Biblical Geography and HistoryKent, Charles Foster
History
Biblical Geography and History
Kent, Charles Foster
Bible -- Geography; Palestine -- History
=Places Where Jesus Taught His Disciples.= On the southern side of the
Plain of Gennesaret, where one of the streams that waters the plain
flows into the sea, was the little town of Magdala, under the shadow
of the bluffs that come close to the shore on the south.^{(33)} It was
a walk of only four or five miles from Jesus' home at Capernaum. A
little east of the road which ran from Capernaum to Nazareth were the
rounded, treeless heights known as the Horns of Hattin, where,
according to tradition, Jesus sat down and taught his disciples the
great truths contained in the Sermon on the Mount. To the north and
west of Capernaum are many quiet heights commanding exquisitely
beautiful views across the sea below. To these Jesus doubtless often
retired, sometimes accompanied by his disciples. The earliest
Christian tradition (that of Arculf, about 670 A.D.) fixed the scene
of the giving of the Beatitudes and of the Sermon on the Mount on the
top of the hill at the end of the wady that leads up to the north of
the famous fountain of Tabighah.^{(129)} Eugesippus writing in the
twelfth century says that "the descent of the mountain where our Lord
preached to the multitude was two miles from Capernaum," thus
confirming the older identification with the central, commanding, and
yet secluded site near the city that witnessed most of Jesus' teaching
and work. It would appear that (as Dr. Masterman urges in his _Studies
in Galilee_, 87) the difficulties which later prevented pilgrims from
reaching the northern shores of the Sea of Galilee led them to
transfer the traditional site of the "Mount of Beatitudes" to the
Horns of Hattin nearer Tiberias. Along the northern shore of the sea
are also two or three picturesque bays with the land sloping gradually
upward like an amphitheatre. Here it requires little imagination to
see Jesus sitting in the boat with his disciples, surrounded by
attentive crowds. These quiet spots, apart from the city, were of
profound significance in Jesus' ministry, for his great work was that
of a teacher, and they afforded the needed opportunity for quiet
conversation, for question and answer, and for that intimate personal
touch which was the secret of the Master's power.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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