Tag Archives: Dalmanutha

The traditional site of Dalmanutha

Posted on June 25, 2013 | 1 comment

Many tourists stop at Tabgha (Seven Springs, or Heptapegon) to see the mosaic of loaves and fish in the new Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes. This church was built in 1982, but we know that a chapel was built at the site as early as the 4th century A.D. I will not engage in a discussion of whether this is the correct location for the feeding of the multitudes by Jesus.

Rarely does anyone have the opportunity to take the path from the church to the lake shore. This is private property. In the photo below, first notice that the water level is low. The green growth is covered when the water level is high. Notice also a path in the middle of the photos. This path leads from the church to the lake (when the water is high).

Traditional site of Dalmanutha (east of Tabgha). Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Traditional site of Dalmanutha (east of Tabgha). Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Only twice have I been able to reach the lake shore at this point. As one approaches the water there is a sign with the word Dalmanutha on it. I met Bargil Pixner in the book shop of the church in 1994 and have an inscribed copy of his with Jesus through Galilee according to the fifth Gospel. At least once in the book he mentions the Seven Springs as “Ma-gadan, Tabgha“ (p. 37). The enlarged map in the back of the book marks the area as Ma-gadan (Dalmanutha).

Dalmanutha sign in 1994. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Sign at traditional site of Dalmanutha in 1994. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Sign at traditional site of Dalmanutha. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Sign at traditional site of Dalmanutha in 2009. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Here is the view from “Dalmanutha” toward Mount Arbel and the Horns of Hattin.

View from Dalmanutha toward Mount Arbel. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins 1994.

View from traditional Dalmanutha toward Mount Arbel. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins 1994.

I doubt that this identification is correct but thought it was significant enough to pass along.

We pointed out in a previous post here that Dalmanutha is mentioned only once in the Gospels.

And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha. (Mark 8:10 ESV)

The parallel account in Matthew 15:32-39 says that Jesus came to the region of Magadan.

And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.  (Matthew 15:39 ESV)

1 Comment

Posted in Bible Places, Bible Study, Church History, Israel, New Testament, Photography, Travel

Tagged ,

In search of Dalmanutha

Posted on June 24, 2013 | 3 comments

After the feeding of the four thousand, Jesus went to the district of Dalmanutha.

And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha. (Mark 8:10 ESV)

This is the only Biblical reference to a place called Dalmanutha. Where was it? When we read the parallel account in Matthew 15:32-39, we learn that Jesus came to the region of Magadan.

And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.  (Matthew 15:39 ESV)

Todd Bolen, at Bible Places Blog, notes that some scholars equate Dalmanutha with Magadan/Magdala. He says,

Mendel Nun has proposed that Dalmanutha be identified with a small anchorage north of Magdala (Anchor Bible Dictionary 2:4). Dalmanutha may not be a proper name but simply the Aramaic word for harbor.

In an article on “Ancient Harbors Of The Sea Of Galilee,” Gordon Franz discusses the location of Magdala/Dalmanutha. Perhaps Dalmanutha “is a transliteration of the Syrian word for harbor.” Or, the term may derive from the harbor that existed here. Franz describes the harbor:

It consisted of two parts; an open dock for loading and unloading during the summer, and a basin, with a 70 m breakwater to protect the ships from the winter storms. (Bible and Spade (1991) Volume 4, 04. p. 120.)

This new discussion about Dalmanutha has been prompted by a recent lecture by Dr. Ken Dark at the Centre for the Study of Christian Origins in the School of Divinity, University of Edinburgh. Helen Bond reports here that Dark spoke of mapping the area around Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee. Notice the summary of Dark’s comments on Dalmanutha:

A new research project is synthesising existing data and using air- and satellite-photography to re-examine the area, combined with the first extensive archaeological survey of the Ginosar valley. The latter has identified a very large, but previously-unrecognised, Late Hellenistic, Roman-period, and later, settlement between the modern town of Migdal (on the western side of the valley) and the coast, just south of Kibbutz Ginosar.  It is hard to imagine that a Roman-period coastal community of this size is nowhere mentioned in textual sources, and the site might be identified with one of the unlocated toponyms known from the Bible, perhaps the Dalmanutha of Mark 8:10.

The aerial photo below shows the general area under consideration. Magdala is on the left of the photo. On the right you can see the museum at Nof Ginosaur where the Roman Boat is shown. Part of the building is hidden behind the wing strut of the airplane.

Aerial view of the Plain of Genessaret from Magdala on the south (left) to Nof Ginosaur on the north (right). Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Aerial view of the Plain of Genessaret from Magdala on the south (left) to Nof Ginosaur on the north (right). Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

The green strip between the water and the land is covered by water this year. You see two places where the growth has been cleared away to make room for a beach.

So, we have several options for the location or meaning of Dalmanutha. In a post to follow I will show you the traditional site of Dalmanutha.

HT: Bible Places Blog; Larry Hurtado’s Blog

3 Comments

Posted in Archaeology, Bible Lands, Bible Places, Bible Study, Israel, New Testament, Photography, Travel

Tagged

“An amazing experience”

Posted on January 12, 2008 | Leave a comment

An Associated Press report by Anne Gearan is headlined “Bush Visits Biblical Holy Sites.” You may read the entire article here. The article says,

Bush retraced the steps of Jesus and his disciples in the ancient town of Capernaum and gazed out on the nearby Sea of Galilee, where the Bible says Jesus walked on water and calmed a sudden storm by commanding the wind and waves to cease. The waters were crystal blue and calm when Bush visited, leaning in to listen as a brown-robed friar narrated his tour with New Testament passages.

“An amazing experience,” Bush happily said later.

It is an amazing experience for anyone with an interest in the Bible and Jesus. Bush is reported to have said, “I came as a pilgrim.” Many people make pilgrimages to worship at a particular holy site. There is, perhaps, a higher purpose for visiting these sites. On our tours we seek to demonstrate the accuracy of the Bible in describing the Bible land. This involves learning about the geography and topography of the land that help one to better understand the important events that transpired there.

Sunset at Dalmanutha (Mark 8:10) at the northwest corner of the Sea of Galilee. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Sunset at Dalmanutha

The photo above was made at sunset from the site known as Dalmanutha, near the Mount of Beatitudes. Dalmanutha is mentioned only once in the New Testament. After the feeding of the 4000, Mark records that Jesus immediately “entered the boat with His disciples and came to the district of Dalmanutha” (Mark 8:10). In the distance, on the left, you can see the silhouette of Mount Arbel. Then, just to the right of that is the Via Maris (the way to the Mediterranean Sea) from Galilee. The saddle-shaped hill is an extinct volcano known as the Horns of Hattin.

It is “an amazing experience” to visit this land and contemplate these great events.

Leave a comment

Posted in Bible Lands, Bible Places, Bible Study, Israel, New Testament, Photography, Travel

Tagged , ,