Pella of the Decapolis and the Flight of the Jerusalem Church
The Jordan valley city to which, Eusebius says, Yeshua's followers fled before 70 CE
Found 1967 — Robert Houston Smith (College of Wooster) 1967; University of Sydney with Wooster 1979–1985 (J. B. Hennessy, A. W. McNicoll); Stephen Bourke (Sydney) from the 1990s to the present
Where Tabaqat Fahl (Pella), east side of the Jordan valley, Irbid governorate (Jordan)
Dates from 1st century BCE – 7th century CE (classical city) · Neolithic – Islamic (Roman Decapolis city, Byzantine churches) · The Decapolis of the Gospels; the Jewish War of 66–70 CE
Now at In situ; finds in the Jordan Archaeological Museum (Amman) and the Nicholson Museum (Sydney)
How Pella of the Decapolis and the Flight of the Jerusalem Church was found
Wooster's first season was cut short by the Six-Day War. The joint Sydney–Wooster project and then Sydney alone have dug almost every era: a Neolithic village, a huge Middle Bronze 'migdol' temple, Iron Age houses, a Roman odeon and baths, and three Byzantine churches including the 'Civic Complex' church with an atrium. No layer can be labelled 'Jewish-Christian refugees', but the city was clearly a going concern in the late 1st century.
What it is
A spring-fed city on a hillside above the Jordan, with a main mound (Khirbet Fahl) and Tell Husn opposite. Its Canaanite temple (c. 1650–850 BCE) is among the largest in the Levant; its Roman–Byzantine remains include colonnaded streets, a small theatre, bath-houses and church basilicas.
Why it matters for the Bible
Eusebius (c. 325) and Epiphanius record that the Jerusalem believers, warned by an oracle, left the city before its siege and settled in Pella. This is the earliest tradition of how the mother church survived 70 CE and is often linked to Yeshua's warning to 'flee to the mountains'. Archaeology confirms Pella as a prosperous Decapolis city in that generation but has found nothing that names the refugees, and some historians doubt the story altogether. The site also stands for the Decapolis region where Yeshua taught.
The Hebrew word: NOOS
נוּס
נוּס is pronounced NOOS and means to flee (as in 'flee to the mountains') (Strong's H5127).
Places
- Pella (Decapolis) — פֶּחַל (PEH-chal) — Semitic Pihil/Fahl; Greek Pella after Alexander's birthplace
Events
Yeshua's ministry in the Decapolis · Flight of the Jerusalem church to Pella (Eusebius, Church History 3.5.3) · Siege of Jerusalem 70 CE
Pella of the Decapolis and the Flight of the Jerusalem Church in Scripture
Luke 21:20-21 'When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies... let those in Judea flee to the mountains' — the tradition says the church obeyed by going to Pella.
Matthew 24:15-16 The parallel warning that later writers connected with the Pella flight.
Mark 7:31 Yeshua travels through the Decapolis, the league of cities to which Pella belonged.
Questions people ask
What is Pella of the Decapolis and the Flight of the Jerusalem Church?
A spring-fed city on a hillside above the Jordan, with a main mound (Khirbet Fahl) and Tell Husn opposite. Its Canaanite temple (c. 1650–850 BCE) is among the largest in the Levant; its Roman–Byzantine remains include colonnaded streets, a small theatre, bath-houses and church basilicas.
When was Pella of the Decapolis and the Flight of the Jerusalem Church discovered?
It was found in 1967 by Robert Houston Smith (College of Wooster) 1967; University of Sydney with Wooster 1979–1985 (J. B. Hennessy, A. W. McNicoll); Stephen Bourke (Sydney) from the 1990s to the present, at Tabaqat Fahl (Pella), east side of the Jordan valley, Irbid governorate.
Where is Pella of the Decapolis and the Flight of the Jerusalem Church today?
In situ; finds in the Jordan Archaeological Museum (Amman) and the Nicholson Museum (Sydney).
Which Bible verses does Pella of the Decapolis and the Flight of the Jerusalem Church relate to?
Luke 21:20-21, Matthew 24:15-16, Mark 7:31.
Is Pella of the Decapolis and the Flight of the Jerusalem Church authentic?
The excavations are secure. The Pella flight rests on 4th-century literary sources with no archaeological confirmation; some scholars consider it legendary.
Related discoveries
- עֵבֶר הַיַּרְדֵּןGerasa (Jerash) of the DecapolisThe best-preserved Roman city east of the Jordan, in the 'country of the Gerasenes'
- חֲזִירKursi (Gergesa)Byzantine monastery on the eastern shore marking the miracle of the swine
- חֲזִירGadara (Umm Qais): The Country of the GadarenesA Decapolis city on a ridge above the Sea of Galilee, Matthew's setting for the swine miracle
- שְׁבִיJudaea Capta CoinsRoman coins celebrating the conquest of Judea with a weeping woman under a palm tree
- רָעָבGivati Parking Lot Mansion ('Queen Helena's Palace')A grand first-century building in the Lower City, proposed as the palace of the convert queen of Adiabene
- גְּאֻלָּהOphel Cave of 'Redemption of Zion' CoinsA refuge cave beside the Temple Mount sealed in 70 CE with bronze coins of the revolt's last year
Sources
- Wikipedia, 'Pella, Jordan'
- Smith, R. H., Pella of the Decapolis I (1973); McNicoll, Smith & Hennessy, Pella in Jordan 1 (1982)
- Eusebius, Church History 3.5.3
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