Blog

By Marc Turnage

Mentioned more than any other location in the Gospels, apart from Jerusalem, Capernaum sits on the northern shore of the lake of Galilee. The Gospels indicate it served as an important base during Jesus’ ministry around the lake, with Matthew referring to it as “his own city” (9:1). He performed miracles in the village casting out a demon in its synagogue on the Sabbath, healing Simon’s mother-in-law, and caring for many who suffered. Jesus taught in the synagogue built by a centurion (Luke 7:5). 

Capernaum does not appear in ancient sources prior to the first century where both the Gospels and the first century historian Josephus mention it. Its name means the “village of Nahum,” although no indication of who Nahum was is known. Archaeological excavations indicate that some settlement at the site existed as early as the third millennium B.C.; however, the village that Jesus knew began around 330 B.C. and continued until the Arab conquest in A.D. 640, when the layout of the village was significantly altered. Archaeological excavations indicate a population shift and growth took place in the first century B.C., in which the population became markedly Jewish. 

The site of Capernaum today consists of two sites, one controlled by the Franciscans, which contains some houses, the synagogue, and the Christian shrine, and the other site belongs to the Greek Orthodox Church. Excavations on the Greek Orthodox property have been limited. Most of what they excavated dates to the Byzantine period (4^th-7^th centuries A.D.). They did discover a bathhouse (2^nd-3^rd century A.D.), a tomb, which dates to the 1^st century, and some suggest that the sea wall of the harbor goes back to the first century as well. The more popular and developed side of Capernaum belongs to the Franciscans; however, most of the remains that visitors see date to the Byzantine period.

The synagogue that stands in the site today was constructed out of limestone, which had to be brought to the village since the local stone is the black, volcanic basalt. Certain architectural elements of the structure suggest a 3^rd-4^th century date; however, pottery discovered under the floor indicates that the current building was constructed in the 5^th-6^th century. The limestone building rests upon a basalt wall. While visitors to the site are shown this wall and told it dates to the first century, the time of Jesus, this simply does not seem to be the case. The wall supports the limestone structure above it. It is possible that they built this structure on top of the earlier, first century synagogue, but the synagogue of Jesus would have been much smaller, as excavations under the floor of the Byzantine period synagogue have revealed houses in use during the first century. 

The excavated houses date primarily to the Byzantine period; however, excavators uncovered a large courtyard to a house, which dates to the first century. The homes in Capernaum reflect a style of home popular within the ancient world known as the insula. These homes surrounded a central courtyard in which much of the domestic life of the family took place. This style of home illustrates many stories in the Gospels. 

Visitors to Capernaum encounter a large modern church built over a series of ancient ruins, which consist of three phases. The earliest phase consists of an insula home (200 B.C.-A.D. 135). The second phase reflects an insula sacra in which a certain portion of the house became a shrine (2^nd-4^th century A.D.). The final phase (5^th-6^th century A.D.) preserves a Byzantine shrine with three concentric octagonal walls with mosaic floors. This structure architecturally reflects a Byzantine shrine, built over a sacred site, but it is not a church. The excavators explained these three phrases as evidence of this site being the “House of Saint Peter.” 

Marc Turnage is President/CEO of Biblical Expeditions. He is an authority on ancient Judaism and Christian origins. He has published widely for both academic and popular audiences. His most recent book, Windows into the Bible, was named by Outreach Magazine as one of its top 100 Christian living resources. Marc is a widely sought-after speaker and a gifted teacher. He has been guiding groups to the lands of the Bible—Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Italy—for over twenty years.

Website: WITBUniversity.com
Facebook: @witbuniversity
Podcast: Windows into the Bible Podcast

“If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, when men rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us alive, when their wrath was kindled against us; then the waters would have overwhelmed us, the stream would have gone over our soul; then the swollen waters would have gone over our soul” (Psalm 124:2-5 NKJV).

When things get difficult, whom do you turn to for aid? Do you try to figure it out yourself? Do you look to family or friends? Or do you look to God? This does not mean simply throwing a prayer heavenward in a moment of crisis; do you really look to God each day?

When you come out of moments of difficulty, do you recognize that God was near and that He was with you through it all? Do you acknowledge His deliverance and help? Do you recognize what would have happened had He not been by you?

Psalm 124 does that. It recognizes God’s nearness to His people, and it acknowledges what would have happened had He not come to their aid. The psalmist was not merely looking to God as a safety valve in a moment of trouble, although he acknowledged Israel’s reliance upon God. 

