status of children in Matthew 18:1-6 but they usually overlook where that event takes place – a detail that is actually quite important to the story. After deflating the disciples’ ambitions for power and prestige in the Kingdom, Yeshua follows up with a stern warning: “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea” (v.6).

 

We know from Matthew 17:24 that Yeshua and his disciples had returned to Capernaum and this detail enables us to interpret Yeshua’s words here with even greater clarity. Capernaum is located on the northern shoreline of the Sea of Galilee and sits on a bed of basalt rock, the remains of a long extinct volcano. Fishing was obviously the major industry at Capernaum but it wasn’t the only industry – the basalt provided Capernaum with nutrient-rich farming soil in which to grow high quality grains. The abundance of basalt, however, made Capernaum home to a third industry, namely the manufacture of heavy-duty agricultural tools such as olive presses, household griding tools and industrial millstones.

 

Excavators found a large quantity of unfinished tools at Capernaum – many more than the residents of the village could have possibly needed, indicating that these tools were manufactured for sale.

 

Workman made small household grinding stones as well as industrial millstones which were much larger and much heavier than the household version.

 

The bottom part of the industrial millstone was cone-shaped and sat on the ground, pointy-end up. The top part, which rested on top of the cone, was shaped like an hourglass with what looked like a stone belt at the waste of the hourglass. A wooden log was inserted into the “belt” and turned by a donkey. Grain was poured into the top and ground as the donkey turned the stone.

 

English Bibles typically translate the Greek phrase μύλος ὀνικὸς (mulos onikos) something along the lines of ‘great millstone” (ESV), “large millstone” (NIV), “heavy millstone” (NASB); “huge milestone” (NET) or simply “millstone” (KJV). The Greek phrase, however, literally means “millstone of a donkey.” Yeshua was clearly referring to the hourglass-shaped – and extremely heavy – upper section of an industrial millstone.

 

Now, Yeshua’s warning becomes extraordinarily vivid! He and his disciples were in Capernaum with the Sea of Galilee in plain view. Perhaps they were even standing along the lake’s shoreline when Yeshua made this statement. And they had no doubt walked past the millstone factory many times. It wasn’t hard for them to visualize the horrific death of someone with an industrial-grade basalt grinder tied around his neck sinking to the bottom of the lake. The fate of those who cause one of Yeshua’s disciples to sin is intended as a warning for us all.

Capernaum (Chapter 18 of Jesus: His Story In Stone)

Capernaum (Chapter 18 of Jesus: His Story In Stone)

 

Posted on August 31, 2015 by Mike Mason

 

Leaving Nazareth, He went to live in Capernaum. –Mt 4:13

 

The ancient village of Capernaum (which means town of Nahum) was located on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee, some three miles west of where the upper Jordan River flows into the lake from the northern mountains.

 

In Jesus’ day its population was about 1500, small compared to several much larger cities on the lake. But Capernaum was strategically important for being on a primary trade route known as the Via Maris (Way of the Sea) that carried traffic from the interior along the top of the lake toward the Mediterranean coast. In Capernaum Jesus called five of His disciples: the four fishermen Peter, Andrew, James and John, and the tax collector Matthew. In fact there were “many tax collectors” stationed here, showing that this was a significant financial center, as well as hosting a detachment of Roman soldiers (Mt 8:5-13).

 

Ruins of Capernaum

 

Discovered by the explorer Edward Robinson in 1838, the ruins of this village reveal a network of adjoining houses built of undressed and unmortared basalt blocks, reinforced with stones and mud. A typical single-story house, accomodating two or more kindred families, consisted of small rooms with cobbled floors arranged around an open courtyard, with stone steps leading up to a roof made of light wooden beams, thatch, and packed dirt.

 

Numerous stone artifacts found at the site include olive presses and millstones, dishes and craters (large bowls for mixing wine), and the earliest known pictorial representation of the Ark of the Covenant. The second photograph shows another interesting discovery, the so-called Zebedee inscription which, though it dates from the fourth century, mentions the family name of the father of James and John, “the sons of Zebedee” (Mk 10:35). 

