Caesarea Philippi(cesarea philippi)
“Caesar's city of Philip”
Summary
A city at the base of Mount Hermon near one of the sources of the Jordan River, where Peter made his great confession of Christ as the Son of God.
☩Location and History
Caesarea Philippi was situated on a plateau at the southern foothills of Mount Hermon, about twenty miles north of the Sea of Galilee, near one of the chief sources of the Jordan River. The original name was Panias (preserved in the modern Banias), derived from a grotto sacred to the god Pan. The tetrarch Philip enlarged and beautified the city, naming it Caesarea in honor of Augustus Caesar, with his own name added to distinguish it from the coastal Caesarea.
☩Peter's Confession
Jesus brought His disciples to the region of Caesarea Philippi during a period of retirement from His Galilean ministry. He did not enter the city itself but moved through its surrounding villages. It was here that Jesus asked His disciples who people said He was, and then who they believed Him to be. Peter responded with the foundational confession: 'Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.' Jesus pronounced Peter blessed for this revelation from the Father, and it was here that Jesus first clearly foretold His coming suffering, death, and resurrection in Jerusalem.
☩Sacred Site of Pan
Before its association with Christ, the area was a center of pagan worship. In the face of the cliff near the cave from which the Jordan spring issued, there are still niches with ancient inscriptions mentioning Pan. Herod the Great built a white marble temple there in honor of Augustus. The Crusaders later built a castle on the hill above, the ruins of which still stand about fifteen hundred feet above the town.
References
- 1.James Hastings (ed.), "Caesarea Philippi," in Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels, vol. I (T. & T. Clark, 1906–1908).
- 2.George Morrish, "Caesarea Philippi," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).
- 3.F. N. Peloubet & M. A. Peloubet (ed.), "Caesarea Philippi," in Smith's Bible Dictionary (Porter & Coates, 1884).