God wants to help His people; He desires to deliver them. Like any good parent wants to help and protect their children, God loves to help us, and He enjoys it even more when we recognize His divine intervention. He gains glory by what He does for us.

Of course, the question naturally comes: Why does God not deliver us from every painful or difficult situation? On the one hand, we can say that growth comes through hardship; we also gain a depth in our relationship with Him when He brings us through. But on the other hand, we have to acknowledge that within life, suffering is a great mystery too—and we do not have all the answers.

The crux of the matter, though, is that we pursue a relationship with God in which we invite Him into our daily lives and trust Him to be our God—even in the midst of our most painful moments and circumstances. And if our cries for help do not receive the exact answers we expect, will we still choose to believe that God is near and will see us through?

Where do you look for help? The psalmist declared, “Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 124:8 NKJV). Is He the One you look to? When you come through hardship, do you recognize how God was with you?

PRAYER

Father, You are our help. You have been our help. If it weren’t for You, we certainly would have perished. May Your name be blessed for the protection and deliverance You have given for us. Amen.

It was a harrowing time, as Ukrainian immigrants Alexei and Valeria escaped their country’s war in 2023. Leaving all their possessions behind, they took refuge in Israel. Yet, moving into an unfurnished apartment in another country, they lacked the basic necessities, and needed help. 

Fortunately, friends like you were there for them. A friend told them about CBN Israel, and caring donors provided them with a brand-new refrigerator, and a sofa that they had wanted but couldn’t afford.

However, a year later in Israel, they were caught in another war. During the escalation with Lebanon, a rocket exploded 50 yards from their apartment building. The family ran to the safe room, where they saw that Alexei’s father was bleeding, and Alexei was cut.

Valeria shared, “They were small wounds, but it was scary. All the windows were blown out. The furniture we bought was damaged. I was crying, because I was very scared.” They survived—but the explosion had devastated their apartment and what little they had.

And our donors came to their aid again. While the government repaired the apartment, donors replaced the furniture, and provided groceries, cooking utensils, and a vacuum cleaner. Valeria exclaimed, “This rocket could’ve ended our life, but CBN gave us a new chance to get ahead!”

Your gift to CBN Israel can give so many in need a chance to survive and get ahead. You can be there with meals, housing, finances, and more.

And your support is vital in reaching out to refugees, terror victims, Holocaust survivors, and single moms in crisis situations.

Please help us share God’s compassion at this crucial time!

GIVE TODAY

By Marc Turnage

Located on the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, about seven miles south of Jericho and twenty miles north of Ein Gedi, sits the ruins of Qumran. Eleven caves around Qumran yielded, arguably, the most important archaeological discovery of the twentieth century: the Dead Sea Scrolls. The current name, Qumran, comes from the Arabic word qamar (“moon”), so it was not its ancient name, which remains unknown. Some have suggested that it may be Secacah (Joshua 15:61-62). 

In 1947, in a cave just north of the ruins of Qumran, Bedouin shepherds discovered seven leather scrolls hidden inside. This set off the frantic search by scholars and Bedouin alike to discover more caves and scrolls. Around Qumran, eleven caves were discovered between 1952-1956 that contained scrolls. The discovery of scrolls in the caves around Qumran led archaeologists to excavate the ruins of Qumran in 1951 and from 1953-1956. 

The library of scrolls discovered in the eleven caves yielded approximately 30,000 fragments of scrolls, comprising about 1,000 manuscripts written on leather, papyrus, and one on copper, in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. The library proves incredibly important for our understanding of the text of the Old Testament, as well as ancient Judaism, the Judaism of the first century. 

Every book of the Old Testament, except for Esther, was discovered among the Qumran library. The most copied books were Psalms, Deuteronomy, and Isaiah, which are also the three Old Testament books most frequently quoted in the New Testament. The library also contained non-biblical works written by Jews from the second century B.C. to the first century A.D., with a unique collection of writings belonging to the Jewish sect that lived at Qumran, a group most scholars identify as the Essenes, which are mentioned by several ancient writers. 

Most scholars identify the ruins of Qumran as belonging to a group of Essenes. The site consists of rooms, which have been identified as a scriptorium, where the community members copied the scrolls, a dining room, which is the longest room at the site and had a pantry filled with bowls, plates, and cups. The site also contains pottery kilns, water reservoirs, as well as several large communal Jewish ritual immersion baths. 

The site, which sits in a dry, desert climate, used a series of dams and water channels to bring water from the nearby wadi, which flooded during the winter rains. The dams and channels ensured that water flowed into the settlement and filled the water installations. 