 

The full inscription reads: “Alphaeus the son of Zebedee the son of John made this column. May it be for him a blessing ...”.

 

The Zebedee Pillar

 

It was here in Capernaum that Jesus chose to establish headquarters for the early part of His ministry. Matthew refers to it as Jesus’ “own town” (9:1) and many chapters of the gospels are set here. Outstanding miracles of healing were performed in Capernaum, including that of the man with a shriveled hand (Mk 3:1-6), the centurion’s servant (Mt 8:5-13), a demonized man (Mk 1:21-89), and a paralytic (Mk 2:1-12). Regarding the latter story, the photograph shows how easy it would have been for the paralytic’s four friends to escape the crowds by climbing over the rooftops of the abutting houses, digging through the light thatch, and lowering their friend directly into the courtyard of the house where Jesus was teaching.

 

Note that all these miracles contain important elements beyond the miracle itself. In the case of the paralytic, Jesus made a public demonstration of forgiving his sins, thus drawing the accusation of blasphemy from the teachers of the law. Similarly, the man with a shriveled hand was healed on the sabbath, again rousing his opponents’ ire. As for the demonized man, when the demon testified loudly to knowing who Jesus was —“the Holy One of God!”— Jesus told him sternly to be quiet. In each case, it seems, the real point was not the miracle, amazing though it was, but the explosive secret of Jesus’ true identity. As the Pharisees complained, “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mk 2:7)

 

In the end, despite such tremendous works of power, and despite the amazing blessing of having the Son of God living in their midst, Capernaum rejected its famous rabbi, compelling Jesus in turn to reject the town: “And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths…. It will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you” (Mt 11:23-4).

 

(Photos by Karen Mason)

 

Giants in Scripture and in the world

 

by

Damien F. Mackey

 

“The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—

when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown”.

Genesis 6:4

  

As the above text indicates, giants have existed both before and after the great Flood.

 

Evidence for giants can be found throughout the world – though one always has to be on guard against fakes:

Were There Giants? What the Evidence Actually Shows - ScienceInsights

“By the 1800s, public fascination with giants was so intense that it became profitable to fake them. The most famous case is the Cardiff Giant, unearthed on October 16, 1869, on a farm in Cardiff, New York. Two laborers digging a well hit stone three feet down, cleared the soil, recognized the shape of a foot, and eventually uncovered a ten-foot-tall stone figure of a man. Crowds paid to see it, and many believed it was a petrified ancient giant.

The whole thing was a setup. The farm’s owner, William Newell, had buried the statue the year before. His cousin George Hull, an atheist and amateur science enthusiast, had carved it to make a point about the tension between science and religious faith. Hull wasn’t wealthy, and the scheme was also designed to make money, which it did. The giant became so popular that P.T. Barnum offered to buy it. When the owners refused, Barnum simply made a replica and displayed that instead, claiming his was the real one. The owners tried to sue, but the judge reportedly said, “Bring your giant here, and if he swears to his own genuineness, you shall have your injunction.” By December 1869, Hull confessed, and the hoax collapsed”.

 

President Abe Lincoln, himself of unusual configuration, which some call “gigantism”, is purported to have been interested in the discovery of giants in North America.

 

 

The ancestors of the giants, the Anakim, about whom the Israelite spies reported (Numbers 13:33), had apparently survived from the raid of the four northern kings at the time of Abram - about half a millennium earlier - when giant peoples such as the Rephaïtes (Deuteronomy 3:11), the Zuzites (Deuteronomy 2:20 links them with the Zamzummim, another clan of great stature) and the Emites, “a people great, numerous, and tall” (Deuteronomy 2:10-11), were overcome (Genesis 14:5).  

Later, as the army of Israel will make its way through Transjordania (Dr. Osgood distinguishes this region, as IV, from the Early Bronze III civilisations in Canaan), they will encounter, and defeat, the fearsome Og, giant king of Bashan.

(The account of Og’s defeat is recorded in several passages, including Numbers 21:33-35, Deuteronomy 3:1-11, and Joshua 12:4-5). 

