Reference: Bethsaida
American
Place of fishing, 1. A city in Galilee, on the western shore of the lake of Gennesareth, a little north of Capernaum; it was the birthplace of the apostles Philip, Andrew, and Peter, and was often visited by our Lord, Mt 11:21; Mr 6:45; 8:22.
2. A city in Gaulonitis, north of the same lake, and east of the Jordan. Near this place Christ fed the five thousand. It lay on a gentle hill near the Jordan separated from the sea of Galilee by a plain three miles wide, of surpassing fertility, Lu 9:10. Compare Mt 14:13-22; Mr 6:31-45. This town was enlarged by Philip, tetrarch of that region, Lu 3:1, and called Julias in honor of Julia, the daughter of Augustus. It is now little but ruins.
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"Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
Now [when] Jesus heard [it], he withdrew from there in a boat to an isolated place by himself. And [when] the crowds heard [it], they followed him by land from the towns. And [as he] got out, he saw the large crowd and had compassion on them and healed their sick. read more. Now [when it] was evening, the disciples came to him saying, "The place is desolate and the hour {is late}. Release the crowds so that they can go away into the villages [and] purchase food for themselves." But Jesus said to them, "They do not {need} to go away. You give them [something] to eat." And they said to him, "We do not have [anything] here except five loaves and two fish." So he said, "Bring them here to me." And he commanded the crowds to recline for a meal on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish [and] looking up to heaven, he gave thanks. And [after] breaking [them], he gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples [gave them] to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. Now those who ate were about five thousand men, in addition to women and children. And immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, while he sent away the crowds.
And he said to them, "You yourselves come privately to an isolated place and rest for a short time." For those [who were] coming and going were many, and they did not even have time to eat. And they went away in the boat to an isolated place by themselves. read more. And many [people] saw them leaving and recognized [them], and ran there together by land from all the towns, and arrived ahead of them. And getting out [of the boat] he saw the large crowd and had compassion on them, because they were like sheep {without} a shepherd, and he began to teach them many [things]. And the hour had already become late [when] his disciples came up to him, saying, "The place is desolate and the hour [is] already late. Send them away so that they can go into the surrounding farms and villages [and] purchase something to eat for themselves." But he answered [and] said to them, "You give them [something] to eat." And they said to him, "Should we go [and] purchase bread for two hundred denarii and give [it] to them to eat?" And he said to them, "How many loaves do you have? Go look!" And [when they] found out, they said, "Five, and two fish." And he ordered them all to recline in groups on the green grass. And they reclined in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. And taking the five loaves and the two fish [and] looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves and gave [them] to his disciples so that they could set [them] before them. And he distributed the two fish to [them] all. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they picked up the broken pieces, twelve baskets full, and of the fish. And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men. And immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he himself dismissed the crowd.
And immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he himself dismissed the crowd.
And they came to Bethsaida. And they brought to him a blind man and implored him that he would touch him.
Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, [when] Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene,
And [when they] returned, the apostles described to him all that they had done. And he took them along [and] withdrew privately to a town called Bethsaida.
Easton
house of fish.
(1.) A town in Galilee, on the west side of the sea of Tiberias, in the "land of Gennesaret." It was the native place of Peter, Andrew, and Philip, and was frequently resorted to by Jesus (Mr 6:45; Joh 1:44; 12:21). It is supposed to have been at the modern 'Ain Tabighah, a bay to the north of Gennesaret.
(2.) A city near which Christ fed 5,000 (Lu 9:10; comp. Joh 6:17; Mt 14:15-21), and where the blind man had his sight restored (Mr 8:22), on the east side of the lake, two miles up the Jordan. It stood within the region of Gaulonitis, and was enlarged by Philip the tetrarch, who called it "Julias," after the emperor's daughter. Or, as some have supposed, there may have been but one Bethsaida built on both sides of the lake, near where the Jordan enters it. Now the ruins et-Tel.
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Now [when it] was evening, the disciples came to him saying, "The place is desolate and the hour {is late}. Release the crowds so that they can go away into the villages [and] purchase food for themselves." But Jesus said to them, "They do not {need} to go away. You give them [something] to eat." read more. And they said to him, "We do not have [anything] here except five loaves and two fish." So he said, "Bring them here to me." And he commanded the crowds to recline for a meal on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish [and] looking up to heaven, he gave thanks. And [after] breaking [them], he gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples [gave them] to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. Now those who ate were about five thousand men, in addition to women and children.
And immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he himself dismissed the crowd.
