Capernaum surrounded by hills and fields

Jesus based his ministry in Capernaum after he was rejected in Nazareth. This fishing village was located on the northern shoreline of the Sea of Galilee. The “sea” is a lake, about 13 miles from north to south and 7 miles east to west in its northern portion. Though it was squarely in the middle of a very conservative, Jewish region of the Galilee, Capernaum was also connected to people of different cultures. A Roman garrison was headquartered in Capernaum, in part because a major road came through the city. Travelers and traders moving between Asia and Africa would have been a common sight. The Capernaum synagogue is the largest to ever be found in Israel from its time period. The synagogue we see today was built about 300 years after Jesus lived. An earthquake destroyed the synagogue Jesus would have known, but the foundation stones of that synagogue are still visible underneath the newer structure. The school beside the worship area is also the largest school found from the time period. Jesus is the only famous rabbi connected with Capernaum, so the sheer size of the synagogue is evidence that people were still coming to his adopted home centuries after he first preached in the area. The more modern structure closer to the lake is a Catholic church that is built over the ruins of what is believed to have been the home of Simon Peter, and the early church that met there. Only a small portion of the village has been excavated. It would have been far larger than the ruins visible to us today.