BETHSAIDA (I3nBeat'8ri ; Aram. ;ETV `house of fishing.') The various notices of Beth saida in the New Testament and in Josephus, once formed a subject of great difficulty to geographers. They were thought to be, and in one sense they actually were, irreconcilable. Reland was the first to suggest a proper solution of the mystery (Pal. p. 653). He shewed that there were two towns of the same name ; one in Galilee west of the lake, the other in Gaulonitis, east of it ; though he thought the former only was referred to in the Gospels. A careful comparison of the following passages proves that both are mentioned. Mark vni. to, 13, and 22 :—from these verses we learn that the Bethsaida alluded to was on the opposite side of the sea of Galilee from Dalmanutha, which we know lay on the western shore. Luke ix. to, with Mark vi. 32 and 45 :—we here find that the disciples were in a desert place at or near Bethsaida east of the lake ; and yet Jesus sent them in a ship across the lake to Bethsaida. There must, therefore, have been two cities of the same name, one on the western, the other on the eastern shore of the lake. The former is called by John, Bethsaida of Galilee (xii. 2t) ; the latter, Josephus tells us, had its name changed to Julias (Antiq. xviii. 2. 1).
1. Bethsaida of Galilee. This town (rats, John i. 44; the other Bethsaida is called m.5 Mark viii. 23, comp. Jos. Antiq. xviii. 2. 1) stood on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, not far from Capernaum, and between it and Chorazin (Matt. xi. 21-23 ; John vi. 17). It was also near to the plain (or ' land ') of Gennesaret (Mark vi. 45-53). Bethsaida is merely mentioned by Euse bius and Jerome as being upon the lake of Gene saret (robs rg rcroo-aptrg Aura, Onomast. s. v. Betiiviida). The narrative of St. Withhold, who visited this region in the eighth century, is impor tant as tending to fix the relative positions of seve ral towns mentioned in the Gospels. We are told that he went from Tiberias by Magdala to Caper naum ; thence to Bethsaida, where ' there is now a church on the site of the house' of Andrew and Peter (Early Travels in Pal. Bohn, p. 16, sq.) Tiberias is known. Magdala is still represented by the little village of Mejdel at the southern border of the plain of Gennesaret ; and Capernaum has been identified with Khan Minyeh at its northern border (CAPERNAUM). Between this
place, therefore, and the mouth of the Jordan, on the shore of the lake, we must seek for the sites of Bethsaida and Chorazin. The true sites of the three last places have formed subjects for length ened discussion among travellers and geographers. Pococke (II. i. p. 6S) says he heard the ruins of Irbid (BETR-AREEL) called Baitsida ; but no other person has ever heard it, and the site is too far from the lake. Seetzen affirms that he heard the name Bat-szaida applied to the ruins at Khan Minyeh, and he places Bethsaida there. Dr. Robinson could not hear anything of such a name, and the writer, though he visited the whole region repeatedly, and made many inquiries, never heard from a native resident the name Beit-saida. Ritter (Pal. and Syr. ii. 334), and Van de Velde (ii, 395), follow Seetzen. De Saulcy affirms there was but one Bethsaida, and he places it at Tell Hum (CHostAziN, Travels, ii. 441, sq.) ; and Thomson agrees with him, but he locates his Bethsaida at the mouth of the upper Jordan (Land and Rook, p. 374). But neither of these latter theories bears the test of sound criticism.
The incidental allusions to Bethsaida by the Evangelists, Jerome, Eusebius, and St. \Villibald, lead to the conclusion that it was situated on the shore of the lake, a little to the north of Caper naum. About half a mile north of Capernaum is a beautiful little bay, with a broad margin of pearly sand. At its northern extremity are fountains, aque ducts, and half-ruined mills : and scattered round them are the remains of an old town called Ti.big hah. There is every reason to believe that this is the site of Bethsaida (Robinson, Bib. Res. iii. 353, sq.) No site along the whole shores seems so ad mirably adapted for a fishing town. I lere is a bay sheltered by hills behind, and projecting bluffs on each side ; and here is a smooth sandy heads, such as fishermen delight to ground' their boats upon. The strand forms a pleasant promenade, and so far answers to the description in Matt. iv. 1S-22. The locality also suits the details given in Luke v. 1-1 ',— the boats stranded ; the fishermen beside them washing their nets ; the eager multitude pressing upon Jesus as he stood on the shore. Then Jesus steps into one of the boats, pushes out a few yards, and preaches to the people who lined the curved beach.