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.

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.

Biblical Bethsaida: A Study of the First Century CE in the Galilee enters the process of constructing a portrait of the First Century CE in the Galilee by drawing primarily upon the archaeological data from et-Tell (Bethsaida) itself and suggesting its relevance for the reconstruction of the first century CE cultural context. It views the material practices of the ancient inhabitants of the site as significant indicators of their sense of "place" both ideologically and geographically.

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.

Die Publikation macht es möglich, insbesondere für die hellenistisch-frührömische Zeit die ersten ca. 25 Jahre der am Nordende des Sees Gennesaret seit 1987 durchgeführten Ausgrabung von et-Tell nachzuvollziehen, und sie lässt für diesen Zeitraum den letzten Stand der auch für die neutestamentliche Forschung wichtigen Grabung erkennen. Die Grabung wird von dem israelischen Archäologen Prof. Dr. Rami Arav geleitet; der Verfasser ist Professor für Neues Testament und Kodirektor des Bethsaida Excavations Project. Die Grabung hat gezeigt, dass et-Tell gleichzusetzen ist mit Betsaida/Julias, das z. B. im Neuen Testament (siebenmal), bei dem jüdischen Historiker Josephus und in der rabbinischen Literatur erwähnt wird. Der Band, der weit über 100 Abbildungen, zu einem großen Teil in Farbe, enthält, verfolgt also ein doppeltes Ziel: Zum einen kann aufgrund der 15 gesammelten Aufsätze in Deutsch und Englisch und der fortlaufenden Münchner Ausgrabungspläne der entdeckten Schichten von Eisenzeit IIA und hellenistisch-römischer Zeit der Verlauf der Grabung von Anfang an verfolgt werden (die gefalzten Pläne in doppeltem Seitenformat), zum anderen geben die Nachträge zu den veröffentlichten Aufsätzen sowie der letzte unveröffentlichte Aufsatz den jüngsten Stand der Grabung wieder. Der Verfasser richtet den Blick öfter speziell auf die erste Hälfte des 1. Jh. n.Chr. und das historisch-kritisch nachweisbare Wirken Jesu in Betsaida (gemäß Mt 11,21–23 parallel Lk 10,13–15).

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.

Bethsaida, a fishing town on the north end of the Sea of Galilee, plays a prominent role in the Gospels, was home for several of Jesus’ disciples, and was the location of the feeding of the 5,000 and many of Jesus’ other healings. However, the Golden Age of Biblical Archaeology all but ignored this important site until 1987 when a young Israeli archaeologist, Rami Arav, undertook a probe revealing early Roman pottery, coins, and the remains of domestic buildings. This led to a thirty-two-year-long research project at Bethsaida, adding to our knowledge of the Historical Jesus and his disciples, and acting as a window into the world of common first-century men and women going about their daily lives in the realm of the family of the Emperor Augustus and the Herodians. The big surprise was that layers below the surface (and a thousand years earlier), there also appeared a major iron-age capital city of the Geshurites with a magnificent palace, impregnable city walls, a massive four-chamber gate system, and many religious symbols. This volume honors the work of Arav, who tirelessly dedicated himself to this dig, establishing the Bethsaida Excavations Project and bringing together a consortium of Universities and Colleges and a diverse team of international scholars who have joined in collaborative research to uncover the story of Bethsaida. In this volume, a representative selection of Bethsaida scholars shares their research to demonstrate the success of Arav’s venture spanning over three decades.