Bethsaida
house of fish. (1.) A town in Galilee, on the west side of the
sea of Tiberias, in the "land of Gennesaret." It was the native
place of Peter, Andrew, and Philip, and was frequently resorted
to by Jesus (Mark 6:45; John 1:44; 12:21). It is supposed to
have been at the modern 'Ain Tabighah, a bay to the north of
Gennesaret.
(2.) A city near which Christ fed 5,000 (Luke 9:10; comp. John
6:17; Matt. 14:15-21), and where the blind man had his sight
restored (Mark 8:22), on the east side of the lake, two miles up
the Jordan. It stood within the region of Gaulonitis, and was
enlarged by Philip the tetrarch, who called it "Julias," after
the emperor's daughter. Or, as some have supposed, there may
have been but one Bethsaida built on both sides of the lake,
near where the Jordan enters it. Now the ruins et-Tel.
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