The

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

narrative of the life of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

refers to a number of locations in the

Holy Land The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...

and a

Flight into Egypt The flight into Egypt is a story recounted in the Gospel of Matthew ( Matthew 2:13– 23) and in New Testament apocrypha. Soon after the visit by the Magi, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream telling him to flee to Egypt with Mary and the i ...

. In these accounts the principal locations for the

ministry of Jesus The ministry of Jesus, in the canonical gospels, begins with his baptism in the countryside of Roman Judea and Transjordan, near the River Jordan by John the Baptist, and ends in Jerusalem, following the Last Supper with his disciples.''Chri ...

were

Galilee Galilee (; he, הַגָּלִיל, hagGālīl; ar, الجليل, al-jalīl) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Galilee traditionally refers to the mountainous part, divided into Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and Lower Galil ...

and

Judea Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Hebrew language#Modern Hebrew, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous L ...

, with activities also taking place in surrounding areas such as Perea and

Samaria Samaria (; he, שֹׁמְרוֹן, translit=Šōmrōn, ar, السامرة, translit=as-Sāmirah) is the historic and biblical name used for the central region of Palestine, bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The first- ...

. Other places of interest to scholars include locations such as

Caesarea Maritima Caesarea Maritima (; Greek: ''Parálios Kaisáreia''), formerly Strato's Tower, also known as Caesarea Palestinae, was an ancient city in the Sharon plain on the coast of the Mediterranean, now in ruins and included in an Israeli national park ...

where in 1961 the

Pilate Stone The Pilate stone is a damaged block (82 cm x 65 cm) of carved limestone with a partially intact inscription attributed to, and mentioning, Pontius Pilate, a prefect of the Roman province of Judea from AD 26 to 36. It was discovered at t ...

was discovered as the only archaeological item that mentions the Roman prefect

Pontius Pilate Pontius Pilate (; grc-gre, Πόντιος Πιλᾶτος, ) was the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is best known for being the official who presided over the trial of J ...

, by whose order Jesus was crucified.''Archaeology and the Galilean Jesus: a re-examination of the evidence'' by Jonathan L. Reed 2002 page 18 The narrative of the ministry of Jesus in the gospels is usually separated into sections that have a geographical nature: his Galilean ministry follows his baptism, and continues in Galilee and surrounding areas until the death of

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

.''Christianity: an introduction'' by Alister E. McGrath 2006 pages 16-22 This phase of activities in the Galilee area draws to an end approximately in

Matthew 17 Matthew 17 is the seventeenth chapter in the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament section of the Christian Bible. Jesus continues his final journey to Jerusalem ministering through Galilee. William Robertson Nicoll identifies "three impressive ...

and

Mark 9 Mark 9 is the ninth chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It begins with Jesus' prediction that "I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God h ...

. After the death of the Baptist, and Jesus' proclamation as Christ by Peter his ministry continues along his final journey towards Jerusalem through Perea and Judea. The journey ends with his triumphal entry into Jerusalem in

Matthew 21 Matthew 21 is the twenty-first chapter in the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament section of the Christian Bible. Jesus triumphally or majestically arrives in Jerusalem and commences his final ministry before his Passion. Structure The nar ...

and

Mark 11 Mark 11 is the eleventh chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible, beginning Jesus' final week before His death as He arrives in Jerusalem for the coming Passover. It contains the stories of Jesus' entry into Je ...

. The final part of Jesus' ministry then takes place during the his last week in Jerusalem which ends in his crucifixion.''Matthew'' by David L. Turner 2008 page 613

Geography and ministry

In the New Testament accounts, the principal locations for the

were Galilee and Judea, with activities also taking place in surrounding areas such as Perea and Samaria.''The Life and Ministry of Jesus: The Gospels'' by Douglas Redford 2007 pages 117-130 The

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

narrative of the ministry of Jesus is traditionally separated into sections that have a geographical nature. ; Galilean ministry: Jesus' ministry begins when after his baptism, he returns to Galilee, and preaches in the synagogue of Capernaum.''Jesus in the Synagogue of Capernaum: The Pericope and its Programmatic Character for the Gospel of Mark'' by John Chijioke Iwe 1991 page 7''The Gospel according to Matthew'' by Leon Morris page 71 The first disciples of Jesus encounter him near the

Sea of Galilee The Sea of Galilee ( he, יָם כִּנֶּרֶת, Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, גִּנֵּיסַר, ar, بحيرة طبريا), also called Lake Tiberias, Kinneret or Kinnereth, is a freshwater lake in Israel. It is the lowest ...

and his later Galilean ministry includes key episodes such as

Sermon on the Mount The Sermon on the Mount (anglicized from the Matthean Vulgate Latin section title: ) is a collection of sayings attributed to Jesus of Nazareth found in the Gospel of Matthew (chapters 5, 6, and 7). that emphasizes his moral teachings. It is ...

