Capernaum: Edit history

In the Bible

Capernaum does not appear in the Old Testament but is mentioned in all four Gospels. Matthew 4:13 records that Jesus left Nazareth and "came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast." Matthew 9:1 calls it Jesus' "own city." The principal events that took place there include the following:

• Teaching in the synagogue and healing a man with an unclean spirit (Mark 1:21-28)
• Healing Peter's mother-in-law of a fever in the house of Simon (Peter) and Andrew (Mark 1:29-31)
• Healing a paralytic whom four men lowered through an opening they made in the roof (Mark 2:1-12; Healing of the Paralytic)
• Healing the servant of a centurion (a Roman army officer in command of a hundred men) (Matthew 8:5-13; Luke 7:1-10). Luke records that this centurion had built a synagogue for the Jews (Luke 7:5).
• Going out by the sea and calling Levi (Matthew), a tax collector sitting at the receipt of custom (Mark 2:13-14)
• While in Cana, healing by his word the son of a nobleman who was in Capernaum (John 4:46-54). John records this as the second sign.
• Delivering the discourse on the "bread of life" in the synagogue (John 6:24-59)
• The exchange concerning the temple tax (Matthew 17:24-27)

Background

The name is generally explained as deriving from the Hebrew Kfar Nahum, "village of Nahum." Whether this Nahum was the prophet Nahum is unknown. Capernaum was a fishing village on the Sea of Galilee, and the references to a tax office and a Roman centurion there suggest that it had some importance for transportation and administration. Today the site of Tell Hum is widely accepted as the location of Capernaum. Many scholars date the surviving limestone synagogue ruins to a period later than the time of Jesus, though some regard the basalt foundation beneath them as the remains of a first-century synagogue.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

Matthew presents Jesus' move to Capernaum as the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy that light would shine on "Galilee of the Gentiles" (Matthew 4:15-16; Isaiah 9:1-7). In the scene where Jesus commends the faith of the Gentile centurion, he goes on to say that many shall come from the east and west and sit down at the feast in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 8:11). By contrast, Jesus rebukes Capernaum for failing to repent despite having seen many miracles, declaring that it "shalt be brought down to hell," and warns that "it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment" than for it (Matthew 11:23-24; Luke 10:15).

Interpretation and Points of Discussion

• Traditions differ on how to read the bread of life discourse in John 6. The Catholic Church regards this passage as an important teaching on the Eucharist. Within Protestantism, some interpret it in connection with the Lord's Supper, while others see it as referring more broadly to receiving Christ by faith (Eucharistic controversy).
• The "House of Peter" and the synagogue site at the ruins are identified on the basis of tradition and archaeological inference; the biblical text does not specify their locations.
• The town's later ruin is sometimes explained as the fulfillment of Jesus' prophetic rebuke. The text, however, speaks of this rebuke as pertaining to "the day of judgment."
• The centurion's confession, "Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof" (Matthew 8:8), is used in the prayer before Communion in the Catholic Mass.

In the Korean Church

In Korean church preaching, the story of the four men who opened the roof and lowered their friend before Jesus is a frequent subject. It serves as a text illustrating intercessory prayer and the faith of the community, and the faith of the centurion is also a favorite preaching text. On pilgrimages to Israel, the ruins of Capernaum are commonly included in the Galilee portion of the itinerary.