Magdala

Magdala is the town that Mary Magdalene was from. Since people didn’t have last names then, they were identified either by who their father was, or by where they were from, thus we have Mary Magdalene. You can see this in other places in the bible as well, Jesus himself often being called Jesus the Nazarene, or Jesus of Nazareth.

Archaeological discoveries give us evidence that Magdala was a place of economic wealth. This fits with what we know of Mary Magdalene, since she bought expensive perfume to pour on Jesus’ feet, it’s probable that she was a wealthy woman.

This was the synagogue. It’s very probable that Jesus taught here, since the bible tells us that he traveled throughout all the region of Galilee teaching in their synagogues.
This is known as “The Magdala Stone” and it was used as a stand to read the Torah. You can see the images of items related to priestly service on it, giving evidence of the high value placed on Jewish traditions. You can very clearly see the menorah in the middle.
Here are some of the ruins of homes that were excavated in the area. The homes in all the areas we have visited are all very similar in their style and structure.
I just love this area! The region of Galilee is very diverse and beautiful!
This is the church in Magdala. Inside are some beautiful paintings and scenes from Jesus’ ministry.
This gorgeous painting depicts the woman with the hemorrhage who came and touched the edge of Jesus’ garment. The stones around this room and on the floor are all stones that were found in the excavation of Magdala and are over 2,000 years old!
Scripture tells us that Jesus freed Mary Magdalene of seven demons. If you look closely in the mosaic you can see the seven demons behind Mary that Jesus is expelling.
Inside the church were pillars with the names of some of the matriarchs from the bible. This one is of course for Mary Magdalene.

That’s all for today. We are headed home tomorrow, but don’t worry, I have many more posts coming! I haven’t even covered half of what we’ve seen yet! Next up is one of my favorites – the ruins of the ancient city of Dan!

Have a great day and a great night! Thank you for reading.

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