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Location and Setting
- Tabgha was a prosperous fishing village located on the northwestern shore of the Sea of
Galilee.
- The name Tabgha is a corruption of the Greek word Heptapagon which means
"seven springs." The water from individual springs there varies in temperature
and salinity. (The most saline water from the springs is now being diverted in a channel
around the lake.)
- The warm water from the springs attracted schools of fish, mostly musht,
especially in the winter. Tabgha was a fishing suburb of Capernaum, the home and workplace
of many who fished in the lake.
- The movement of the water from the springs at Tabgha was used to turn millstones to
grind grain. Craftsmen at Capernaum fashioned these stones from the local basaltic rock,
several of which remain near the synagogue there today.
Historical and Biblical Significance
- Many of the events in Jesus’ ministry along the north shore of
the Sea of Galilee occurred in the area of Tabgha and Capernaum. Living
within a half-hour’s walk of Tabgha, Jesus would have known it well.
- It was along the shore of the lake near Tabgha that Jesus formally called
Peter and Andrew to follow Him. He had gone to where they worked, meeting
them "on their turf." Some weeks earlier, they had met Jesus
where John was baptizing. There, Jesus had changed Cephas’ name to
Peter, and his brother Andrew had met privately with Jesus. It was on
this beach, however, that He invited these brothers to become His disciples,
promising that He would make them "fishers of men." They may
have been waiting for this moment, expecting the next step in their relationship
with Jesus. Without hesitation, they left their nets and followed Him
(Matt 4:18,19).
- On this same occasion, Jesus observed another pair of brothers, James
and John. They were busy mending nets in their father Zebedee’s fishing
boat, which was bobbing at the shore. John, who had also met privately
with Jesus, responded immediately to His invitation to become His disciple
(Matt 4:20-22).
- Tabgha was a natural place for Jesus to meet with His disciples after
His resurrection (John 21). The place where they pulled their catch onto
the shore on that occasion could not have been far from where Jesus had
first called the four fishermen to follow Him. Now, some three years later,
they were back on this old familiar beach, not by chance but by appointment.
Again, Jesus had met these fishermen on their turf. Again there was a
call. This time it was for Peter personally to follow Him as a shepherd
of His sheep.
- Peter and John had known each other for many years, as fishermen together
on the lake and then as Jesus’ disciples. When Jesus appointed Peter
as leader of the group, his first impulse was to discover what Jesus planned
for his friend who was following them along the beach. The uninhibited,
spontaneous Peter turned and asked, "Lord, and what about this man?"
(John 21:21).
- Jesus had chosen this familiar shore near Tabgha for a purpose. Here,
amidst these familiar surroundings, His men could relax and reflect. Here
they could open their hearts to His direction for their lives, lives through
which He would work to begin the building of His Church worldwide.
Bibliography
- Nun, Mendel. The Sea of Galilee and its Fishermen in the New Testament. Kibbutz
Ein Gev: Tourist Department and Kinnereth Sailing Co., 1989.
- Pixner, Bargil. With Jesus through Galilee According to the Fifth Gospel. Rosh
Pina: Corazin Publishing, 1992.
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