Capernaum

Capernaum, a town on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, about two and a half miles from the mouth of the Jordan River. Capernaum was the center of Jesus’s Galilean ministry (Matt. 4:13). There he healed the son (or servant) of a centurion (Matt. 8:5–13; Luke 7:1–10; cf. John 4:46–54) and engaged in other healing, teaching, and exorcising (Matt. 17:24; Mark 2:1; Luke 4:23, 31; John 2:12; 6:17, 24). In particular, Jesus was active in the synagogue (Mark. 1:21; John 6:59) and in “the house” (perhaps Peter’s; Matt. 8:14–17; Mark 1:29–34; 9:33). In spite of all his work there, however, Jesus apparently felt rejected by the people of Capernaum and cursed the town (Matt. 11:23–24; Luke 10:15).

Identified with the site Tell Hum, Capernaum has been extensively excavated beginning in the late nineteenth century. Excavations by the Franciscans have focused on the two most prominent ruins, those of a white limestone synagogue and those of an octagonal church a few yards to the south. Both date in their latest phase to the fifth century ce, when Christian pilgrims brought wealth to the area. Modern stratigraphic excavations show that the limestone for the fifth century synagogue was quarried and brought from central Galilee to contrast with the local dark basalt stone. Although some earlier walls underneath this structure might be from the first-century synagogue of Jesus’s time, the finds are meager and inconclusive.

In the case of the octagonal church, the excavators distinguished three phases: a first-century BCE house from the beginning of settlement in Capernaum, a fourth-century CE domus-ecclesia, or “house-church,” and finally the fifth century ce church built in concentric octagons centering over one room from the earliest house. Graffiti in several languages dating as early as the second century include what might be Christian phrases (e.g., amen, maria, and petros), and this has led the Franciscans to conclude that the house was indeed “Peter’s House” described in later pilgrim accounts. Whether those responsible for the second-century graffiti and later church construction were correct in attaching the site as Peter’s house is disputed—nevertheless, it is one of the oldest identifiable Christian sites ever discovered.*

 Biblical examples of Capernaum — 

• Jesus moves to Capernaum Mt 4:13–16
• Jesus says he is the bread of life Jn 6:22–59
• Jesus heals many in Capernaum Mt 8:16–17, Mk 1:32–34, Lk 4:40–41
• Jesus teaches about greatness and temptation Mt 18:1–20, Mk 9:33–37, 42–50, Lk 9:46–48, 17:1–2
• Jesus prays alone Mk 1:35–38, Lk 4:42–43
• Disciples desert Jesus Jn 6:60–71
• Jesus calls Matthew Mt 9:9, Mk 2:13–14, Lk 5:27–28
• Jesus stays in Capernaum Jn 2:12
• Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law Mt 8:14–15, Mk 1:29–31, Lk 4:38–39
• Jesus heals a centurion’s servant Mt 8:5–13, Lk 7:1–10
• Jesus heals a paralyzed man Mt 9:1–8, Mk 2:1–12, Lk 5:17–26
• Jesus teaches about forgiveness Mt 18:21–35, Lk 17:3–4
• Jesus teaches with authority in Capernaum Mk 1:21–28, Lk 4:31–37
• Jesus defends his disciples for not fasting Mt 9:14–17, Mk 2:18–22, Lk 5:33–39
• Jesus eats at Matthew’s house Mt 9:10–13, Mk 2:15–17, Lk 5:29–32
• Jesus heals an official’s son Jn 4:46–54
• Peter finds a coin in a fish’s mouth Mt 17:24–27

Foundation of Peter's House

Original House Church

Limestone Synagogue 

Children's Game

 Fisher's of Men

Statue of Peter

*Miller, Charles H., and Jonathan L. Reed. “Capernaum.” Edited by Mark Allan Powell. The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary (Revised and Updated). New York: HarperCollins, 2011.