In his illuminating, well-researched book examining the site of Et-Tell, also known as Bethsaida, Carl E. Savage explores archaeological evidence to offer readers a portrait of the religious beliefs and practices of the community living near the north shore of the Sea of Galilee during the first century CE. In the study of the cultural and social matrix of the first century in the Galilee, scholars have commonly prioritized written sources over archaeological evidence because written sources seem to contribute more directly to an understanding of the religious beliefs and practices of a community. However, there exist many competing views of the landscape during that time due to the varying interpretations of the textual sources. Using archaeological data from Bethsaida itself, Savage investigates the material practices of Bethsaida's ancient inhabitants, describing these practices as significant indicators of their sense of place both ideologically and geographically. He evaluates the historical plausibility of various social reconstructions for the region, and finds that the image that emerges of first-century Bethsaida is one similar to those of other Jewish communities in the Galilee.

This volume is an archaeological analysis, history, and description of a key excavation of the site of biblical Bethsaida, the most important Holy Land location in the narrative of Jesus’ life. This volume presents some of the pre-eminent biblical archaeological scholars in the field, all of whom were associated with Professor John T. Greene, either in the process of decades of archaeological exploration of the ancient site of Bethsaida, or in some other related activity in the field of biblical studies and religion. Professor Greene has been a leading scholar in the excavation and publication of field reports and historical and biblical analysis of the rich lode of discoveries that Bethsaida has revealed to us. This volume will be the highly sought-after summary of the historical-biblical information now available about ancient Bethsaida, the location at which Jesus vacationed, taught, healed, and announced his self-perception as the promised Jewish Messiah who became a new kind of Christian Messiah after his death by crucifixion on a Roman cross in approximately 30 CE in Jerusalem. Bethsaida in Archaeology, History, and Ancient Culture: A Festschrift in Honor of John T. Greene, describes the operational life of the ordinary people, religious communities, military movements, and socio-political hierarchy, from a ground-level perspective of the centuries before and during the lifetimes of Philo Judaeus, Jesus of Nazareth, and Flavius Josephus. It is unique in its popular presentation of this key era for scholarly research, appealing to both scholars in the field and informed non-professional readers, as well as scholars in corollary disciplines. This volume will be immensely sought after by a wide range of those persons who expect interesting, important, and highly readable works from municipal and academic libraries, as well as the popular book stores throughout the English speaking world.

Archaeological excavation of the ancient city of Bethsaida has retrieved a wealth of information on some of the most intriguing topics from 10th century BCE to 4th century CE. This volume includes reports on archaeological and geological findings from 1997 to 2006 and the cultural and historical contexts of the findings. This volume completes the series.

An encyclopedic guide to the interpretation and understanding of biblical literature. Though written by members of the National Association of Baptist Professors of Religion, the 1,450 original entries by some 225 contributors are diverse in viewpoint and devoid of theological prescription. They're

Where was Golgotha? Was Peter’s house in Capernaum? Was Mary from the town of Magdala? Where was Bethsaida? We’ve all heard the arguments, but what do the archaeological finds tell us? This book pulls together archaeological information, scattered in journals and final reports, relating to the Gospel of Luke with appealing photography, instructive illustrations, and fascinating recent finds. It uses archaeology to reconstruct the social, religious, historical, geographical, and pathological context for the story of Jesus and the Jesus-movement. The book not only features the “shiny objects” from the excavations (the beautiful pottery, buildings, and entertainment facilities) but also items that are not usually handled in glossy magazines, namely, the human, skeletal remains. Yet, these bones are an important window into the biblical world indicating lifespan, morbidity, socioeconomic standing, violence, and stature. The work will employ four areas of archaeological finds and investigations, including inscriptions, large finds (of buildings), small finds (jewelry, pottery, coins), and human remains, to help interpret and illustrate the Gospel of Luke. Along the way, it assesses several archaeological controversies, giving care to be fair to all sides but leaving the reader with the information to make up his or her own mind.

I have been in more than one Bible study class in which someone thought that Paul wrote Thessalonians to the people in a country called Thessalonia and Galatians to the people of the city of Galatia. And to add to their confusion, they had no idea whatsoever where either was located. In my studies of the Bible and Apocrypha, I have discovered that an understanding of the places involved often adds a whole new meaning to the stories and events. In many cases the background, topography, history, and culture of a place either help to make sense of an otherwise rather enigmatic situation, or enrich and flesh out a statement or event.