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Zippori –The Ornament of Galilee
Posted on: 25 December, 2008 | 2pm
On our tour in March the group will be stopping at the site of Sepporis also known in Hebrew as Zippori. The Hebrew name of the city comes from the word meaning bird because the city was seen "perched like a bird" on a four hundred-foot hill overlooking the Bet Netofa Valley. It’s geographic position was strategic as Sepphoris was located about midway between the Mediterranean coast and the Sea of Galilee. The city was also situated on the well-traveled highway that connected the port of Ptolemais, seventeen miles to the northwest, through the Turan Valley to Tiberias and the Sea of Galilee.As important as Zippori was during the first century one would have expected that it would have been mentioned in the New Testament, however we find no such mention. It’s history goes back to before the time of Jesus and was in existence during the time of Cleopatra. In 37 B.C.E., Herod took Zippori without a battle during a rare snowstorm in the area. After Herod’s death in 4 C.E., the citizens began to mutiny. The soldiers under Roman governor Varus captured Zippori and destroyed the city. It has been the opinion of many historians that the residents of Zippori learned their lesson from this experience which is why they later refused to take sides in the Jewish War against the Romans. Zippori was a metropolis which boasted a 4,500-seat amphitheater, built into the eastern side of the hill. It is believed by some that the amphitheater was built during the time of Yeshua (Jesus). Its stage was 156 feet wide and 27 feet from front to back. Herod’s rebuilt city included his palace, an upper city and a lower city, a new city wall, a large market place, synagogues, a colonnaded street, and a residential area. Several large cisterns, one holding a thousand gallons, supplied water for the city. What is the connection of this city with Yeshua? Part of its importance has to do with its location to Nazareth. Zippori was located only four miles from Nazareth. During the early years of Yeshua’ life, Herod Antipas started a campaign of restoring, developing and fortifying the city of Zippori. It served as his principle residence and the administrative center of Galilee, until he built Tiberias in A.D. 17-20. The fact that Yeshua’s legal father, Joseph, was identified by the Greek word tekton, "builder" (inaccurately translated "carpenter" (Matt 13:55; Mark 6:3) is also important. This would mean that they were construction craftsmen, skilled in wood and stone work. Since it was the practice of a father to teach his son his trade or skill, we can assume that Joseph trained Yeshua for this vocation. It is postulated that they would have traveled daily to Zippori to work in the building of the city. As one who has worked in the construction industry I know that you go where work is and in the case of Yosef and Yeshua this work would have presented itself.Nazareth was a small village, presumably lacking in the kind of construction projects that would provide sufficient work for skilled builders. With extensive building in progress an hour’s walk away, it is likely that on some occasions, Yosef and Yeshua would have been employed in Sepphoris. While Zippori was a Jewish city it was also heavily influenced by Greek culture and we know that there was a mixture of both Jewish and non Jewish inhabitants. The proximity of Zippori to Nazareth is not its only connection with the New Testament. According to tradition, Sepphoris was the home of Joachim and Anna, the parents of Mary, the mother of Yeshua. If the tradition is correct, this would place one set of grandparents living in this cosmopolitan city, and this would have been the place where His mother grew up. It has also been postulated that Yosef, a craftsman from Nazareth, perhaps while working on a building in Sepphoris, met Mary (Miriam) and took her back to Nazareth as his bride. What influence did this city with its predominantly Greek and Roman culture have on the young Yeshua? We know that Yeshua was a very observant Jewish man. It is apparent that he did not assimilate into its culture despite the possibilities of him working in the area. He was however, very familiar with the pagan culture and used terminology that was associated with the culture. When He used the word "hypocrite," for instance, as He often did, He may have been thinking of the meaning the word had in the theater at Zippori, "one acting under a mask," the practice in dramatic productions of the time. It was after the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, that Zippori gained its prominence in Judaism. After Jerusalem feel to the Romans it became the seat of the Sanhedrin. About A.D. 200, it was at Sepphoris that Judah Hanassi ("the Prince") codified the Mishnah. It incorporated the tradition of the elders that Yeshua had challenged in His ministry. It must be understood that Yeshua was not totally against all the things that the Pharisees taught. In fact he told the people to do what they (the Pharisees) taught but not to do as they did.
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