And they came to Bethsaida. And they brought to him a blind man and implored him that he would touch him.
And [when they] returned, the apostles described to him all that they had done. And he took them along [and] withdrew privately to a town called Bethsaida.
And getting into a boat, they began to go to the other side of the sea, to Capernaum. And it had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.
So these approached Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and began asking him saying, "Sir, we want to see Jesus."
Fausets
("house of fish".) A city of Galilee, W. of and close to the sea of Tiberias, in the land of Gennesareth (Mr 6:45-53; Joh 6:16-17; 1:44; 12:21). Andrew, Peter, and Philip belonged to it, Near Capernaum and Chorazin (Mt 11:21; Lu 10:13). When Jesus fed the 5,000 on the N.E. of the lake, they entered into a boat to cross to Bethsaida (Mr 6:45), while John says" they went over the sea toward Capernaum." Being driven out of their course, Jesus came to them walking on the sea; they landed in Gennesaret and went to Capernaum; so that Bethsaida must have been near Capernaum.
In Lu 9:10-17 another Bethsaida, at the scene of feeding the 5,000, is mentioned (though the Curetonian Syriac and later Sinaitic omit it), which must have been therefore N.E. of the lake; the same as Julias, called from the emperor's daughter Julia. The miracle was wrought in a lonely "desert place," on a rising ground at the back of the town, covered with much "green grass" (Mr 6:39). In Mr 8:10-22 a Bethsaida on the E. side of the lake in Gaulonitis (now Jaulan) is alluded to; for Jesus passed by ship from Dalmanutha on the W. side "to the other side," i.e. to the E. side. Thus, Caesarea Philippi is mentioned presently after, Bethsaida being on the road to it; and the mount of the transfiguration, part of the Hermon range, above the source of the Jordan (Mr 9:2-3); the snow of Hermon suggested the image, "His raiment became white as snow."
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"Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
"Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
And immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he himself dismissed the crowd.
And immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he himself dismissed the crowd.
And immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he himself dismissed the crowd.
And immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he himself dismissed the crowd. And [after he] had said farewell to them, he went away to the mountain to pray.
And [after he] had said farewell to them, he went away to the mountain to pray. And [when] evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea and he [was] alone on the land.
And [when] evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea and he [was] alone on the land. And he saw them being beaten in their rowing because the wind was against them. Around the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea, and he was wanting to pass by them.
And he saw them being beaten in their rowing because the wind was against them. Around the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea, and he was wanting to pass by them. But [when] they saw him walking on the sea, they thought that it was a ghost, and they cried out.
But [when] they saw him walking on the sea, they thought that it was a ghost, and they cried out. For they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke with them and said to them, "Have courage, I am [he]! Do not be afraid!"
For they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke with them and said to them, "Have courage, I am [he]! Do not be afraid!" And he went up with them into the boat, and the wind abated. And {they were extraordinarily} astounded within themselves,
And he went up with them into the boat, and the wind abated. And {they were extraordinarily} astounded within themselves, because they did not understand concerning the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.
because they did not understand concerning the loaves, but their hearts were hardened. And [after they] had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and anchored [there].
And [after they] had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and anchored [there].
And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples [and] went to the district of Dalmanutha.
And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples [and] went to the district of Dalmanutha. And the Pharisees came and began to argue with him, demanding from him a sign from heaven [in order to] test him.
And the Pharisees came and began to argue with him, demanding from him a sign from heaven [in order to] test him. And sighing deeply in his spirit, he said, "Why does this generation demand a sign? Truly I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation!"
And sighing deeply in his spirit, he said, "Why does this generation demand a sign? Truly I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation!" And he left them, got into [the boat] again, [and] went to the other side.
And he left them, got into [the boat] again, [and] went to the other side. And they had forgotten to take bread, and except [for] one loaf, they did not have [any] with them in the boat.
And they had forgotten to take bread, and except [for] one loaf, they did not have [any] with them in the boat. And he ordered them, saying, "Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod!"
And he ordered them, saying, "Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod!" And they began to discuss with one another that they had no bread.
And they began to discuss with one another that they had no bread. And knowing [this], he said to them, "Why are you discussing that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Have your hearts been hardened?
And knowing [this], he said to them, "Why are you discussing that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Have your hearts been hardened? [Although you] have eyes, do you not see? And [although you] have ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember?
[Although you] have eyes, do you not see? And [although you] have ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand how many baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?" They said to him, "Twelve."
When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand how many baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?" They said to him, "Twelve." "When also [broke] the seven [loaves] for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?" And they said to him, "Seven."
