A boat from Jesus' time

We stepped off of our 40 meter long tour boat and came to the museum of the so called Jesus boat. This is a boat that was found relatively recently in the sea of Galilee when the water level was unusually low.

Here I am standing in front of what I'm sure is a recreation of the boat that was discovered. The original was water logged wood that would collapse if it got dry. The excavation involved keeping the boat wet and digging through the mud by hand because tools would damage the soft wood.

This does give an idea of the type of boat that Jesus and his disciples could have used. This one was a small boat, wood held together with Roman nails.

Jesus would have spent a lot of time in boats like this, I imagine. Three years hanging around the sea with a bunch of fishermen. A twenty seven foot boat, with Jesus and twelve disciples, maybe others that would come along.

A boat like this gives you not very much space, but a lot of time to talk. Jesus could find a little spot to sleep while a dozen men struggled with the waves and the wind. A boat like this could help outrun the crowds.


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