 

“Og king of Bashan”, we read, “was the last of the Rephaïtes. His bed was decorated with iron and was more than nine cubits long and four cubits wide. It is still in Rabbah of the Ammonites”. Og’s bed was about 14 feet long and 6 feet wide or about 4 meters long and 1.8 meters wide.

Now, that’s a giant!

 

While some ancient Jewish legends can be helpful to the point of being vital, I think that we can take with a grain of salt the one that has King Og clinging to Noah’s Ark:

The Amazing Story of Og, the Giant King of Bashan | Mayim Achronim

“Midrashic texts famously record that Og was the only survivor of the Great Flood, aside from Noah and his family. When the torrential rains began, Og jumped onto the Ark and held on tightly (Zevachim 113b). He swore to Noah that he would be his family’s eternal servant if Noah would allow him into the Ark (Yalkut Shimoni, Noach 55). The Talmud (ibid.) states that the rain waters of the Flood were actually boiling hot. Yet, the rain that fell upon Og while he held unto the Ark was miraculously cool, allowing him to survive”.

 

Was Og the original Procrustes?

 

As Einstein would have said, it is all relative. (Or, as a football guru once remarked: ‘You don’t have to be Norman Einstein to …’).

 

Therefore, when speaking of giants, it needs to be noted that human beings were on average somewhat smaller, or shorter, than are those of our own era.

The Neanderthals, perhaps the long-lived antediluvians, who continued on for a time after the Flood, were not necessarily tall, but they were apparently very strong, with marvellous eyesight far surpassing our own, and with a much longer life expectancy.

 

Again, the walled cities in Canaan that Israel’s spies described as being “fortified and very large” (Numbers 13:28), would be miniscule by comparison with our own cities. But to an invading people lacking siege weaponry, even a relatively small, walled city would loom as formidable.

 

One does not need to be a giant to be very strong.

 

There is no indication, for instance, that the immensely powerful Samson was an actual giant – except in his faith (cf. Hebrews 11:32).

And this man in the 1930’s, who pulled a full bus with his teeth, was certainly no giant.

 

 

The Philistines, not included in the report of the spies - but figuring at the time of Abram, and then, again, at the time of kings Saul and David - appear to have been a tall race, including various giants, such as Goliath.

 

Also needing to be taken into account is the fact that the reluctant spies exaggerated the truth, so that, now: “All the people we saw there are of great size” (Numbers 13:32). 

 

And, again (13:33): ^“We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim)”.

 

Any mention of the Nephilim, either then, or today, is bound to attract interest. 

What is the significance of the fact there were giants in those days (Genesis 6:4)? | GotQuestions.org
Genesis 6 records the expansion of the human race and its descent into further corruption. The writer records that there were “giants on the earth in those days” (Genesis 6:4, NKJV) and offers a brief explanation of how that came to be.

 

As humanity multiplied and began to be numerous on the earth (Genesis 6:1), the “sons of God” took wives (Genesis 6:2), and they began to increase. In light of the rapid multiplication of humanity and its evil, God limited the human lifespan to one-hundred, twenty years (Genesis 6:3). Prior to that time, people lived a very long time—even up to around nine hundred years (see Genesis 5). Though lifespans were decreasing on their own, God intervened to limit them greatly. Despite this significant limitation, there were giants (Hebrew, Nephilim) in those days—in the days of Noah. These were mighty men of renown and were apparently the products of relationships between the “sons of God” and the “daughters of men” (Genesis 6:4).

 

The giants in those days were extraordinary, leading some to suppose that the “sons of God” in Genesis 6:2 and Genesis 6:4 are fallen angels and not merely regular people. In that theory, these fallen angels took on physical form and procreated with women. The demon-human hybrid DNA resulted in giant size and, apparently, enhanced physical abilities.

 

There are three objections to this theory: First, there is nothing in the text that suggests the “sons of God” are angels. While the phrase can be used of angels (as it is apparently in Job 1:6, 2:1, and 38:7), it is also regularly used of people (e.g., Matthew 5:9 and Luke 20:36). Second, there is no indication that angels are physiologically compatible with women and can procreate with them (unless this is the only instance).

 

Third, the theological implications are significant enough that one might expect some further explanation. Instead, we only see the offspring referred to as “giants” (Nephilim) and mighty, but nothing beyond that.

