📖 Biblical Definition
Town on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee, just east of the inflow of the Jordan. Hometown of three apostles — Peter, Andrew, and Philip: Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter (John 1:44; cf. John 12:21). Bethsaida was the site of multiple miracles in the Lord Jesus's ministry: the feeding of the five thousand took place in a desert place belonging to the city called Bethsaida (Luke 9:10-17); the healing of the blind man at Bethsaida (Mark 8:22-26, in a two-stage healing significant for its progressive-vision symbolism); the disciples were sent ahead by ship toward Bethsaida after the feeding when the storm arose and Jesus walked on the water (Mark 6:45-52). Despite the abundance of miracles, Bethsaida was one of the cities pronounced under judgment by Jesus for unrepentant unbelief: Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes (Matthew 11:21-22; Luke 10:13-14). The patriarchal-Reformed reader receives Bethsaida as a sobering pastoral case: a city flooded with the miracles and teaching of Christ, repeatedly the location of His ministry, the hometown of three of His apostles — and yet pronounced under judgment for unrepentant unbelief.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
Town on north shore of Sea of Galilee; hometown of Peter, Andrew, Philip (John 1:44); site of feeding of five thousand and healing of blind man; pronounced under woe for unrepentant unbelief (Matthew 11:21).
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BETHSAIDA, proper n. (NT place; from Aramaic Beth-tsaida, house of fishing) Town on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee, just east of the Jordan inflow. Hometown of Peter, Andrew, and Philip (John 1:44; 12:21). Feeding of the five thousand occurred near Bethsaida (Luke 9:10-17). Two-stage healing of the blind man (Mark 8:22-26). Disciples sent toward Bethsaida by ship after the feeding when the storm arose and Jesus walked on water (Mark 6:45-52). Pronounced under woe by Jesus for unrepentant unbelief (Matthew 11:21-22; Luke 10:13-14).
📖 Key Scripture
John 1:44 — "Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter."
Luke 9:10 — "And he took them, and went aside privately into a desert place belonging to the city called Bethsaida."
Mark 8:22 — "And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him."
Matthew 11:21 — "Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
No major postmodern redefinition. The principal pastoral application is the sobering trajectory: a city flooded with Christ's miracles and yet pronounced under woe for unrepentant unbelief.
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Bethsaida as a place name does not undergo lexical corruption. The principal pastoral application is the sobering trajectory: Bethsaida was the hometown of three apostles, the site of multiple miracles, repeatedly the location of Christ's ministry — and yet pronounced under woe by Christ Himself for unrepentant unbelief. The lesson is severe and timely: privileged exposure to the gospel does not by itself produce repentance and faith; without the regenerating work of the Spirit, the heart that has seen most evidence may remain hardest. The patriarchal-Reformed reader holds Bethsaida as the perennial warning against presuming on privileged spiritual exposure as a substitute for actual saving faith and obedient discipleship.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
North shore of Sea of Galilee; hometown of Peter, Andrew, Philip; feeding of five thousand; healing of blind man; pronounced under woe.
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['Greek', 'G966', 'Bethsaida', 'transliteration']
['Aramaic', '—', 'Beth-tsaida', 'house of fishing']
['Hebrew', 'H1004', 'bayit', 'house']
Usage
"Bethsaida: north shore of Sea of Galilee; house of fishing."
"Hometown of Peter, Andrew, Philip (John 1:44)."
"Pronounced under woe for unrepentant unbelief despite Christ's miracles (Matthew 11:21)."