"When also [broke] the seven [loaves] for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?" And they said to him, "Seven." And he said to them, "Do you not yet understand?"
And he said to them, "Do you not yet understand?" And they came to Bethsaida. And they brought to him a blind man and implored him that he would touch him.
And they came to Bethsaida. And they brought to him a blind man and implored him that he would touch him.
And after six days, Jesus took along Peter and James and John, and led them to a high mountain by themselves alone. And he was transfigured before them,
And after six days, Jesus took along Peter and James and John, and led them to a high mountain by themselves alone. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothing became radiant--extremely white, like no cloth refiner on earth can {make so white}.
and his clothing became radiant--extremely white, like no cloth refiner on earth can {make so white}.
And [when they] returned, the apostles described to him all that they had done. And he took them along [and] withdrew privately to a town called Bethsaida.
And [when they] returned, the apostles described to him all that they had done. And he took them along [and] withdrew privately to a town called Bethsaida. But [when] the crowds found out, they followed him, and welcoming them, he began to speak to them about the kingdom of God, and he cured those who had need of healing.
But [when] the crowds found out, they followed him, and welcoming them, he began to speak to them about the kingdom of God, and he cured those who had need of healing. Now the day began to be far spent, and the twelve came up [and] said to him, "Send away the crowd so that they can go into the surrounding villages and farms to obtain lodging and find provisions, because we are here in a desolate place.
Now the day began to be far spent, and the twelve came up [and] said to him, "Send away the crowd so that they can go into the surrounding villages and farms to obtain lodging and find provisions, because we are here in a desolate place. But he said to them, "You give them [something] to eat!" And they said, "{We have no} more than five loaves and two fish, unless perhaps we go [and] purchase food for all these people."
But he said to them, "You give them [something] to eat!" And they said, "{We have no} more than five loaves and two fish, unless perhaps we go [and] purchase food for all these people." (For there were about five thousand men.) So he said to his disciples, "Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each."
(For there were about five thousand men.) So he said to his disciples, "Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each." And they did so, and had [them] all sit down.
And they did so, and had [them] all sit down. And taking the five loaves and the two fish, [and] looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them and began giving [them] to the disciples to set before the crowd.
And taking the five loaves and the two fish, [and] looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them and began giving [them] to the disciples to set before the crowd. And [they] all ate and were satisfied, and what was left over was picked up by them--twelve baskets of broken pieces.
And [they] all ate and were satisfied, and what was left over was picked up by them--twelve baskets of broken pieces.
Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes!
Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes!
Now when evening came, his disciples went down to the sea.
Now when evening came, his disciples went down to the sea. And getting into a boat, they began to go to the other side of the sea, to Capernaum. And it had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.
And getting into a boat, they began to go to the other side of the sea, to Capernaum. And it had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.
So these approached Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and began asking him saying, "Sir, we want to see Jesus."
So these approached Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and began asking him saying, "Sir, we want to see Jesus."
Hastings
A place on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, whither Christ went after feeding the five thousand (Mr 6:45, cf. Lu 9:10), and where He healed a blind man (Mr 8:22); the home of Philip, Andrew, and Peter (Joh 1:44; 12:21). It was denounced by Christ for unbelief (Mt 11:21; Lu 10:13). The town was advanced by Philip the tetrarch from a village to the dignity of a city, and named Julias, in honour of C
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"Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
And immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he himself dismissed the crowd.
And immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he himself dismissed the crowd.
And they came to Bethsaida. And they brought to him a blind man and implored him that he would touch him.
And [when they] returned, the apostles described to him all that they had done. And he took them along [and] withdrew privately to a town called Bethsaida.
Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes!
So these approached Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and began asking him saying, "Sir, we want to see Jesus."
Morish
Bethsa'ida
This name signifies 'house of fish.'
1. BETHSAIDA OF GALILEE, a town from whence came Philip, Andrew, and Peter, Joh 1:44; 12:21; and against which the Lord pronounced a 'woe' because it had not repented at His mighty works. Mt 11:21; Lu 10:13. After the Lord had fed the 5,000 on the east of Jordan He sent His disciples to Bethsaida on the western shore. Mr 6:45. It was near the shore on the west of the Sea of Galilee, in the same locality as Capernaum and Chorazin: there are ruins in the district, but its exact situation cannot be identified.
