Section 72b
Withdrawal from Galilee
Galilee → Bethsaida
| Matthew 14:13-14 | Mark 6:31-34 | Luke 9:10b-11 | John 6:1-3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. | |||
| 13When Jesus heard of it, he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart: and when the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities. | 32And they departed into a desert place by ship privately. 33And the people saw them departing, and many knew him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and outwent them, and came together unto him. | 10bThen he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida, | 1After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. |
| 14And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick. | 34And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things. | 11And the people, when they knew it, followed him: and he received them, and spake unto them of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of healing. | 2And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased. 3And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. |
Notes
Bethsaida
Bethsaida, the “house of hunters/fishermen,” was a town east of the Jordan River and just north of the Sea of Galilee. Phillip the Tetrarch, the son of Herod the Great, extensively rebuilt the town and named it “Julias” after Julia, the wife of Augustus Caesar.
When Phillip died he was buried in Bethsaida. In this vicinity, Jesus fed the 5,000, healed a blind man, and left Bethsaida’s shore to walk on the water. This region was known for abundant fish and fowl.
The ruins of Bethsaida are 1 mile off the Sea of Galilee. Some scholars maintained that it was implausible for a fishing village to be so far from the water. There is a small harbor village right on the water and it is probable that the main city was indeed a mile away.