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Easton's Bible Dictionary
A city on the northeast of the marshy plain of el-Huleh,
120 miles north of Jerusalem, and 20 miles north of the Sea of Galilee, at the
"upper source" of the Jordan, and near the base of Mount Hermon. It is mentioned
in Matthew
16:13 and Mark
8:27 as the northern limit of our Lord's public ministry.
According to some its original name was Baal-Gad ( Joshua
11:17 ), or Baal-Hermon ( Judges
3:3 ; 1
Chronicles 5:23 ), when it was a Canaanite sanctuary of Baal. It was afterwards
called Panium or Paneas, from a deep cavern full of water near the town. This
name was given to the cavern by the Greeks of the Macedonian kingdom of Antioch
because of its likeness to the grottos of Greece, which were always associated
with the worship of their god Pan. Its modern name is Banias. Here Herod built
a temple, which he dedicated to Augustus Caesar. This town was afterwards enlarged
and embellished by Herod Philip, the tetrarch of Trachonitis, of whose territory
it formed a part, and was called by him Caesarea Philippi, partly after his own
name, and partly after that of the emperor Tiberius Caesar. It is thus distinguished
from the Caesarea of Palestine. (See JORDAN)
Hitchcock's Dictionary of Bible Names
(no entry)
Smith's Bible Dictionary
is mentioned only in the first two Gospels, ( Matthew
16:13 ; Mark
8:27 ) and in accounts of the same transactions. It was at the easternmost
and most important of the two recognized sources of the Jordan, the other being
at Tel-el-Kadi . The spring rises from and the city was built on a limestone terrace
in a valley at the base of Mount Hermon 20 miles north of the Sea of Galilee.
It was enlarged by Herod Philip, and named after Caesar, with his own name added
to distinguish it from Caesarea. Its present name is Banias, a village of some
50 houses, with many interesting ruins. Caesarea Philippi has no Old Testament
history, though it has been not unreasonably identified with Baal-gad . It was
visited by Christ shortly before his transfiguration, ( Matthew
16:13 - 28
) and was the northern limit of his journeys. ( Mark
8:27 )
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
(FROM CAESAREA)
(2) Caesarea Philippi (fi-lip'-i) (Kaisareia he Philippou).
At the Southwest base of Mt. Hermon, on a rocky terrace, 1,150 ft. above sea-level,
between Wady Khashabeh and Wady Za'areh, lie the ruins of the ancient city. It
was a center for the worship of Pan: whence the name Paneas, applied not only
to the city, but to the whole district (Ant., XV, x, 3). It is possible that this
may have been the site of ancient Baal-hermon; while Principal G. A. Smith would
place Da here (HGHL, 480). The district was given by Augustus to Herod the Great
20 BC, by whom a temple of white marble was built in honor of the emperor. Paneas
formed part of the tetrarchy of Philip. He rebuilt and beautified the town, calling
it Caesarea as a compliment to Augustus, and adding his own name to distinguish
it from Caesarea on the coast of Sharon (Ant., XVIII, ii, 1; BJ, II, ix, 1). From
Bethsaida Jesus and His disciples came hither, and on the way Peter made his famous
confession, after which Jesus began to tell them of His coming passion (Matthew
16:13 ; Mark
8:27). Some think that on a height near Caesarea Philippi Jesus was
transfigured. See TRANSFIGURATION, MOUNT OF. Agrippa II renamed the town Neronias
(Ant., XX, ix, 4). The ancient name however outlived both Caesare a and Neronias,
and survives in the Arabic form Banias. The modern village, built among the ruins,
contains 350 inhabitants. The walls and towers of which the remains are seen date
from Crusading times. The castle, ec-Cubeibeh, crowns the hill behind the town,
and must have been a place of strength from the earliest times. Its possession
must always have been essential to the holding of the valley to the west. Immediately
to the north of the town, at the foot of a steep crag, the fountain of the Jordan
rises. Formerly the waters issued from a cave, Magharet ras en-Neba', "cave of
the fountain head," now filled up with debris. Two niches cut in the face of the
rock recall the idolatries practiced here in olden times. A shrine of el-Khudr
stands on the west of the spring. With the rich soil and plentiful supplies of
water, in a comparatively temperate climate, average industry might turn the whole
district into a garden. As it is, the surroundings are wonderfully beautiful.
W. Ewing
Tags:
baal-gad, baal-hermon, banias, bible commentary, bible history, bible reference, bible study, caesara philippi, caesarea, city, define, jordan, paneas, panium, transfiguration (of jesus)
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