 

Others have suggested that the sons of God might be people possessed by demonic beings. As in the other view, the phrase sons of God would still refer to fallen angels. While this view would resolve the physiological implications, there is nothing in the text that would suggest this possibility.

 

A third view is that there were giants in those days simply because humanity hadn’t been fully genetically corrupted—everyone was big and tall and mighty—and God intervenes to shorten human lifespans. This theory takes the biblical account at face value, that these sons of God were simply men. In any case, there were giants in the land at this time before the flood and “afterward” (Genesis 6:4). There were still giants during the time of Israel’s conquest of Canaan (Numbers 13:33) and David’s time (1 Samuel 17:4–7). If these Nephilim were superhumans resulting from demonic and human cohabitation, it seems they would have died in the flood (Genesis 7:21–23). The fact that they were still around after the flood is either evidence that the fallen angels performed the same act again at some point after the flood, or it is another indicator in support of the third view that these giants on the earth from time to time were exceptional, but not superhuman. ….

[End of quote]

 

The view that (fallen) angels are able to have offspring with human beings seems metaphysically ridiculous. However, it is apparent from the story of Sarah in the Book of Tobit, that these malevolent entities are not beyond lusting after human persons. Asmodeus, described as “the worst of demons”, and jealous of the beautiful Sarah, will bump off seven consecutive of her husbands, until young Tobias, guided by the healing archangel Raphael, will come and save the day.

 

The girl had been driven to the verge of suicide (Tobit 3:10).

 

Were any Old Testament prophets from Galilee?

 

by

 Damien F. Mackey

  

“[The Pharisees] replied, ‘Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it,

and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee’.”

 John 7:52

  

Some years ago the question was asked:

biblical basis - What prophets came from Galilee? - Christianity Stack Exchange

 

What prophets came from Galilee?

 

According to the Pharisees at the time of Jesus, no prophet ever came from Galilee.

And I suspect that these nit-pickers of Scripture would have been perfectly correct in their knowledge of, and insistence upon, this. 

 

However, the suggestion is made in the following discussion that the Pharisees were actually wrong when they claimed that no prophet came from Galilee.

And so we read:

 

This question talks about how in John 7:52, the Pharisees claimed that "no prophet comes out of Galilee." The accepted answer discusses how commentators often point out the Pharisees' mistake, and N.T. Wright points out that "both the prophets Jonah and Hosea came from Galilee." In addition, I found this link, which says that 5 prophets came from Galilee: Jonah, Nahum, Hosea, Elijah, and Elisha. BibleStudyTools.org has an article with a discussion about how Micah, Elijah, and Jonah being from Galilee, and how Nahum and Hosea could possibly have come from Galilee.

 

Which prophets are from Galilee, and how do we know? 

 

An associated question, what is the source of the uncertainty surrounding this question? Perhaps I could word the question, what is the (Biblical and archeological) basis for saying that these 5 prophets are from Galilee?\

 

1. Jonah from Gath-hepher

 

2 Kings 14:25 "He was the one who restored the boundaries of Israel from Lebo Hamath to the Dead Sea, in accordance with the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, spoken through his servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath Hepher."

Wikipedia on Gath-hepher says it is in modern-day Galilee (maybe that's what it is saying?). Joshua 29:13 describes more where this place is.

 

2. Micah from Moresheth

 

Micah 1:1 The word of the Lord that came to Micah of Moresheth during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah—the vision he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

BibleAtlas.org doesn't mention Galilee at all in the article on Moresheth, nor does Wikipedia in their article on Moresheth-Gath. Wikipedia says Moresheth = Moresheth-Gath.

 

3. Elijah from Gilead

 

1 Kings 17:1 "Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, 'As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.'"

2 Kings 15:29 actually seems to differentiate between Gilead and Galilee, which suggests that Gilead is not contained within Galilee.

Wikipedia on Gilead makes no mention of Galilee, and the Bible Atlas also seems to differentiate Gilead from Galilee by saying that in Gilead there is "the white chalk of the desert plateau, the same as that found in Samaria and Lower Galilee."

