Jesus Begins His Ministry in Galilee

The text of Matthew 4: 12-17 says:

Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

"Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles--the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death, light has dawned."

From that time Jesus began to proclaim, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."

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John the Baptist is arrested, and Jesus leaves Nazareth, moving his headquarters from the city of Nazareth to a town called Capernaum, situated 20 miles northeast. Capernaum is on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. Both Nazareth and Capernaum are in the Galilee region of the Roman Judea (sometimes written in the Roman fashion, Iudaea) Province.

The suggested site for the baptism of Jesus is 60 miles SSE of the town of Nazareth, in the Samaria region of the Roman Judea Province, down near Jericho on the Jordan River.

It is not clear what the text means when it says "[Jesus] withdrew to Galilee" after John's arrest. I assume it refers to the idea that Jesus was living in Nazareth, in Galilee, before he went to be baptized in Samaria. After his baptism, he has his wilderness adventure with Satan (I don't know where that took place, but perhaps somewhere nearby his baptism site, in Samaria). Then, while Jesus is still in Samaria, John gets arrested and Jesus goes back north to Galilee, and moves his town of residence at the same time.

Zebulun and Naphtali are two of the twelve tribes of Israel. Zebulun territory would include Nazareth, while Capernaum would be in Naphtali territory.

The Study Bible points out that this text includes the seventh (of fourteen) quotations of prophecies foretelling Jesus' arrival. This time, the quoted passage is Isaiah 9.1-2 "But there will be no gloom for those who were in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who have walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness--on them a light has shined."

It is interesting to note that Jesus' words aren't "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is here." It is still a future tense sort of thing, even though the divine Son of God is present now.

Also curious is what the Isaiah passage refers to as "...Galilee of the nations" and the Matthew text, quoting it, refers to as "...Galilee of the Gentiles".

The Study Bible suggests that this may point to the mission to the Gentiles, foreshadowing the upcoming moment when Jesus sends the disciples out to all nations. A Wikipedia article on Galilee suggests the phrase 'Galilee of the nations' refers specifically to the portion of Galilee in which Gentiles lived.

Next up: Jesus recruits his first disciples.