Chorazin
Summary
A city near Capernaum where Jesus performed many mighty works, yet was condemned for its unrepentance.
☩Jesus's Denunciation
Chorazin appears in Scripture only in Jesus's pronouncement of woe against the cities that had witnessed his mighty works yet failed to repent. Along with Bethsaida and Capernaum, it represents the cities most privileged by Jesus's ministry during his Galilean campaign. Jesus declared that if the mighty works done in Chorazin had been done in Tyre and Sidon, those pagan cities would have repented in sackcloth and ashes. This indicates that many miracles were performed there that are not recorded in the Gospels, confirming that Jesus did far more than what was written.
☩Location and Remains
Jerome described Chorazin as located on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, two miles from Capernaum. The site is identified with the extensive ruins of Kerazeh (or Kerazeh) on the heights north of Tell Hum (identified as Capernaum). The ruins include traces of carved stones and a synagogue, with evidence of a Roman road connecting the ancient city to the main highway along the lake shore. By the time of Eusebius in the fourth century, the city was already deserted, testimony to the fulfillment of Christ's woe.
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Chorazin," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. II (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Chorazin," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. I (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.George Morrish, "Chorazin," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).
- 4.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Chorazin," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).