 

4. Elisha

(I don't know the basis).

 

5. Hosea

(I don't know the basis).

 

I would like to see the basis for 4 and 5 (Elisha and Hosea) being from Galilee, and I would like to see how we can know 1-3 are actually from Galilee. I would also be interested if there are any other claims that additional prophets are from Galilee. My questions stems from the fact that none the verses say explicitly from Galilee, and I have seen almost nothing supporting the connection between the city mentioned and Galilee. Pardon my lack of knowledge in biblical geography. Perhaps it is obvious that these cities are contained in the region that is Galilee. There may also be a notable difference between the geographical boundaries in Galilee between the Old and New Testament timeframes or even within the Old Testament timeframe, which contains several thousand years of history on its own.

[End of quote]

 

Here six Old Testament prophets are identified as potentially arising from Galilee: namely, Jonah, Nahum, Hosea, Micah, Elijah, and Elisha – except that they didn’t.

First of all, regarding these six prophets listed above, they are actually only four: namely, Elijah, Elisha, Micah and Hosea (= Jonah/Nahum).

 

We can immediately run a line through Elijah, who was from Gilead, not Galilee (I Kings 17:1): “And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead …”.

 

And we can immediately run a line through Elisha, who dwelt not very far from Gilead (I Kings 19:16): “And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah …”.

 

And we can immediately run a line through Micah, who was from Judah (Micah 1:1): “The word of the Lord that came to Micah of Moresheth …”.

 

That leaves us with just our one, composite prophet, Hosea = Jonah/Nahum.

He was a prophet of the tribe of Simeon, largely a Judah-located tribe: 

 

God can raise up prophets at will - even from a shepherd of Simeon

 

(3) God can raise up prophets at will - even from a shepherd of Simeon

 

He was the great prophet “Isaiah son of Amoz [Amos]” (Isaiah 1:1), or Amaziah:

Amoz | The amazing name Amoz: meaning and etymology , who was the “Amittai”, father of Jonah (Jonah 1:1).

And we know from Tobit 14:4 that Jonah was Nahum.

 

So, now, it really boils down to how to reconcile the geography of Jonah, “Gath-hepher” (2 Kings 14:25), with that of “Nahum the Elkoshite” (Nahum 1:1) - while all the while keeping in mind that this was a composite prophet of the tribe of Simeon?

 

It seems altogether impossible!

 

However, I have already covered much of this geography in various articles.

 

The fact is that our composite prophet, Isaiah (Hosea), as the Simeonite Uzziah now governing “Bethulia”, “… the prince of Juda[h]” and “the prince of the people of Israel” (Judith 8:34; 13:23: Douay), moved about from one end of Israel to the other, and even beyond the borders of Israel.

 

As Isaiah, for instance, we potentially find him fleeing the wrath of King Ahaz and heading northwards into Galilee:

 

Isaiah took his family north to escape the wrath of king Ahaz

 

(3) Isaiah took his family north to escape the wrath of king Ahaz

 

I suggest that the family may have taken up residence there in what would become known as Capernaum, from Kfar Naḥum (כְּפַר נַחוּם), literally, ‘Nahum’s village’, named after the prophet himself as Nahum (a Simeonite):

 

Prophet Nahum as Isaiah Comforted

 

(3) Prophet Nahum as Isaiah Comforted

 

Capernaum’s ancient name may have been Jonah’s “Gath-hepher”.

 

But Jonah did not hail from there, nor was he a Galilean prophet.

 

Nor, again, did he, as Nahum, hail from Al Qosh (“Elcesite”), a location near Nineveh in Assyria.

No, he simply dwelt there for a time while being Jonah in his mission to Nineveh.

 

Conclusion

 

None of Jonah, Nahum, Hosea, Micah, Elijah, Elisha, came from Galilee.

 

The Pharisees were quite correct in this matter.

 

Elijah (Gilead), Elisha (close to the Jordan River), Micah (Moresheth, Mareshah), Hosea (= Jonah/Nahum), a Simeonite from Judah (cf.  Amos 7:12: ‘‘Get out, you seer! Go back to the land of Judah’), all hailed from locations to the south of the land of Galilee.