Capernaum

2 definitions found

From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:

  Capernaum
     Nahum's town, a Galilean city frequently mentioned in the
     history of our Lord. It is not mentioned in the Old Testament.
     After our Lord's expulsion from Nazareth (Matt. 4:13-16; Luke
     4:16-31), Capernaum became his "own city." It was the scene of
     many acts and incidents of his life (Matt. 8:5, 14, 15; 9:2-6,


     10-17; 15:1-20; Mark 1:32-34, etc.). The impenitence and
     unbelief of its inhabitants after the many evidences our Lord
     gave among them of the truth of his mission, brought down upon
     them a heavy denunciation of judgement (Matt. 11:23).
     
       It stood on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. The "land
     of Gennesaret," near, if not in, which it was situated, was one
     of the most prosperous and crowded districts of Palestine. This
     city lay on the great highway from Damascus to Acco and Tyre. It
     has been identified with Tell Hum, about two miles south-west of
     where the Jordan flows into the lake. Here are extensive ruins
     of walls and foundations, and also the remains of what must have
     been a beautiful synagogue, which it is conjectured may have
     been the one built by the centurion (Luke 7:5), in which our
     Lord frequently taught (John 6:59; Mark 1:21; Luke 4:33). Others
     have conjectured that the ruins of the city are to be found at
     Khan Minyeh, some three miles further to the south on the shore
     of the lake. "If Tell Hum be Capernaum, the remains spoken of
     are without doubt the ruins of the synagogue built by the Roman
     centurion, and one of the most sacred places on earth. It was in
     this building that our Lord gave the well-known discourse in
     John 6; and it was not without a certain strange feeling that on
     turning over a large block we found the pot of manna engraved on
     its face, and remembered the words, 'I am that bread of life:
     your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.'",
     (The Recovery of Jerusalem.)
     

From Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary (late 1800's) [hitchcock]:

  Capernaum, the field of repentance; city of comfort