Luke 4:31

κατῆλθεν εἰς Καφαρναούμ. St Matthew (Matthew 4:13-16) sees in the locality of Christ’s Ministry the fulfilment of Isaiah 9:1-2, omitting the first part, which should be rendered, “At the former time he brought contempt on the land of Zebulun and on the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he brought honour”. It was perhaps on His way to Capernaum that our Lord healed the courtier’s son (John 4:47-54). Capernaum is in all probability Tell Hûm, though others try to identify it with Khan Minyeh, which is nearer Tiberias. Capernaum was the Jewish capital of Galilee, though a few years later that position was disputed by the more Pagan civilisation of Sepphoris and Tiberias. The name means village (now Kefr) of Nahum, and Tell Hûm is ‘the ruined mound’ or ‘heap’ of (Na)hum. It is now a heap of desolation with little to mark it except the ruins of one white marble synagogue—possibly the very one built by the friendly centurion (Luke 7:5)—and the widely-scattered débris of what perhaps was another. But in our Lord’s time it was a bright and populous little town, at the very centre of what has been called “the manufacturing district of Palestine.” (Jos. B. J. III. 10, § 8.) It lay at the nucleus of roads to Tyre and Sidon, to Damascus, to Sepphoris (the Roman capital of Galilee), and to Jerusalem, and was within easy reach of Peraea and Ituraea. It was in fact on the “way of the sea” (Isaiah 9:1)—the great caravan road which led to the Mediterranean. It was hence peculiarly fitted to be the centre of a far-reaching ministry of which even Gentiles would hear. These things, as St Paul graphically says, were “not done in a corner,” Acts 26:26. Besides the memorable events of the day here recorded, it was here that Christ healed the paralytic (Luke 5:18) and the centurion’s servant (Luke 7:2), and called Levi (Matthew 9:9), rebuked the disciples for their ambition (Mark 9:35), and delivered the memorable discourse about the bread of life (John 6). It is an interesting fact that Marcion in his mutilation of St Luke’s Gospel began with, “In the fifteenth year of Tiberius God descended into Capernaum, a city of Galilee.” The κατῆλθεν is only used by St Luke because the journey from Nazareth to Capernaum is a continuous descent; but Marcion chose to use it as describing a descent from heaven. He exscinded the earlier Chapter s of St Luke because they testify that Christ is truly man as well as perfectly God. See Neander, Ch. Hist. II. 182.

πόλιν τῆς Γαλιλαίας. These little descriptions and explanations shew that St Luke is writing for Gentiles who did not know Palestine. Comp. Luke 1:26; Luke 21:37; Luke 22:1. The explanation was not added in Luke 4:23 because he is there quoting the words of the Nazarenes.

ἦν διδάσκων. This analytic imperfect implies as before, continuous work.