John T. Greene, a professor of religious studies at Michigan State University, spoke in an illustrated presentation on Monday, Feb. 17, in Hilbun Hall at 5 p.m.
Greene has served as a biblical scholar, who has spent the past 16 years conducting archaeological research in Israel and Palestine. The presentation, entitled “Sixteen Years of Excavations at Et-Tell: The Archaeological Features of Tzer/Bethsaida-Julias,” dealt with discussing many of Greene’s discoveries while working at various excavation sites in Israel.
His discussion covered such discoveries like the “Jesus Boat,” an excavated boat estimated to be as old as 1 A.D, during the time that Jesus was believed to have lived. He also found several artifacts dated from the late Hellenistic, Early Roman period within a man-made mound along the Golan Heights. There he also found an old wine cellar (“one of his favorites”) along with several other sites and discoveries within Et-Tell, a place discovered to be a lost city of Israel.
Tell Bethsaida (Et-Tell or Bethsaida) is one of the largest artificial mounds ever discovered on the Sea of Galilee. In 1839, the American scholar Edward Robinson suggested that a mound known as Et-Tell, although set back from the Sea of Galilee, was probably the ancient city of Bethsaida.
A few decades later, Gottlieb Schumacher, a scholar from the German colony in Haifa, maintained that it was unlikely that a fisherman’s village could be located so far from the sea. Bethsaida was one of the most frequently mentioned towns in the New Testament, where at least three of the 12 apostles born–Peter, Andrew and Philip. The city was also where Jesus is believed to have performed several of his major miracles walking on water, healing the blind man and feeding the multitudes of his followers with fish and bread.
Unlike many other well-known cities of antiquity, Bethsaida was never re-discovered by modern 20th Century archaeology, leading many to refer to it as a mythical city. Pilgrims, archaeologists and travelers searched for Bethsaida for nearly 2,000 years. However, excavations and geological surveys begun in 1987, which Greene played a part of, concluded that Et-Tell, an area situated 1.5 Kilometersoff the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, was in fact the true city of Bethsaida.
Remarking on how he became involved with fieldwork, Greene stated, “I was sent to Jerusalem as a graduate student in the humanities and became interested in the field work involved with archaeology. There I became absolutely enchanted by it.”
Greene, a Memphis, Tenn., native, holds his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Detroit and a doctorate from Boston University. He began his work at Michigan State University in 1980 as an assistant professor of religious studies and Modern Hebrew language.
Greene has been involved with several other archaeological projects, most recently participating in the Cave of Letters Project, held in 2000-2001 in the Judean desert. This religious history investigation near Jerusalem sought to learn more about the last days of Jewish rebels who sought refuge during the second century in a cave of the Judean Desert canyons. The rebels had been fleeing the Roman army that crushed the Jewish revolt and sacked the Holy City.
In addition to these projects, Greene also participated in excavations in 1973 at Tell Gezer in Israel directed by Dr. Joe Seger, MSU Director of the Cobb Institute of Archaeology; he worked again with Seger in 1977 in the Lahav Research Project at Tell Halif.
In 1985, Greene became director of Michigan State’s archaeology and language program in Israel, participating in excavations at Gamla on the Golan Heights. In 1988, he helped initiate the excavations at Bethsaida-Julias north of the Sea of Galilee. He is currently continuing his work there as a co-director of the project.
Regarding his fieldwork in Israel, Greene remarked that it was of extreme importance to him.
“It’s my therapy after two semesters of teaching,” Greene said. “Field archaeology is my summer therapy, it helps to keep me sane.”
Greene’s research has allowed him to serve as the author or editor of seven books covering subjects involving Ancient Near Eastern and biblical traditions, archaeology, U.S. Civil War history and African-American studies.
Greene’s presentation at MSU was co-sponsored by the Cobb Institute of Archaeology and the Philosophy and Religion Department.
For some of Greene’s most recent works, look for the series of published volumes, “Bethsaida: A City by the North Shore of the Sea of Galilee,” edited by Rami Arav and Richard A. Freund. Also check out the University of Nebraska, Omaha campus Web site for more information regarding some of Greene’s projects.