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North of Capernaum, about two
miles up the hill, stood the village of Chorazin. Because Jesus did
much of his teaching in these towns, as well as
Bethsaida, the three
make up what is called the "evangelical triangle." In them he
performed most of his miracles, and he cursed them for failing to
repent:
Then he began to
denounce the cities in which most of his mighty works had been done,
because they didn't repent.
"Woe to you,
Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works had been done
in Tyre and Sidon which were done in you, they would have repented
long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more
tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. You,
Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, you will go down to Hades. For if
the mighty works had been done in Sodom which were done in you, it
would have remained until this day.
But I tell you that it will be more tolerable for the
land of Sodom, on the day of judgment, than for you."
(Matthew 11:20-24)
The town occupied 17 acres of a narrow basalt hill that
stretches from north to south, affording a view of the lake 900 feet
below. So far only its middle has been excavated, with no trace from
the time of Jesus' mission. The earliest pottery and coins date from
the mid-third century AD. How do we know then that Biblical Chorazin
was here? First, it matches the location given for the older town by
the 4th century church father, Eusebius, in his Onomasticon,
the Book of Names. He mentions that it was destroyed in his time (to
which the finds so far would date its beginning!). Second, the modern
Arabic name, khirbet karaza, the ruin of Karaza, supports the
identification.
The main street ran north-south through the entire
village. The dark basalt ruins, partly restored, include a synagogue
(3d-4th century AD), a ritual bath belonging to it, a large public
square, buildings and houses. The building materials would have been
the same when Jesus was here, as well as the basic forms of the
houses. A small group can sit in one of the rooms and recapture what
it must have felt like, in such a setting, to hear him teach:
The Talmud praises the wheat of Chorazin. The village
got its water from a spring a few hundred yards to the east. This fed
into a stream that wound around the north side. A deep riverbed bounds
the village on the west. Here is an aerial view of the excavated
portion:
The synagogue dominates the area. Even in its limited
restoration, its majesty comes through:
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 The
synagogue is in the grand Roman style, like the one at
Capernaum, and very different from its contemporaries at
Hammath Tiberias and Beth Alpha. Like most in the region, it faces
south toward Jerusalem. One entered from the south, as at Capernaum,
and took a seat on one of the benches which lined the sides (and when
these were full, perhaps on the floor). The Rabbi had a special chair,
called the Seat of Moses, from which he could address the
congregation.
Then Jesus spoke
to the multitudes and to his disciples,
saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees
sat on Moses' seat. All
things therefore whatever they tell you to observe, observe and do,
but don't do their works; for they say, and don't do.
(Matthew 23:1-3)
This seat was found at Chorazin and may be seen at the
Israel Museum. (A copy is at the site,
seen here in photo.) It bears an inscription in
Aramaic, which reads: "May Yudan, the son of Ishmael, who contributed
this colonnade and its stairs from his property, be remembered for
good. May he have a portion with the righteous."
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 We
do not see the plethora of images that we find in the mosaic floors of synagogues like
the one at Hammath Tiberias. Yet the sanctuary at Chorazin was
not without images, as we note when we look more closely at the pieces
of friezes lying about. For here we find, of all creatures, Medusa -
or so we may judge from the hair.
Just north of the synagogue is a beautiful example of a
public ritual bath (mikveh), covered with basalt slabs. People who
had become ritually impure would immerse themselves before going to
the synagogue to pray.
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Standing on the synagogue steps, looking toward the
lake 900 feet below, we can see more of the village that awaits
excavation. The main street continues down through it, with blocks of
houses on both its sides. Coneys prance amid the ruins.
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