The discovery of the scrolls significantly advanced our understanding of the text of the Old Testament, as well as the world of ancient Judaism, which is the world of the New Testament.  

Marc Turnage is President/CEO of Biblical Expeditions. He is an authority on ancient Judaism and Christian origins. He has published widely for both academic and popular audiences. His most recent book, Windows into the Bible, was named by Outreach Magazine as one of its top 100 Christian living resources. Marc is a widely sought-after speaker and a gifted teacher. He has been guiding groups to the lands of the Bible—Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Italy—for over twenty years.

Website: WITBUniversity.com
Facebook: @witbuniversity
Podcast: Windows into the Bible Podcast

“Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?” (James 4:11-12 NKJV)

A Jewish contemporary of Jesus said, “Do not judge your neighbor until you have come to his place.” It’s an ancient version of our modern saying: “Don’t judge a person until you’ve walked a mile in his shoes.” 

We live in a world that clamors for mercy, yet each group speaks evil about their opponents, and in so doing, we judge one another.

Many sugarcoat their speech by claiming that they are defending the “truth,” and therefore they justify the harshness of their words against their foes. “He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law.”

This is not an appeal for universalism. It’s a call for mercy. Do not judge your neighbor until you have come to his place. The Bible is clear: God is the just Judge, and the just Judge of the world will judge justly. Leave it to Him. We are not called to judge but to show mercy. To forgive. To treat others in the same manner we want God to treat us. 

That’s not easy in the world in which we live. Our world is polarizing. It divides us. It encourages us to judge those who don’t agree with us. It fuels our suspicion and negativity toward others. And, in the midst of this, James asks us, “Who are you to judge another?” 

In our world today, we have to fight against the inertia that pulls us toward judging others. There is only One who can judge, and He reserves that right for Himself.

God looks upon the hearts and minds of people, and He knows where they’ve come from.

If we reflect the same judgment that our world renders on one another, then our faith doesn’t really mean much. Let’s strive for love and mercy because the just Judge is also merciful, even towards us.

PRAYER

Father, may we be merciful toward others, as You are. Amen. 

Bella was born in Poland and survived the Holocaust with her family after they escaped to a forest and slipped into another country. She later came to Israel where she chose to live in one of the kibbutzim in the south, close to the borders of both Egypt and Gaza.

But after many decades of raising a family of her own in relative security, the Hamas invasion of October 7 brought back all the childhood traumas of the Holocaust.

“I said it right away: This is the Holocaust. I screamed, ‘Why? Why? Why do people who endured the Holocaust have to go through the same thing in a country we founded and where we were so happy? How did the Holocaust happen again right in from of our eyes?” 

One of the 250 people kidnapped was Bella’s grandson, Yotam Haim. 

Yotam, 28, was taken from his home on Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Hamas’s own videos show him being led shirtless and surrounded by a hoard of terrorists, to a vehicle in a field. Bella, 86, became an active advocate and appeared at the Knesset several times to lobby for a deal that would bring the hostages’ release. 

Sadly, though Yotam managed to escape his captors in December 2023 along with two other hostages, but they were shot and killed by Israeli soldiers in a tragic case of mistaken identity. 

On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the staff of CBN Israel honored the 6 million victims of the Holocaust and we continue to stand with survivors, visiting with those who live in Israel, supporting this vulnerable population and helping them through the challenges of poverty and hunger. 

The Center of Organizations of Holocaust Survivors in Israel, an umbrella group representing 50 organizations that assist Holocaust survivors, said that around one-third of Israel’s approximately 147,000 Holocaust survivors live in poverty.

This week, CBN Israel sponsored two memorial services in Israel in conjunction with The Association of Concentration Camps and Ghetto Survivors in Israel.

CBN Israel also supports Bella through the Neve Eshkol day center where Bella receives ongoing group activities, art therapy, hot meals, and the strength she needs to carry on. 

“I said to myself (after Yotam’s death), ‘What am I going to do now? How will I get up tomorrow morning? What am I going to do tomorrow? Where will I go? And here (at Neve Eshkol), I find the answer. I go to train with Michal, I exercise with Laura. I am keeping my brain active.” 

“We will return, all the people who are refugees in our own country will return. And here in Neve Eshkol we will hear music again and we will dance again,” she said. “I am Bella Haim, and I choose life.”

Through CBN Israel, you can give help and hope to Holocaust survivors throughout the Holy Land. You can also reach out to many other people in need with food, finances, and essentials, and letting them know they are not alone. 

Please join us in extending a hand to others!

