Caesarea Philippi/Paneas
Not to be confused with Caesarea on the Sea.
Capital of the Tetrarchy.
Inhabitants or natives[edit | edit source]
Anna and Benjamin, her husband, Dorcas the young widow and her son Jesai Tobias, the steward of Philip.
Description[edit | edit source]
"The town must have been built recently, like Tiberias and Ashkelon. Situated on an inclined plane it culminates in a massive fortress with many towers, flanked with Cyclopean masonry and protected with deep moats into which part of the water of two little rivers that first come close together forming an angle flows, then part, as one runs out of the town and the other flows through it. Beautiful streets, squares, fountains, and buildings in Roman style [...] The town is very busy and crowded, probably because it is the junction of important main roads and caravan-tracks for Damascus, Tyre, Saphet and Tiberias, as indicated on mile-stones at each gate. Pedestrians, horsemen, long caravans of donkeys and camels meet in the wide well kept streets, and groups of business men or idlers are standing in the squares, under the porches, near the magnificent buildings, perhaps there are also some Thermae, discussing business or in idle conversation."[1]
"'The Great Spring' [...] 'a massive wall of rock from which water comes out and flows.'"[2]This is the source of the Jordan, a gathering place with its baths and temples. To the north:
"At the end of it, on the top of the mountain there is a massive castle or fortress, whichever it may be and it is amazing because of its strange shape."[3]From the detailed descriptions that follow, it is undoubtedly the Fortress of Minrod.
Notable events[edit | edit source]
It is going towards this city that Jesus suddenly asks his Apostles "[...] who do [people] say that I am?" To which Peter replies "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God" - "That is why I called you Cephas. And that is why on you, Peter, I will build My Church [...]"[4]
It is in this city that he explains the sign of Jonah, announcing his death and Resurrection, which he had said a few days before at Kedesh.[5]
In the fortress of the Philip the Tetrarch, Jesus resurrects the stillborn baby Jesai Tobias of the young widow of Tobit, Dorcas.[6]
Its name[edit | edit source]
Caesarea Philippi, Caesarea Paneas, Banias, Baniyas, Banyas, Caesarea Paneas, Paneas.
בניאס (Banias)[7]
Where is it mentioned in the work?[edit | edit source]
GRM 102
GRM 344 GRM 345
GRM 565 GRM 576
Learn more about this place[edit | edit source]
Excerpt from the Geographical Dictionary of the Gospel According to Maria Valtorta, by Jean-François Lavère:"Caesarea Philippi[8] is located at the foot of Mount Hermon, near the main source of the Jordan, 6 km east of Dan; 48 km from Tyre; 60 km southeast of Damascus; and 240 km from Jerusalem. King Herod Philip II made it the capital of his kingdom shortly after the birth of Jesus. It is also nicknamed Paneas or Paneon, because the Greeks worshiped the God Pan there, son of Hermes. Also known in the Bible[9] as Baal-Gad, or Baal Hermon, due to the presence of a temple dedicated to Baal." Its nickname "Paneade" is due to the Greek worship of the God Pan. Herod the Great built a temple there to Caesar Augustus, and Philip the Tetrarch gave it his name; the specification "of Philip" distinguishes it from the port of Caesarea on the Sea.
Explore[edit | edit source]
• 33° 14’ 44’’ N / 35° 41’ 34’’ E
• +366m
Notes and references[edit | edit source]
Article partially written using the Geographical Dictionary of the Gospel According to Maria Valtorta, by Jean-François Lavère.