Chorazin was a town in Galilee that Jesus rebuked for its lack of repentance despite the mighty works he had done there.
Chorazin was a town located in Galilee, near the Sea of Galilee, during the time of Jesus Christ's ministry. It is mentioned twice in the Gospels, both in the context of Jesus pronouncing judgment on the town for its unbelief and lack of repentance (Matthew 11:21; Luke 10:13).
In these passages, Jesus contrasts Chorazin with the Gentile cities of Tyre and Sidon, stating that if the mighty works he had performed in Chorazin had been done in those cities, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. This suggests that Jesus had carried out significant miracles and teachings in Chorazin, yet the people remained unresponsive to his message.
Jesus then declares that it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for Chorazin, emphasizing the severity of the town's spiritual hardness and the consequences of rejecting the Messiah.
The exact location of Chorazin is not specified in the Bible, but it is believed to be the modern-day site of Khirbet Karazeh, about 2.5 miles north of Capernaum. Archaeological excavations at the site have revealed the remains of a synagogue from the 3rd or 4th century AD, as well as residential buildings and streets.
Chorazin serves as a sobering example of the consequences of unbelief and the importance of responding to Jesus' teachings and miracles with faith and repentance.
Approximate location: 32.909, 35.553 · view on a map · on the Bible atlas
Named along with Bethsaida and Capernaum as one of the cities in which our Lord’s “mighty works” were done, and which was doomed to woe because of signal privileges neglected (Matt. 11:21; Luke 10:13). It has been identified by general consent with the modern Kerazeh, about 2 1/2 miles up the Wady Kerazeh from Capernaum; i.e., Tell Hum.
one of the cities in which our Lord’s mighty works were done, but named only in his denunciation. Matt. 11:21; Luke 10:13 St. Jerome describes it as on the shore of the lake, two miles from Capernaum, but its modern site is uncertain.
the secret; here is a mystery
CHORA'ZIN, a city named with Capernaum and Bethsaida in the woes pronounced by Christ. Matt 11:20-23; Luke 10:13. The identification of Chorazin depends largely, though not wholly, upon that of Capernaum. Robinson places it at Tell Hum, but others, with greater probability, fix its site at Kerdzeh, 2 1/2 miles west of Tell Hum, and west of the valley of the Jordan. The ruins cover a large area, and consist of a synagogue, the ornaments being cut in black basalt rock, walls of dwellings, columns which supported the roofs and doorways, some of them in a tolerably perfect condition, and a paved roadway leading to the great caravan-route to Damascus. See Capernaum.
CHORA'ZIN, a city named with Capernaum and Bethsaida in the woes pronounced by Christ. Matt 11:20-23; Luke 10:13. The identification of Chorazin depends largely, though not wholly, upon that of Capernaum. Robinson places it at Tell Hum, but others, with greater probability, fix its site at Kerdzeh, 2 1/2 miles west of Tell Hum, and west of the valley of the Jordan. The ruins cover a large area, and consist of a synagogue, the ornaments being
cut in black basalt rock, walls of dwellings, columns which supported the roofs and doorways, some of them in a tolerably perfect condition, and a paved roadway leading to the great caravan-route to Damascus. See Capernaum.
Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.
2 verses in 2 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s G5523
“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.