2. BETHSAIDA JULIAS, a town near the N.E. corner of the same lake. A blind man was cured there, Mr 8:22; and near to it the 5,000 were fed, Lu 9:10-17: also related in Mt 14:13-21; Mr 6:31-44; Joh 6:1-14. It was called 'Julias,' because Philip the tetrarch enlarged the town, giving it the above name in honour of Julia, daughter of Augustus. It is identified by some with et Tell, 32 54' N, 35 37' E. A few rude houses and heaps of stones are all that mark the spot. (The context of the above passages shows that the events recorded could not have taken place at or near the Bethsaida on the west of the lake.)
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"Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
Now [when] Jesus heard [it], he withdrew from there in a boat to an isolated place by himself. And [when] the crowds heard [it], they followed him by land from the towns. And [as he] got out, he saw the large crowd and had compassion on them and healed their sick. read more. Now [when it] was evening, the disciples came to him saying, "The place is desolate and the hour {is late}. Release the crowds so that they can go away into the villages [and] purchase food for themselves." But Jesus said to them, "They do not {need} to go away. You give them [something] to eat." And they said to him, "We do not have [anything] here except five loaves and two fish." So he said, "Bring them here to me." And he commanded the crowds to recline for a meal on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish [and] looking up to heaven, he gave thanks. And [after] breaking [them], he gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples [gave them] to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. Now those who ate were about five thousand men, in addition to women and children.
And he said to them, "You yourselves come privately to an isolated place and rest for a short time." For those [who were] coming and going were many, and they did not even have time to eat. And they went away in the boat to an isolated place by themselves. read more. And many [people] saw them leaving and recognized [them], and ran there together by land from all the towns, and arrived ahead of them. And getting out [of the boat] he saw the large crowd and had compassion on them, because they were like sheep {without} a shepherd, and he began to teach them many [things]. And the hour had already become late [when] his disciples came up to him, saying, "The place is desolate and the hour [is] already late. Send them away so that they can go into the surrounding farms and villages [and] purchase something to eat for themselves." But he answered [and] said to them, "You give them [something] to eat." And they said to him, "Should we go [and] purchase bread for two hundred denarii and give [it] to them to eat?" And he said to them, "How many loaves do you have? Go look!" And [when they] found out, they said, "Five, and two fish." And he ordered them all to recline in groups on the green grass. And they reclined in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. And taking the five loaves and the two fish [and] looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves and gave [them] to his disciples so that they could set [them] before them. And he distributed the two fish to [them] all. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they picked up the broken pieces, twelve baskets full, and of the fish. And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men. And immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he himself dismissed the crowd.
And they came to Bethsaida. And they brought to him a blind man and implored him that he would touch him.
And [when they] returned, the apostles described to him all that they had done. And he took them along [and] withdrew privately to a town called Bethsaida. But [when] the crowds found out, they followed him, and welcoming them, he began to speak to them about the kingdom of God, and he cured those who had need of healing. read more. Now the day began to be far spent, and the twelve came up [and] said to him, "Send away the crowd so that they can go into the surrounding villages and farms to obtain lodging and find provisions, because we are here in a desolate place. But he said to them, "You give them [something] to eat!" And they said, "{We have no} more than five loaves and two fish, unless perhaps we go [and] purchase food for all these people." (For there were about five thousand men.) So he said to his disciples, "Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each." And they did so, and had [them] all sit down. And taking the five loaves and the two fish, [and] looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them and began giving [them] to the disciples to set before the crowd. And [they] all ate and were satisfied, and what was left over was picked up by them--twelve baskets of broken pieces.
Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes!
After these [things] Jesus went away to the other side of the sea of Galilee (that is, Tiberias). And a large crowd was following him because they were observing the signs that he was doing on those who were sick. read more. So Jesus went up on the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. (Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near.) {Then Jesus, when he looked up} and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, said to Philip, "Where can we buy bread so that these [people] can eat?" (Now he said this to test him, because he knew what he was going to do.) Philip replied to him, "Two hundred denarii [worth of] bread would not be enough for them, in order that each one could receive a little." One of his disciples, Andrew the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, "Here is a boy who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many [people]?" Jesus said, "Make the people recline." (Now [there] was a lot of grass in the place.) So the men reclined, approximately five thousand [in] number. Then Jesus took the bread, and [after he] had given thanks, he distributed [it] to those who were reclining--likewise also of the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they were satisfied, he said to his disciples, "Gather the remaining fragments so that nothing is lost." So they gathered [them], and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. Now [when] the people saw the sign that he performed, they began to say, "This one is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world!"
So these approached Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and began asking him saying, "Sir, we want to see Jesus."