(with the

Beatitudes The Beatitudes are sayings attributed to Jesus, and in particular eight blessings recounted by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew, and four in the Sermon on the Plain in the Gospel of Luke, followed by four woes which mirr ...

) which form the core of his moral teachings. Jesus' ministry in the Galilee area draws to an end with the

death of John the Baptist The beheading of John the Baptist, also known as the decollation of Saint John the Baptist or the beheading of the Forerunner, is a biblical event commemorated as a Liturgical year, holy day by various Christianity, Christian churches. Accordi ...

.Steven L. Cox, Kendell H Easley, 2008 ''Harmony of the Gospels'' pages 97-110''The Life and Ministry of Jesus: The Gospels'' by Douglas Redford 2007 pages 165-180 ; Journey to Jerusalem: After the death of the Baptist, about half way through the gospels (approximately

and

) two key events take place that change the nature of the narrative by beginning the gradual revelation of his identity to his disciples: his proclamation as Christ by Peter and his transfiguration.''The Christology of Mark's Gospel'' by Jack Dean Kingsbury 1983 pages 91-95The Cambridge companion to the Gospels'' by Stephen C. Barton pages 132-133 After these events, a good portion of the gospel narratives deal with Jesus' final journey to Jerusalem through Perea and Judea.Steven L. Cox, Kendell H Easley, 2007 ''Harmony of the Gospels'' pages 121-135''The Life and Ministry of Jesus: The Gospels'' by Douglas Redford 2007 pages 189-207 As Jesus travels towards Jerusalem through Perea he returns to the area where he was baptized.Steven L. Cox, Kendell H Easley, 2007 ''Harmony of the Gospels'' page 137''The Life and Ministry of Jesus: The Gospels'' by Douglas Redford 2007 pages 211-229''Mercer dictionary of the Bible'' by Watson E. Mills, Roger Aubrey Bullard 1998 page 929 ; Final week in Jerusalem: The final part of Jesus' ministry begins (

and

) with his triumphal entry into Jerusalem after the

raising of Lazarus Lazarus of Bethany (Latinised from Lazar, ultimately from Hebrew Eleazar, "God helped"), also venerated as Righteous Lazarus, the Four-Days Dead in the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the subject of a prominent sign of Jesus in the Gospel of John, ...

episode which takes place in

Bethany Bethany ( grc-gre, Βηθανία,Murphy-O'Connor, 2008, p152/ref> Syriac: ܒܝܬ ܥܢܝܐ ''Bēṯ ʿAnyā'') or what is locally known as Al-Eizariya or al-Azariya ( ar, العيزرية, " laceof Lazarus"), is a Palestinian town in the West B ...

. The gospels provide more details about the final portion than the other periods, devoting about one third of their text to the last week of the life of Jesus in Jerusalem which ends in his crucifixion. ; Post-Resurrection appearances: The New Testament accounts of the resurrection appearances of Jesus and his ascension are placing him both in the Judea and the Galilee area.

Locations

Galilee

Bethsaida Bethsaida (; from gr, Βηθσαϊδά from Hebrew/Aramaic ''beth-tsaida'', lit. " house of hunting" from the Hebrew root ; ar, بيت صيدا), also known as Julias, is a place mentioned in the New Testament. Julias lay in an administrative d ...

: includes the account of the healing of the "

Blind man of Bethsaida The Blind Man of Bethsaida is the subject of one of the miracles of Jesus in the Gospels. It is found only in Mark 8:22-26.''The Miracles of Jesus'' by Craig Blomberg, David Wenham 2003 page 419 The exact location of Bethsaida in this pericope i ...

". * Cana: includes Marriage at Cana as the first miracle performed by Jesus. * Capernaum: The pericope of Jesus in the synagogue of Capernaum amounts to the beginning of the public ministry of Jesus in the New Testament narrative. Capernaum is mentioned in the gospels a number of times and other episodes such as

healing the paralytic at Capernaum Healing the paralytic at Capernaum is one of the miracles of Jesus in the synoptic Gospels ( Matthew 9:1– 8, Mark 2:1–12, and Luke 5:17–26). Jesus was living in Capernaum and teaching the people there, and on one occasion the people ga ...

take place there. *

Chorazin Chorazin ( gr, Χοραζίν ; also Chorazain) or Korazim ( he, כורזים; also Chorizim) was an ancient village in the Roman and Byzantine periods, best known from the Christian Gospels. It stood on the Korazim Plateau in the Upper Galilee on ...

