Israel Day 2 Sept. 20

Today was Sabbath day so for part of the trip at least there was very light traffic. Once we got to predominantly Arab areas the traffic picked up again. We went to Zippori which was a Jewish/Roman settlement that developed as a result of the occupation and oppression in Jerusalem. The community was a blend of Hebrew, Roman, and Greek cultures. The residents were all about appeasement. They just wanted to get along with everyone. They decorated their homes in the latest fashion trends and styles, i.e. Zodiac signs and symbols, this was a real cosmopolitan town. At the same time there was a town on the next hill, within sight of Zippori, named Yard Fat that rebelled against the Roman and was sacked and burned by the Romans. Eventually Zippori fell as well. Jerusalem fell in AD 70 and the rebels retreated to Masada which was conquered in AD 73. From Zippori you can see the modern city of Nazareth. The of the original village of Nazareth was most likely on the south side of the hill and not visable from Zippori.

After Ziporri we headed to Nazareth. At the time of Jesus Nazareth had perhaps 400 residents. currently the population is about 77,000 and is primarily an Arab community 65% or so. Nazareth is crowded, not very clear, way too many cars all trying to move through narrow streets and shops spilling out onto the walks.

The Catholics sort of preserved what they believe is the site of place where Mary head form the angel that she would be with child and the site where Mary and Joseph may have set up house keeping after returning from Egypt. It is almost impossible to tell what the site would have looked like it is covered with marle and other fancy finishes in huge churches and crowded into a really densely populated Arab town. The best I could tell was that the original site was on the south side of a hill about half way down the hill side. in general is was hard to feel warm and fuzzy about Nazareth.

On the way out of Nazareth we could see Mt. Tabor to the east. It is one of the sites considered to be the Mount of Transfiguration. Another possible site is Mt. Herman.

We went through Cana which is about 4-5 miles to the northeast, where Jesus did his first miracle of changing water to wine. It too is currently an Arab town.

The next stop was Capernaum where Jesus started his ministry. Archeological digs and recreations give a pretty good idea what the town would have been like. Capernaum was a major stopping point on a major trade route between Persia and Egypt. The site is on the the northern end of the Sea of Galilee and there was evidence of a significan road way just on the north west side of town. There was also a fairly good sized synogue there that may have been the site of many of Jesus' sermons and teachings.










After Capernaum we went to the site of the beatitude sermon and most likely many other teaching to large crowds. There was a natural hollow in the hill side that is ideal for projecting speach. This site too was built up by a couple of big churches by the Catholics and the Greek Othodox. Even so the site was relatively free of modern construction and it was pretty easy to visualize a crowd of people being taught there. We stood on the hillside and read a few of the Bible passages that were most likely spoken there. Very moving.

Then to the site of the Garasenes where Jesus called the demons out of the man and they went into the pigs which went in to the lake. There was no building at that site so it was pretty easy to see how and where this event took place.





We stayed in another Kibbutz along the east shore of Galilee. We Swam in the lake and I went for a short run on the shore. We had a good meal in the dining room and a nice walk along the lake where we could see the light of Tiberius on the other side.