Smith
Bethsa'ida
(house of fish) of Galilee,
Joh 12:21
a city which was the native place of Andrew, Peter and Philip,
Joh 1:44; 12:21
in the land of Gennesareth,
comp. Mark 6:53 and therefore on the west side of the lake. By comparing the narratives in
and Luke 9:10-17 it appears certain that the Bethsaida at which the five thousand were fed must have been a second place of the same name on the east of the lake. (But in reality "there is but one Bethsaida, that known on our maps at Bethsaida Julias." L. Abbot in Biblical and Oriental Journal. The fact is that Bethsaida was a village on both sides of the Jordan as it enters the sea of Galilee on the north, so that the western part of the village was in Galilee and the eastern portion in Gaulonitis, part of the tetrarchy of Philip. This eastern portion was built up into a beautiful city by Herod Philip, and named by him Bethsaida Julias, after Julia the daughter of the Roman emperor Tiberius Caesar. On the plain of Butaiha, a mile or two to the east, the five thousand were fed. The western part of the town remained a small village.--ED.)
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And [after he] had said farewell to them, he went away to the mountain to pray.
So these approached Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and began asking him saying, "Sir, we want to see Jesus."
So these approached Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and began asking him saying, "Sir, we want to see Jesus."
Watsons
BETHSAIDA, a city whose name in Hebrew imports a place of fishing or of hunting, and for both of these exercises it was well situated. As it belonged to the tribe of Naphtali, it was in a country remarkable for plenty of deer; and as it lay on the north end of the lake Gennesareth, just where the river Jordan runs into it, it became the residence of fishermen. Three of the Apostles, Philip, Andrew, and Peter, were born in this city. It is not mentioned in the Old Testament, though it frequently occurs in the New: the reason is, that it was but a village, as Josephus tells us, till Philip the tetrarch enlarged it, making it a magnificent city, and gave it the name of Julias, out of respect to Julia, the daughter of Augustus Caesar.
The evangelists speak of Bethsaida; and yet it then possessed that name no longer: it was enlarged and beautified nearly at the same time as Caesarea, and called Julias. Thus was it called in the days of our Lord, and so would the sacred historians have been accustomed to call it. But if they knew nothing of this, what shall we say of their age? In other respects they evince the most accurate knowledge of the circumstances of the time. The solution is, that, though Philip had exalted it to the rank of a city, to which he gave the name of Julias, yet, not long afterward, this Julia, in whose honour the city received its name, was banished from the country by her own father. The deeply wounded honour of Augustus was even anxious that the world might forget that she was his daughter. Tiberius, whose wife she had been, consigned the unfortunate princess, after the death of Augustus, to the most abject poverty, under which she sank without assistance. Thus adulation must under two reigns have suppressed a name, from which otherwise the city might have wished to derive benefit to itself; and for some time it was called by its ancient name Bethsaida instead of Julias. At a later period this name again came into circulation, and appears in the catalogue of Jewish cities by Pliny. By such incidents, which are so easily overlooked, and the knowledge of which is afterward lost, do those who are really acquainted with an age disclose their authenticity. "But it is strange," some one will say, "that John reckons this Bethsaida, or Julias, where he was born, in Galilee, Joh 12:21. Should he not know to what province his birthplace belonged?" Philip only governed the eastern districts by the sea of Tiberias; but Galilee was the portion of his brother Antipas. Bethsaida or Julias could therefore not have been built by Philip, as the case is; or it did not belong to Galilee, as John alleges. In fact, such an error were sufficient to prove that this Gospel was not written by John. Julias, however, was situated in Gaulonitis, which district was, for deep political reasons, divided from Galilee; but the ordinary language of the time asserted its own opinion, and still reckoned the Gaulonitish province in Galilee. When, therefore, John does the same, he proves, that the peculiarity of those days was not unknown to him; for he expresses himself after the ordinary manner of the period. Thus Josephus informs us of Judas the Gaulonite from Gamala, and also calls him in the following chapters, the Galilean; and then in another work he applies the same expression to him; from whence we may be convinced that the custom of those days paid respect to a more ancient division of the country, and bade defiance, in the present case, to the then existing political geography. Is it possible that historians who, as it is evident from such examples, discover throughout so nice a knowledge of geographical arrangements and local and even temporary circumstances, should have written at a time when the theatre of events was unknown to them, when not only their native country was destroyed, but their nation scattered, and the national existence of the Jews extinguished and extirpated? On the contrary, all this is in proof that they wrote at the very period which they profess, and it also proves the usual antiquity assigned to the Gospels.
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So these approached Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and began asking him saying, "Sir, we want to see Jesus."