: In and this village in Galilee appears in the context of the Rejection of Jesus. * Gennesaret: This town (which no longer exists) was on the northwestern shore of the

lake Galilee The Sea of Galilee ( he, יָם כִּנֶּרֶת, Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, גִּנֵּיסַר, ar, بحيرة طبريا), also called Lake Tiberias, Kinneret or Kinnereth, is a freshwater lake in Israel. It is the lowest ...

(also called lake Gennesaret). 1st century historian Flavius Josephus refers to the area as having very rich soil. The town was perhaps halfway between Capernaum and

Magdala Magdala (Aramaic: מגדלא, ''Magdala'', meaning "tower"; Hebrew: , ''Migdal''; ar, المجدل, ''al-Majdal'') was an ancient Jewish city on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, north of Tiberias. In the Babylonian Talmud it is known as Magda ...

. The town appears in the

Jesus healing in the land of Gennesaret According to the Gospel of Mark, as Jesus passes through Gennesaret, just after the account of him walking on water, all those who touch the edge, or Hem, or fringe of his cloak are healed: The same account is given in Matthew 14:34-36. In bo ...

episode in and . *

Mount of Transfiguration One of the unknowns of the New Testament is the identification of the mountain where Jesus underwent his Transfiguration. The Matthew account of the Transfiguration is as follows: “And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his b ...

: The exact location of the mountain for the

Transfiguration of Jesus In the New Testament, the Transfiguration of Jesus is an event where Jesus is transfigured and becomes radiant in glory upon a mountain. The Synoptic Gospels (, , ) describe it, and the Second Epistle of Peter also refers to it (). In these a ...

is debated among scholars, and locations such as Mount Tabor have been suggested. * Nain The pericope of

Young man from Nain Young may refer to: * Offspring, the product of reproduction of a new organism produced by one or more parents * Youth, the time of life when one is young, often meaning the time between childhood and adulthood Music * The Young, an American ro ...

appears in . This is the first of three instances in the

canonical gospels Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

in which Jesus raises the dead. *

Nazareth Nazareth ( ; ar, النَّاصِرَة, ''an-Nāṣira''; he, נָצְרַת, ''Nāṣəraṯ''; arc, ܢܨܪܬ, ''Naṣrath'') is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In ...

: In the gospels Nazareth is where a young Jesus grew up and where the Finding in the Temple episode took place. *

: This lake features prominently throughout the New Testament narrative, from the beginning of his ministry to the end. The encounter with the first disciples of Jesus episode takes place on the shores of this lake. Towards the end of the narrative, in the second

miraculous catch of fish The miraculous catch of fish, or more traditionally the miraculous draught of fish(es), is either of two events commonly (but not universally) considered to be miracles in the canonical gospels. The miracles are reported as taking place years apa ...

episode, a resurrected Jesus appears to his apostles again.

Decapolis and Perea

Bethabara Al-Maghtas ( ar, المغطس, meaning "baptism" or "immersion"), officially known as Baptism Site "Bethany Beyond the Jordan", is an archaeological World Heritage site in Jordan, on the east bank of the Jordan River, considered to be the orig ...

: The Gospel of John ( 1:28) states that

was baptizing in "Bethany beyond the Jordan". This is not the village

just east of Jerusalem, but the town Bethany, also called

in Perea. A different interpretation places Betahbara on the opposite, western bank of the Jordan, in Judea rather than Perea; best known among these is the Madaba Map, which places Betahbara at today's west side of Al-Maghtas, officially known as Qasr el-Yahud. * Decapolis: The

healing the deaf mute of Decapolis Healing the deaf mute of Decapolis is one of the miracles of Jesus in the Gospels, namely Mark 7:31-37. Its narration offers many parallels with the healing of the blind man of Bethsaida in Mark 8:22-26. Biblical accounts According to the Gospe ...

takes place in this area. *

Gerasa Jerash ( ar, جرش ''Ǧaraš''; grc, Γέρασα ''Gérasa'') is a city in northern Jordan. The city is the administrative center of the Jerash Governorate, and has a population of 50,745 as of 2015. It is located north of the capital city ...

