Jesus performed the miracle of the loaves and the fishes in Tabgha on the coast of the Sea of Galilee. He then sailed 4 miles south to Magdala, according to the Gospel of Matthew 15:36-38. “And he sent away the multitude, and took ship, and came into the coasts of Magdala.”—Gospel of Matthew 15:39

Mosaic of loaves and fishes with the sacred stone under the altar in the Church of the Loves and Fishes, Tabgha (on the Sea of Galilee), Israel

Magdala on the Sea of Galilee

Magdala is the town on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee at the foot of Mount Arbel. Its most famous citizen is Mary Magdalene—Mary of Magdala. Mary Magdalene is mentioned in the Gospels as being among the women of Galilee who followed Jesus and His disciples and supported them “out of their own means.”

Fishing net on the Sea of Galilee

Magdala was the center of the fish salting industry (salting of fish for preservation), and the mainstay of its economy. Magdala in Greek is Tarichaea, which means—dried fish. The fish caught in the Sea of Galilee was dried and exported to various parts of the Roman Empire. In Magdala the fish would be packed in baskets for export and the fishermen would take it on wagons pulled by mules to shops in Jerusalem, or to a seaport where it would be loaded on ships and taken to Rome. Dried fish from Galilee was considered a delicacy among the Roman aristocracy. The other important element of Magdala’s economy was its boat-building.  The Sea of Galilee, also known as Kinneret, Lake of Gennesaret, or Lake Tiberias, is the lowest freshwater lake on Earth (700 feet below sea level). The lake is fed partly by underground springs although its main source is the Jordan River which flows through it from north to south. It is 13 miles long and 8 miles wide and has a circumference of 33 miles.

Discovery of the Jesus boat

In 1986 there was an amazing discovery off the shore of Ginosar, just two miles north of Magdala, on the Sea of Galilee. After a two-year drought that had lowered the water to historic levels the remains of a first century boat were found by two brothers, Moshe and Yuval Lufan, fishermen from Kibbutz Ginnosar. The brothers were amateur archaeologists with an interest in discovering artifacts from Israel’s past. It had always been their hope to one day discover a boat in the Sea of Galilee, where they and generations of their family had fished. When the record drought reduced the water-level of the lake, the two brothers examined the newly exposed beach and stumbled across the remains of the boat buried in the shore.

Excavating the ancient boat

Floating the boat on the Sea of Galilee

The Sea of Galilee boat is also known as the Jesus boat. The remains of the boat are 27 feet long, 7.5 feet wide and with a maximum preserved height of 4.3 feet. 

Jesus boat displayed in museum in Ginosar

The Yigal Alon Museum in Ginosar has been the home of the Jesus boat since its discovery in 1986. Archaeologists, scientists, Biblical text, carbon dating, and a first-century mosaic found near the site confirm that this was the type of boat used by fishermen during the life of Jesus Christ.

The Jesus Boat preserved in the Yigal Alon Museum in Ginosar

Mosaic of a fishing boat similar to the Jesus Boat was discovered during excavations in the 1970’s. It was found in a first century AD home in Magdala.

This mosaic is now displayed at Capernaum, about 6 1/2 miles northeast of Magdala. It depicts a boat with a mast for sailing and oars for rowing. Apparently it was designed for a crew of four rowers and a helmsman controlling a rudder (the larger third “oar” at the stern). Jesus and the disciples would have sailed around the lake in a boat much like this and it is very similar to the design of the Jesus boat discovered in 1986.

It was just off the shore of GINOSAR, the town a few miles north of MAGDALA, where Moshe and Yuval Lufan discovered the Jesus Boat in the muddy waters of the Sea of Galilee after a two-year record drought.

Jesus on the Sea of Galilee

According to the gospels, Jesus spent most of the three years of His ministry along the shore of this freshwater lake. Here He gave more than half of His parables and here He performed most of His miracles.

The calling of Simon Peter, the Fisherman – Appearance on Lake Tiberias 1308-11 by Duccio di Buoninsegna, Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena, Italy

 Gospel of Luke 5:1-11

“While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret. He saw two boats there alongside the lake; the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.’ Simon said in reply, ‘Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.’ When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come to help them. They came and filled both boats so that they were in danger of sinking. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, ‘Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.’ For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him, and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners of Simon. Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.’ When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him.”

The miraculous draught of fishes by Raphael, c. 1515, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, England

Jesus boat is dream come to life for the Lufan brothers!

Stones in the Galilee sea, courtesy of Lazaro Gallery