Secret Cities in Galilee #1

Secret Cities in the New Testament

King Herod Antipas built this Roman Theater in Sepphoris

Secret City #1 - Sepphoris

Although the vibrant city of Sepphoris laid less than four miles from Nazareth, there is no mention of it in the New Testament. King Herod Antipas, a son of Herod the Great, rebuilt this city after a revolt against Herodian rule. All of this construction activity so close to the sleepy hamlet of Nazareth certainly got the attention of the family of Joseph and his five sons. Craftsmen in stone, metal, and wood were in big demand, and provided a strong middle-class income for Joseph and his family.

King Antipas had a big interest in Jesus and his miracles, and got the chance to meet him after he had fallen into the hands of the governor of Rome. He was disappointed, though, for Jesus declined to show him some divine miracle.

In the years between the rule of Herod Antipas and the end of the Seventh Century, the city reportedly thrived as a center of learning, with a diverse, multiethnic and multi-religious population of some 30,000 Jews, Arabs, and Christians living in relatively peaceful coexistence. 

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A strong Christian church tradition identifies Sepphoris as the birthplace of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Mary's mother was Saint Anne, who lived in the city of Sepphoris. The residents of the city did not join the Great Jewish Revolt of AD 66 nor the Bar Kokhba revolt of AD 132-135, which ended with the destruction of the temple. Jewish rabbis and refugees, including the Supreme Council of the Jews (the Sanhedrin) fled to the safety of Sepphoris.

History since the Seventh Century has not been kind to Sepphoris. It was invaded and conquered multiple times, by Arab and Islamic dynasties, Christian crusaders, the Ottoman Empire, the British Mandate, and the new Israeli nation. It rests today as a National Park in Galilee.

Sepphoris in AD 2013 

Next week: another Secret City in Galilee, one which must have been bypassed multiple times by Jesus during his campaign to bring the Kingdom of God to the Jews.