(also

Gergesa Gergesa, also Gergasa (''Γέργεσα'' in Byzantine greek) or the Country of the Gergesenes, is a place on the eastern (Golan Heights) side of the Sea of Galilee located at some distance to the ancient Decapolis cities of Gadara and Gerasa. ...

or Gadara) is the location of the episode for the Gerasene demoniac in , , and .

Samaria

* Ænon: The Gospel of John ( 3:23) refers to Enon near Salim as the place where

performed baptisms in the River Jordan, "because there was much water there".''Big Picture of the Bible - New Testament'' by Lorna Daniels Nichols 2009 page 12''John'' by Gerard Stephen Sloyan 1987 page 11 *

: This port city is the location of the 1961 discovery of the

, the only archaeological item that mentions the Roman prefect

, by whose order Jesus was crucified.''Historical Dictionary of Jesus'' by Daniel J. Harrington 2010 page 32 *

Sychar Shechem ( ), also spelled Sichem ( ; he, שְׁכֶם, ''Šəḵem''; ; grc, Συχέμ, Sykhém; Samaritan Hebrew: , ), was a Canaanite and Israelite city mentioned in the Amarna Letters, later appearing in the Hebrew Bible as the first cap ...

: The encounter with the

Samaritan woman at the well The Samaritan woman at the well is a figure from the Gospel of John. John 4:4–42 relates her conversation with Jesus at Jacob's Well near the city of Sychar. Biblical account The woman appears in ; here is John 4:4–26: This episode take ...

in takes place in Sychar in

near Jacob's well. This is the location of the Water of Life Discourse in .

Judea

(near Jerusalem): The

Raising of Lazarus Lazarus of Bethany (Latinised from Lazar, ultimately from Hebrew Eleazar, "God helped"), also venerated as Righteous Lazarus, the Four-Days Dead in the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the subject of a prominent sign of Jesus in the Gospel of John, ...

episode, shortly before Jesus enters Jerusalem for the last time, takes place in Bethany. * "Bethany beyond the Jordan" in refers to another Bethany, across the Jordan in Perea, i.e.

. It is traditionally identified with the site known as Al-Maghtas on the east bank of the Jordan, while the Madaba Map places it on the west bank at modern Qasr el Yahud. *

: see under Perea. * Bethesda: In , the

healing the paralytic at Bethesda The Healing of a paralytic at Bethesda is one of the miraculous healings attributed to Jesus in the New Testament. This event is recounted only in the Gospel of John, which says that it took place near the "Sheep Gate" in Jerusalem (now the Lio ...

episode takes place at the Pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem. *

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...

: The Gospel of Luke ( 2:1-7) states that the

birth of Jesus The nativity of Jesus, nativity of Christ, birth of Jesus or birth of Christ is described in the biblical gospels of Luke and Matthew. The two accounts agree that Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judaea, his mother Mary was engaged to a man na ...

took place in Bethlehem. * Bethphage is mentioned as the place from which Jesus sent the disciples to find a donkey for the Triumphal entry into Jerusalem. mention it as close to

.''Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land'' by Avraham Negev 2005 page 80

Eusebius of Caesarea Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christia ...

(''Onomasticon'' 58:13) located it on the Mount of Olives. *

Calvary Calvary ( la, Calvariae or ) or Golgotha ( grc-gre, Γολγοθᾶ, ''Golgothâ'') was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where Jesus was said to have been crucified according to the canonical Gospels. Since at least the early mediev ...

(Golgotha): ''Calvary'' is the Latin term for ''Golgotha'' the Greek translation of the

Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...

term for the place of the skull - the location for the

Crucifixion of Jesus The crucifixion and death of Jesus occurred in 1st-century Judea, most likely in AD 30 or AD 33. It is described in the four canonical gospels, referred to in the New Testament epistles, attested to by other ancient sources, and consid ...

described in the New Testament. *

Emmaus Emmaus (; Greek: Ἐμμαούς, ''Emmaous''; la, Emmaus; , ''Emmaom''; ar, عمواس, ''ʻImwas'') is a town mentioned in the Gospel of Luke of the New Testament. Luke reports that Jesus appeared, after his death and resurrection, before tw ...

: In the

Road to Emmaus appearance According to the Gospel of Luke, the road to Emmaus appearance is one of the early post-resurrection appearances of Jesus after his crucifixion and the discovery of the empty tomb. Both the meeting on the road to Emmaus and the subsequent supper ...

episode in , a resurrected Jesus appears to two disciples and eats supper with them. *

Gabbatha Gabbatha (Aramaic גבתא) is the Aramaic name of a place in Jerusalem that is also referred to by the Greek name of (Greek ). It is recorded in the gospels to be the place of the trial of Jesus before his crucifixion 30/33 AD. The site o ...

