Sites - Israel

Innkeepers and Travelers in the Gospel Stories

In the timeless narratives of the Gospels, where the very footsteps of the Messiah echo through the ages, we encounter a rich tapestry of human experience. Among the many figures who cross the path of Jesus and His disciples, the innkeepers and travelers stand out, not merely as background characters, but as participants in the unfolding drama of r...

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The Good Samaritan and the Keeper of the Inn

In the days when the roads were perilous and the journey long, there walked a man from Jerusalem to Jericho who fell among thieves and was left wounded and forsaken. Many passed him by—the priest and the Levite—yet it was the Samaritan, a stranger to the beaten path, who showed mercy and compassion (Luke 10:30-37). With gentle hands, he bound the m...

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Travel to Bethlehem

Bethlehem (Arabic: Beit Lahm Hebrew: Beit Lechem is a small city located some 10 km (6 miles) south of the Old City of Jerusalem within the West Bank, in an "Area A" zone administered by the Palestinian Authority. The "little town" of Bethlehem, mentioned in any number of Christmas carols, attracts pilgrims worldwide on account of its description i...

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Bethsaida in Old Testament Times - Archaeology

Biblical Period. The excavations revealed that the settlement at Bethsaida was founded in the 10th century BCE, in the biblical period. By that time the areas north and east of the Sea of Galilee were part of the Aramaean kingdom of Geshur. Its royal family, which ruled for several generations, was connected by marriage to tDavidic dynasty. King Da...

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Caesarea in New Testament Times

The Roman City. Founded by King Herod in the first century BCE on the site of a Phoenician and Greek trade post known as Stratons Tower, Caesarea was named for Herods Roman patron, Augustus Caesar. This city was described in detail by the Jewish historian Josephus Flavius. (Antiquities XV. 331 ff; War I, 408 ff) It was a walled city, with the lar...

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Avdat in Roman and Byzantine Times

Avdat is located on a mountain ridge in the center of the Negev highlands. In the middle of the 3rd century it was resettled and became an important Roman military outspost, with a residential quarter on the spur southeast of the acropolis. In the sixth century, under Byzantine rule, Avdat had an estimated population of 3,000. New agricultural crop...

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Bethsaida in New Testament Times - Archaeology

The Hellenistic Roman Periods. The importance of Bethsaida during the Hellenistic-Roman period is apparent from references to it in ancient sources. Josephus Flavius states that King Herod Philip, whose kingdom included the northern part of the country, changed the name of the city at the beginning of the 1st century CE to Julias, after Julia Liv...

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The Theater at Caesarea and the Pontius Pilate Stone Inscription

The theater is located in the very south of the city. It was commissioned by King Herod and is the earliest of the Roman entertainment facilities built in his kingdom. The theater faces the sea and has thousands of seats resting on a semi-circular structure of vaults. The semi-circular floor of the orchestra, first paved in painted plaster, was lat...

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Avdat in Roman and Byzantine Times

Avdat is located on a mountain ridge in the center of the Negev highlands. In the middle of the 3rd century it was resettled and became an important Roman military outspost, with a residential quarter on the spur southeast of the acropolis. In the sixth century, under Byzantine rule, Avdat had an estimated population of 3,000. New agricultural crop...

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Archaeology at Tabgha and Around the Sea of Galilee

Tabgha: Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and the Fishes. Christians of the early Byzantine period built monastries, churches and shrines in Galilee and on the shores of the Sea of Galilee to commemorate the ministry of Jesus and the miracles ascribed to him. Tabgha an Arabic corruption of the Greek name Heptapegon (Seven Springs) is the...

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