ABSTRACT

Bethsaida beach recalled bright pictures of the Saviour’s life. For here it was that dwelt those men to whom the first and shortest sermon of Christianity was preached, “Behold the Lamb of God.” Various fancies suggest themselves as to why the rock in the water may be called the scorpion, but none are satisfactory, unless it be considered that the head and lobster-like claws of the scorpion resemble the upper part of the rock, while the body is like the narrower stalk below, and the tail is like the root. The fountain mentioned by Josephus as called “Capharnaoum” is evidently of great importance with relation to the site of Capernaum, concerning which so much controversy has arisen. The coracinus fish is found in summer time in the fountain of Mudawara, but also in that of Ain et Tin. As the coracinus lives at the bottom, it might not be noticed in the reservoir unless the water was shallow.