Sepphoris

A major Hellenistic-Roman city in Galilee, located just 6 kilometers (4 miles) from Nazareth. Serving as Galilee’s capital before Tiberias, Sepphoris was extensively rebuilt by Herod Antipas during Jesus’s youth. Though never mentioned in the Gospels, many scholars suggest Jesus—known as a tekton (craftsman/carpenter)—likely worked on construction projects in Sepphoris, exposing him to Hellenistic urban culture while maintaining his Jewish village roots in Nazareth. After the destruction of Jerusalem, Sepphoris became a major center of rabbinic Judaism, where Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi compiled the Mishnah around 200 CE. The city’s extensive mosaics, Roman theater, and archaeological remains provide exceptional insight into first-century Galilean life.