Traditional Site
Tabgha
TAHB-guh · Modern Tabgha, Sea of Galilee, Israel · 32.8694° N, 35.5436° E
Tabgha, near Capernaum, is the traditional site of Jesus's miracle of feeding the 5,000 with five loaves and two fish (Matthew 14:13-21 and parallels). It has been venerated as such since at least the 4th century, when the pilgrim Egeria described a church there.
Archaeology
Excavations in 1932 uncovered the mosaic pavements of a 5th-century basilica built over a smaller 4th-century chapel, matching Egeria's earlier description. The best-known find is the mosaic before the altar depicting a basket of loaves flanked by two fish, preserved today in the modern Church of the Multiplication; the site's identification with the feeding miracle is a strong, continuous tradition rather than one fixed by inscriptional proof.
On a modern map
Further reading
Reflect
On Tabgha's shore, breakfast was already cooking when the disciples landed after a failed night of fishing — where has provision met you after failure?
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