Kfar Nahum (village of Nahum) is the Hebrew word for consolation or comfort. It lies on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee near the ancient main road in the land, the Way of the Sea (Via Marris). Capernaum is located in the regions of two of the Israelite tribes in Old Testament time, Zebulun and Naphtali. At the time of Jesus, Capernaum was in a central location between the Jewish and the non-Jewish areas. It served as a customs (taxation) station of the entire region and the place of residence for the Roman Centurion (Mattew, the tax collector, was from Capernaum).
Capernaum became the center of Jesus’ ministry after He left Nazareth. He performed numerous miracles here, fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah:
“and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. This happened so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled” (Matthew 4: 13-14).
“In earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He will make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them” (Isaiah 9: 1-2).
The blessings that Jacob bestowed upon his sons, Zebulun and Naphtali, found their fulfillment in Jesus and the years to come. As Genesis 49:13 states, “Zebulun will reside at the seashore; And he shall be a harbor for ships, And his flank shall be toward Sidon.”
The northernmost city that Jesus traveled to was Sidon, where He healed the daughter of the Canaanite (Phoenician) woman (Matthew 15:21-28, Mark 7:24-29). The disciples went to the West through the sea to spread the good news. Genesis 49:21 – “Naphtali is a doe let loose;
He utters beautiful words.” Throughout the land (the Way of the Sea – Via Maris), the fame of Jesus went to all of Syria: “Large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and Jerusalem, and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.” (Matthew 4:25).
The distance between Magdala on the West and Gerasa on the East, following the seashore along the Sea of Galilee, is about 18 miles. Although 65% of the Gospel took place in this area, Christ’s fame spread all over the world.