(Lithostrōtos): This location is referenced only once in the New Testament in .''Historical Dictionary of Jesus'' by Daniel J. Harrington 2010 page 62 This is an

term that refers to the location of the trial of Jesus by

and the Greek name of Lithostrōtos (λιθόστρωτος) meaning stone pavement also refers to it. It was likely a raised stone platform where Jesus faced Pilate.

James Charlesworth James Hamilton Charlesworth (born May 30, 1940) is an American academic who served as the George L. Collord Professor of New Testament Language and Literature until January 17, 2019, and Director of the Dead Sea Scrolls Project at the Princeton The ...

considers this location of high archaeological significance and states that modern scholars believe this location was in the public square just outside the

Praetorium The Latin term (also and ) originally identified the tent of a general within a Roman castrum (encampment), and derived from the title praetor, which identified a Roman magistrate.Smith, William. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, 2 ed., ...

in Jerusalem and was paved with large stones. *

Gethsemane Gethsemane () is a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem where, according to the four Gospels of the New Testament, Jesus underwent the agony in the garden and was arrested before his crucifixion. It is a place of great resona ...

: In the gospels, immediately after the Last Supper, Jesus and his disciples go to the garden at Gethsemane, the location of the Agony in the Garden and Arrest of Jesus episodes. *

Jericho Jericho ( ; ar, أريحا ; he, יְרִיחוֹ ) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank. It is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It is the administrative seat of the Jericho Gove ...

: The Healing the blind near Jericho episode refers to Bartimaeus, one of the two people who are named and cured in the gospels. * Mount of Olives: This mountain appears in a number of New Testament episodes, and the Olivet discourse is named after it. In the Triumphal entry into Jerusalem episode, Jesus descends from the Mount of Olives towards Jerusalem and the crowds lay their clothes on the ground to welcome him. In Acts 1:9-12, the

Ascension of Jesus The Ascension of Jesus (anglicized from the Vulgate la, ascensio Iesu, lit=ascent of Jesus) is the Christian teaching that Christ physically departed from Earth by rising to Heaven, in the presence of eleven of his apostles. According to the N ...

takes place near this mountain. *

Temple in Jerusalem The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two now-destroyed religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusa ...

: The Temple is featured in the Cleansing of the Temple incident, where Jesus expels the money changers.

Other places

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

: The

Flight to Egypt The flight into Egypt is a story recounted in the Gospel of Matthew ( Matthew 2:13– 23) and in New Testament apocrypha. Soon after the visit by the Magi, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream telling him to flee to Egypt with Mary and the i ...

episode in the Gospel of Matthew takes place after the birth of Jesus, and the family flees to Egypt before returning to Galilee a few years later.Steven L. Cox, Kendell H Easley, 2007 ''Harmony of the Gospels'' pages 30-37''Who's Who in the New Testament'' by Ronald Brownrigg, Canon Brownrigg 2001 pages 96-100''The Birth of Jesus According to the Gospels'' by Joseph F. Kelly 2008 ISBN pages 41-49 * "The region of Tyre and

Sidon Sidon ( ; he, צִידוֹן, ''Ṣīḏōn'') known locally as Sayda or Saida ( ar, صيدا ''Ṣaydā''), is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate, of which it is the capital, on the Mediterranean coast. ...

" ( and ) in what had once been

Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...

and had become in Jesus' time part of

Roman Syria Roman Syria was an early Roman province annexed to the Roman Republic in 64 BC by Pompey in the Third Mithridatic War following the defeat of King of Armenia Tigranes the Great. Following the partition of the Herodian Kingdom of Judea into tetr ...

, today situated in Southern Lebanon. There Jesus removed the demon from the daughter of a Syrophoenician woman. *

Caesarea Phillippi Banias or Banyas ( ar, بانياس الحولة; he, בניאס, label=Modern Hebrew; Judeo-Aramaic, Medieval Hebrew: פמייס, etc.; grc, Πανεάς) is a site in the Golan Heights near a natural spring, once associated with the Greek g ...

("the villages around Caesarea Philippi"): the capital city of the

tetrarchy The Tetrarchy was the system instituted by Roman emperor Diocletian in 293 AD to govern the ancient Roman Empire by dividing it between two emperors, the '' augusti'', and their juniors colleagues and designated successors, the '' caesares' ...

