Fred Strickert, Bethsaida: Home of the Apostles - Book Review

A Michael Glazier Book. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1998. Pp. x + 187. Paper, $19.95

Strickert has produced in this volume a helpful compendium of some of the previous publications on the on-going excavation of Bethsaida. This "less technical study" (p. ix) skillfully surveys the history of Bethsaida, the material remains found thus far, and the literary sources (mostly Josephus, the Second Testament, and the Talmud) that inform us about the city. Along the way the author finds opportunity in excursuses to give his conclusions concerning other archaeological controversies such as the "House of St. Peter" in Capernaum and Tabgha as the site of the feeding of the five thousand. He also informs us about related material finds such as the Ginnosar Boat.

The strength of this book is the author's attempt to use the inscriptions, coins, and other objects (e.g., the figurine supposedly of Livia) to interpret the Second Testament. Strickert sees, e.g., the feeding of the five thousand miracle (which took place in his opinion at Bethsaida) as Jesus' response to the Livia cult and its belief in her as the guarantor of fruitfulness (p. 123). Likewise, Jesus' statement in John 12:24 is a rebuttal of the deificiation of Livia after her death and a statement of "the superiority of Jesus as the benefactor for the Christian community" (p. 148). Suggestions such as these make this a stimulating read and one that helps the reader understand better the political ramifications of Jesus' ministry.

Yet a few cautions can be offered about the book. The author sometimes seems to overplay his hand. It is understandable that he would like to affix as much importance as possible to the site of Bethsaida, but his argument that it was the center for the collection of Jesus' sayings is quite tenuous (pp. 155-56). The exchange between Jesus and Philip in John 14:8, 10 and the passage the author cites from the Nag Hammadi text, Pistis Sophia, do not seem to me to be compelling evidence that Philip at Bethsaida was a major collector of Jesus' sayings.

Nor was I convinced that Bethsaida or the nearby Beteiha plain was the "Bethany beyond the Jordan" (p. 111) where John the Baptist did some baptizing (Jn 1:28). In spite of the fact that there would have been much water in the plain, I think we need more evidence to conclude that the two names refer to the same place. The author's other suggestion, Batanea, in the eastern part of Philip's territory, also has little to commend it except for the similarity in name. Either of these two identifications would make Bethsaida the crossroads for John the Baptist's activity.

Finally, I was surprised that the author so easily identified the so-called Bethsaida cross as a Christian symbol and that he accepts that the incense shovel was a part of the Livia cult when that has not been effectively demonstrated.

Nonetheless, this summary is useful in many respects and highly recommended for non-specialists and students of the Second Testament.

David A. Fiensy
Kentucky Christian College
Grayson, KY 41143

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