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23 And you, Capernaum,[a] will you be exalted to heaven?[b] No, you will be thrown down to Hades![c] For if the miracles done among you had been done in Sodom,[d] it would have continued to this day.[e]

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 11:23 sn Capernaum was a town located on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, 680 ft (204 m) below sea level. It existed since Hasmonean times and was a major trade and economic center in the North Galilean region. The population in the first century is estimated to be around 1,500. Capernaum became the hub of operations for Jesus’ Galilean ministry (Matt 4:13; Mark 2:1). In modern times the site was discovered in 1838 by the American explorer E. Robinson, and major excavations began in 1905 by German archaeologists H. Kohl and C. Watzinger. Not until 1968, however, were remains from the time of Jesus visible; in that year V. Corbo and S. Loffreda began a series of annual archaeological campaigns that lasted until 1985. This work uncovered what is thought to be the house of Simon Peter as well as ruins of the first century synagogue beneath the later synagogue from the fourth or fifth century A.D. Today gently rolling hills and date palms frame the first century site, a favorite tourist destination of visitors to the Galilee.
  2. Matthew 11:23 tn The interrogative particle introducing this question expects a negative reply.
  3. Matthew 11:23 sn In the OT, Hades was known as Sheol. It is the place where the unrighteous will reside (Luke 10:15; 16:23; Rev 20:13-14).
  4. Matthew 11:23 sn See the note on Sodom and Gomorrah in Matt 10:15.
  5. Matthew 11:23 sn The implication is that such miracles would have brought about the repentance of the inhabitants of Sodom, and so it would not have been destroyed, but would have continued to this day.