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

is mentioned in and its surroundings are the first location where Jesus predicts his death (). This area is also important in the New Testament because, just before entering it in the

Confession of Peter In Christianity, the Confession of Peter (translated from the Matthean Vulgate Latin section title: ''Confessio Petri'') refers to an episode in the New Testament in which the Apostle Peter proclaims Jesus to be the Christ (Jewish Messiah). The ...

episode, Jesus asks his disciples "who do you think that I am?", producing the "You are the Christ of God" response from Apostle Peter in Matthew 16:13-20, Mark 8:27-29 and Luke 9:18-20. *

Road to Damascus A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

: In the

Acts of the Apostles The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its messag ...

(9, 22 and 26), this road is the location for the conversion of

Apostle Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

. It is also mentioned in the

Pauline Epistles The Pauline epistles, also known as Epistles of Paul or Letters of Paul, are the thirteen books of the New Testament attributed to Paul the Apostle, although the authorship of some is in dispute. Among these epistles are some of the earliest extan ...

Archaeology

No documents written by Jesus exist, and no specific

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

remnants are directly attributed to him. The 21st century has witnessed an increase in scholarly interest in the integrated use of archaeology as an additional research component in arriving at a better understanding of the historical Jesus by illuminating the socio-economic and political background of his age.Jonathan L. Reed, "Archaeological contributions to the study of Jesus and the Gospels" in ''The Historical Jesus in Context'' edited by Amy-Jill Levine et al. Princeton Univ Press 2006 pages 40-47"Jesus Research and Archaeology: A New Perspective" by James H. Charlesworth in ''Jesus and archaeology'' edited by James H. Charlesworth 2006 pages 11-15

states that few modern scholars now want to overlook the archaeological discoveries that clarify the nature of life in Galilee and Judea during the time of Jesus. Jonathan Reed states that chief contribution of archaeology to the study of the historical Jesus is the reconstruction of his social world. An example archaeological item that Reed mentions is the 1961 discovery of the

, which mentions the Roman prefect

, by whose order Jesus was crucified.''Archaeology and the Galilean Jesus: a re-examination of the evidence'' by Jonathan L. Reed 2002 page 18 Reed also states that archaeological finding related to

coin A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order t ...

age can shed light on historical critical analysis. As an example, he refers to coins with the ""Divi filius" inscription. Although Roman Emperor

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...

called himself "Divi filius", and not "Dei filius" ( Son of God), the line between being god and god-like was at times less than clear to the population at large, and the Roman court seems to have been aware of the necessity of keeping the ambiguity.''Experiencing Rome: culture, identity and power in the Roman Empire'' by Janet Huskinson 1999 page 81 Later,

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...

who was emperor at the time of Jesus came to be accepted as the son of ''divus Augustus''.''Early Christian literature'' by Helen Rhee 2005 pages 159-161 Reed discusses this coinage in the context of (known as Render unto Caesar...) in which Jesus asks his disciples to look at a coin: "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?" and then advises them to "Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's." Reed states that "the answer becomes much more subversive when one knows that Roman coinage proclaimed Caesar to be God". David Gowler states that an interdisciplinary scholarly study of archeology, textual analysis and historical context can shed light on Jesus and his teachings.''What are they saying about the historical Jesus?'' by David B. Gowler 2007 page 102 An example is the archeological studies at Capernaum. Despite the frequent references to Capernaum in the New Testament, little is said about it there."Jesus and Capernaum: Archeological and Gospel Stratigraohy" in ''Archaeology and the Galilean Jesus: a re-examination of the evidence' by Jonathan L. Reed 2002 page 139-156 However, recent archeological evidence show that unlike earlier assumptions, Capernaum was poor and small, without even a forum or

agora The agora (; grc, ἀγορά, romanized: ', meaning "market" in Modern Greek) was a central public space in ancient Greek city-states. It is the best representation of a city-state's response to accommodate the social and political order of t ...

.''Jesus and archaeology'' edited by James H. Charlesworth 2006 page 127 This archaeological discovery thus resonates well with the scholarly view that Jesus advocated reciprocal sharing among the destitute in that area of Galilee. Other archeological findings support the wealth of the ruling priests in Judea at the beginning of the first century.''Who Was Jesus?'' by Paul Copan and Craig A. Evans 2001 page 187

References

{{New Testament places associated with Jesus, state=expanded Life of Jesus in the New Testament Lists of historic places