GIVE TODAY

By Marc Turnage

Located two and a half miles north of Capernaum, Chorazin sits in the hills overlooking the lake of Galilee at 45-46 meters above sea level and 267-273 meters above the lake. Although only mentioned once in the Gospels (Matthew 11:21-24; Luke 10:13-16), Jesus cursed the village for not repenting when seeing the miracles he worked in its midst. He cursed Chorazin, along with Capernaum and Bethsaida. Incidentally, the land between these three villages, on the north shore of the lake of Galilee, covers much of the territory of Jesus’ ministry recorded in the Gospels. 

The distance of Chorazin from the lake meant that it did not participate directly in the fishing industry on the lake. We learn from rabbinic literature that Chorazin produced exceptional wheat. Excavations of the site reveal that the village, which began in the first century A.D., was a Jewish village.

The majority of the ruins one sees when visiting Chorazin today date from after the first century, but they reflect Jewish village life in the Galilee. The central structure from the later village is the synagogue. Built perhaps as early as the third century A.D., the basalt structure resembles the Galilean style synagogues excavated at places like Capernaum, Bar’am, Meiron, and Arbel. 

The synagogue sits in the center of the village. Worshippers entered the hall through three entrances from a large staircase on the south, which faces towards Jerusalem. Two tiers of benches line the two long aisles and the short wall opposite the entrance in a “U” shape. Inside the synagogue, the basalt stone, which is hard to fashion, bears carvings and decorations. 

Excavators uncovered pieces of what appears to be a Torah Ark, where biblical scrolls read in the synagogue were kept. They also discovered a basalt stone seat, which was known as the Seat of Moses (see Matthew 23:1-2; Luke 4:20). The chair bears a dedicatory inscription in Aramaic, which reads, “Remember for good Yudan son of Ishmael, who made (or donated) this stoa, and its steps from his property. May he have a portion with the righteous.” Recent excavations in the floor of this synagogue indicate that it may stand on an earlier public building, perhaps the first century synagogue. 

Although the ruins of Chorazin that one sees today date to after the first century, the site contains a number of features in the homes, installations, like a covered Jewish ritual immersion bath, and details within the synagogue that help to illustrate stories from the Gospels and the life and ministry of Jesus.

Marc Turnage is President/CEO of Biblical Expeditions. He is an authority on ancient Judaism and Christian origins. He has published widely for both academic and popular audiences. His most recent book, Windows into the Bible, was named by Outreach Magazine as one of its top 100 Christian living resources. Marc is a widely sought-after speaker and a gifted teacher. He has been guiding groups to the lands of the Bible—Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Italy—for over twenty years.

Website: WITBUniversity.com
Facebook: @witbuniversity
Podcast: Windows into the Bible Podcast

By Julie Stahl

This month marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1945. On this solemn day, we remember the 6 million Jewish men, women, and children who were killed by the Nazi regime and its collaborators.

We also honor the survivors whose courage and resilience were shaped within the shadows and ashes of Europe’s extermination camps. This horrifying genocide gave those who lived the determination to declare, “Never Again.”

Yet, decades later, on October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists committed the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, causing many allies of the Jewish people to firmly declare “Never again is now.”

Thousands of Hamas terrorists broke through Israel’s defenses by air, land, and sea in multiple locations along its southern border with Gaza.

In several communities the killing and devastation were so complete, Israeli archaeologists were called in to employ equipment and techniques—methods normally used for antiquities—to sift through the ashes to find human remains.

To make matters worse, in the days, weeks, and months following October 7, rather than rallying to the victim’s side with empathy and compassion, the international community exploded with Jew hatred and hostility toward the world’s only Jewish nation. 

May our eyes be open like never before to the urgent need and responsibility of every Christian to combat and stand against antisemitism, the world’s oldest hatred. 

Today, as we remember the victims of the Holocaust, may we also remember the 1,200 men, women, children, and babies who were brutally massacred on October 7. 

Let us continue to pray, speak up, and advocate for the Jewish nation and people—including the safe release of all hostages still being held captive by Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza.

God bless you for your steadfast support of Israel and her people during these challenging and difficult days. 

Julie Stahl is a correspondent for CBN News in the Middle East. A Hebrew speaker, she has been covering news in Israel full-time for more than 20 years. Julie’s life as a journalist has been intertwined with CBN—first as a graduate student in Journalism at Regent University; then as a journalist with Middle East Television (METV) when it was owned by CBN from 1989-91; and now with the Middle East Bureau of CBN News in Jerusalem since 2009. She is also an integral part of CBN News’ award-winning show, Jerusalem Dateline, a weekly news program providing a biblical and prophetic perspective to what is happening in Israel and the Middle East.