Page 20 - Holyland Magazine - Catholic Edition 2015
P. 20
Tiberias Named in honor the emperor Tiberias, the city grew
to be an important political and religious hub
Rich in Biblical History
By Omer Eshel
W hen I was a young man, I used to “How is that?” I asked, and my father smiled at I closed my eyes, and in my mind’s eye went
go on trips to the Galilee, Golan me and said, “It's a little odd to see a theater back in time to the building of this ancient
Heights and the northern valleys in a Jewish town, isn't it? Also, don't forget town. I started day dreaming...
with my father, who held the Bible that the Sea of Galilee’s western bank was
“And it shall have towers, incredible towers,
in one hand and a map in the
all Jewish, while the opposite side was still
other. We used to walk the trails, and once pagan. So why did they build a Roman city
in a while, my father would stop by a stone in the middle of the Jewish population? And if rising over the Sea of Galilee.
mound, leaf through the Bible and say: “See? we think about how close it is to Capernaum, “And the marketplace, the most colorful and
Read this, this is where Jesus multiplied the Magdala and Bethsaida, who exactly built this vibrant in the whole of Galilee! It will make us
loaves and the ish, and this is where Gideon town?” proud, at last! Why should all the glory go
fought the Midianites. King Saul stood on this to Caesarea and Jerusalem? We have also
mountain and watched over Jabesh Gilead, I paused, then asked, “Maybe the disciples of earned it! I am telling you, history is being
Jesus of Nazareth?”
and this town was built by the disciples of written this very day! It is no longer the Sea of
Jesus.” Galilee, but the Sea of Tiberias!”
My father smiled, looked at me for a while,
and said, “Sometimes, stones speak louder
On one of our trips, we stopped by Old “The Sea of Tiberias? Come on, Simon, do
you really believe a city will rise here? We
Tiberias. It was a hot summer day, the sun than the words of the greatest orators in
was blazing, and the basalt ground seemed history.” already have Gamla and Susya; and if it's
to be on ire. We stood by a curvy wall resting
on the slopes of Mount Bereniki, named after
Princess Berenice - sister of Herod Agrippa II, Bereniki observation point. Above: View of Tiberias and the
King of Galilee - who later became mistress to Sea of Galilee from Switzerland Forest. Photo: Leon Minister
Titus, the Roman Emperor who burnt down
the Temple in Jerusalem.
“Look at this,” my father told me. “Do you
know what this is?”
“A pile of stones,” was my answer, and all
I could think about was diving into the cool
waters of the Sea of Galilee.
“It is a theater,” said my father. “The Roman
theater of ancient Tiberias, just recently
unearthed and already a great ind that can
shed light on the fall of the Second Temple.”
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to be an important political and religious hub
Rich in Biblical History
By Omer Eshel
W hen I was a young man, I used to “How is that?” I asked, and my father smiled at I closed my eyes, and in my mind’s eye went
go on trips to the Galilee, Golan me and said, “It's a little odd to see a theater back in time to the building of this ancient
Heights and the northern valleys in a Jewish town, isn't it? Also, don't forget town. I started day dreaming...
with my father, who held the Bible that the Sea of Galilee’s western bank was
“And it shall have towers, incredible towers,
in one hand and a map in the
all Jewish, while the opposite side was still
other. We used to walk the trails, and once pagan. So why did they build a Roman city
in a while, my father would stop by a stone in the middle of the Jewish population? And if rising over the Sea of Galilee.
mound, leaf through the Bible and say: “See? we think about how close it is to Capernaum, “And the marketplace, the most colorful and
Read this, this is where Jesus multiplied the Magdala and Bethsaida, who exactly built this vibrant in the whole of Galilee! It will make us
loaves and the ish, and this is where Gideon town?” proud, at last! Why should all the glory go
fought the Midianites. King Saul stood on this to Caesarea and Jerusalem? We have also
mountain and watched over Jabesh Gilead, I paused, then asked, “Maybe the disciples of earned it! I am telling you, history is being
Jesus of Nazareth?”
and this town was built by the disciples of written this very day! It is no longer the Sea of
Jesus.” Galilee, but the Sea of Tiberias!”
My father smiled, looked at me for a while,
and said, “Sometimes, stones speak louder
On one of our trips, we stopped by Old “The Sea of Tiberias? Come on, Simon, do
you really believe a city will rise here? We
Tiberias. It was a hot summer day, the sun than the words of the greatest orators in
was blazing, and the basalt ground seemed history.” already have Gamla and Susya; and if it's
to be on ire. We stood by a curvy wall resting
on the slopes of Mount Bereniki, named after
Princess Berenice - sister of Herod Agrippa II, Bereniki observation point. Above: View of Tiberias and the
King of Galilee - who later became mistress to Sea of Galilee from Switzerland Forest. Photo: Leon Minister
Titus, the Roman Emperor who burnt down
the Temple in Jerusalem.
“Look at this,” my father told me. “Do you
know what this is?”
“A pile of stones,” was my answer, and all
I could think about was diving into the cool
waters of the Sea of Galilee.
“It is a theater,” said my father. “The Roman
theater of ancient Tiberias, just recently
unearthed and already a great ind that can
shed light on the fall of the Second Temple.”
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