Dalmanuta
Remote place where Jesus withdraws to pray.
Description[edit | edit source]
Hamlet or place between Magdala and Tiberias, at the foot of the mountain of Arbela.
The name is mentioned for the landing of Jesus, John, and Jude who are going to Cana: To shorten the journey, Peter disembarks them there.[1]
Key facts[edit | edit source]
Jesus withdraws there after the second multiplication of the loaves.[2]
Its name[edit | edit source]
Dalmanuta, Probably Arbél (beach) / Kefar-Hittim (Kfar-Hitim).
Where is it mentioned in the work?[edit | edit source]
GRM 354
Learn more about this place[edit | edit source]
The place is mentioned in the Gospels without further detail.
The location was deduced on the map by following the indications contained in the work of Maria Valtorta: Given the topography, the most practical at the time of Capernaum, is to land right at the foot of Mount Arbel before Tiberias, a place today called Arbel Beach or the current so-called Russian beach. From there they could climb up a gently sloping path, left bank of the current Nahal Rakat, without going up Mount Arbel, cross the river 3 km further on, and reach the Roman road from Tiberias to Caesarea on the Sea, which runs at the foot of Cana.[3] This location stands out to the pilgrim as the shortest embarkation or disembarkation point between Nazareth, Cana, and the cities of the lake.
Excerpt from the Geographical Dictionary of the Gospel According to Maria Valtorta, by Jean-François Lavère:When Jesus goes to the Wedding at Cana, Peter offers to take him by boat to Tiberias "to make faster". He does not disembark at Tiberias itself, but as always when it is a question of reaching the road to Cana and Nazareth, in "a tiny little village, a handful of poor, almost forlorn houses."[4] By her account, Maria Valtorta confirms to us that this hamlet was located between Magdala and Tiberias. "'Where is the Master?' The disciples reply: […] 'We saw the sails in the moonlight going towards Dalmanuta.' 'Ah! […] the fishermen of Magdala should have told us!' 'They probably did not know. He may have gone up the Arbela mountains to pray.'"[3]
Small locality now disappeared, located on the west coast of the Sea of Tiberias, south of Magdala mentioned by Mark...[2] The archaeological traces of this hamlet near Magdala have completely disappeared. Some exegetes even imagined that Dalmanuta might be a misspelled form of Magdala. Yet, the location of the city (between Magdala and Tiberias) appears on some old maps of the Sea of Tiberias.
Explore[edit | edit source]
• 32°48'38.5"N 35°31'28.2"E
• -20m
Notes and references[edit | edit source]
Article partially written using the Geographical Dictionary of the Gospel According to Maria Valtorta, by Jean-François Lavère.