SEA OF GALILEE
i. Names.—The OT name Chinnereth had disappeared, so far as our purpose is concerned, by the time of the Maccabees, and in its place we find a variety of designations. It is then that the familiar name Gennesaret first makes its appearance in the
With reference to the name ‘Galilee,’ it has been said that it originally designated only that small tract of land given by Solomon to Hiram (1Ki 9:11), and that the name gradually extended till in the days of the Maccabees it included Zebulun and Naphtali, so that only after this took place could the Sea be known by that name. Furrer (Wanderungen) has also drawn attention to the other names. He asserts that Gennesar or Gennesaritis is characteristic of the 1st cent., being found in Josephus, Pliny, and Strabo, while from the 2nd cent. onwards the official designation became ‘Sea of Tiberias’; and as proof of this statement he cites the Palestinian Talmud. He then ventures to infer that Joh 21:1 indicates a later date than the rest of the book demands, and at the same time he suggests that Joh 6:1 has been emended. This reasoning, however, seems inconclusive; for, apart from the fact that the Palestinian Talmud contains much that is old, it seems impossible, in view of the conservatism of the Rabbis, that such a name as ‘Sea of Tiberias’ should be found in their writings, unless it had been in common use for a considerable time. For the history of the district surrounding the Lake see art. Galilee.
ii. Description.—The Lake presents ‘a beautiful sheet of limpid water in a deeply depressed basin’ (BRP
El-Ghuweir curves along the Lake from Mejdel to Khân Minyeh, a distance of 3 miles, and it has a breadth of one mile. In addition to the stream from Wady Hamâm, it is watered by three others from ‘Ain Mudauwarah, Wady Rabadï̀yeh, and Wady Leimôn, and these flow throughout the year. Just behind Khân Minyeh and its fountain ‘Ain et-Tîn at the N.W. corner of the Lake, the rounded hill Tell Oreime slopes down to the water’s edge, ending in a series of sharp rocks—the only place around the Lake where we find anything like a cliff beside the shore. Around the face of Tell Oreime there is a deep rock-cutting now used as a pathway, but in ancient times an aqueduct, as is attested by the discovery of the remains of the old piers of its continuation across the next valley to ‘Ain et-Tâbigha. Remains of masonry show that the water was led eastward as well as westward from the towers built around the springs of et-Tâbigha (
After crossing the Jordan we meet with another plain—el-Batiha—corresponding to the one on the west, but somewhat more extensive. It is covered with green grass (Mar 6:39, Joh 6:10) at nearly all seasons of the year. With a breadth of 1 to 1½ miles, it extends 3 miles along the coast, and then narrows, extending nearly 3 miles more to Kersa, a short distance to the south of which we meet with the only steep place (Mat 8:32) on the eastern side of the Lake. At this point there is practically no shore, but immediately the eastern rampart of hills—2000 ft. high, now bleak and bare, but showing streaks of green where the springs trickle out between the white sandstone and the black superimposed lava—begins to recede, leaving a plain ¼ to ½ mile broad, and this to the south of Kul at el-Husn widens out into the Ghor or Jordan Valley. At the village of Semakh, the southern end of the Lake forms a beautiful circular bay, which is enclosed by earth walls 16 to 32 ft. in height. There is deep water close in to the shore, and the currents manifestly wear away the rich alluvial soil. In so far as physical changes have taken place, we should expect that the land has suffered losses here, while there may have been slight gains by deposits on the shore of the plains of el-Batiha and el-Ghuweir (Gennesaret). What used to be the western outlet of the Jordan has also become silted up, for it must be remembered that in former times the Jordan flowed out from the two sides of a triangular island, now occupied by the ruins of Kerak—without doubt the remains of the once famous Taricheae (BJ iii. x. 1).
Compared with other lakes, the Sea of Galilee cannot be said to be deep. The maximum depth is from north to south along the course of the Jordan, and here it is 130 to 148 ft. according to the season [greater recorded depths have been proved to be in error], and except along the shores of the Plain of Gennesaret, deep water is reached all round the Lake within a few yards of the shore. The steep place at Kersa slopes down at once to a depth of 49 ft., and a short distance farther out the sounding gives 102 ft. A mile to the southeast of Tell Hûm the depth is 78 ft., and midway between Tiberias and Kersa it is 114.
One more notable feature of the Lake valley is to be found in the hot springs with which it abounds. The best known of these are at Hammam (cf. Josephus Vita, 16), south of Tiberias (132° to 144°), ‘Ain Bârideh (80°), ‘Ain Mudauwarah (73°), ‘Ain et-Tîn (82°), and ‘Ain et-Tâbigha (73° to 86°). Others certainly exist in the Lake itself. A brackish taste can be perceived at different places, and especially at a point ⅔ across between Tiberias and Kersa, where in the warmer water great shoals of fish are wont to congregate. It was probably the drinking from a spot of this kind that led Strabo (Geog. xvi. 45) to express so bad an opinion of the waters of the Lake (
Complaint has been made by some of the tameness of the scenery around the Lake, and of the want of picturesqueness of the hills; while, on the other hand, Seetzen (Reisen, in loc.) has declared that ‘in the whole land of Palestine there is no district whose natural charms could compare with those of this.’ There can be no doubt that much depends upon the season of the year when the district is first visited, as well as upon the expectations formed. In the present unwooded state, with its uncultivated fields and barren hills often, as at the north end of the Lake, washed down to the bare rock by the rains of centuries, there may be little to attract, especially when the whole country has been blackened by the summer suns and the burning siroccos. But even now the earliest rains change the whole aspect of nature. The hills and the valleys on both shores become clothed in a luxuriant greenness, while, as the season advances, the fresh bursting buds of the olive, the fig, the vine, and the pomegranate, with here and there a palm tree, add variety and pleasantness to the landscape. Very soon, too, the fields are covered with great patches of anemones of varied colours—white, red, purple, and deep dark-blue, interspersed with various species of the lily family and stretches of the dark green-leaved and yellow-flowered mustard, while the watercourses and shores of the Lake are marked out by the red blooms of the oleander with its dark-green and silvery-backed leaves; and on the western shore variety is added by the gigantic reeds of the papyrus, topped by their reddish-brown waving plumes; on the higher grounds, too, every crevice of the rock is shaded by the blossoms of the cyclamen and many another flower of the field. But what must it have been in the year a.d. 27–28? It had been passing through, was indeed still in the period of transition after, the desolations of war, famine, and pestilence; but the worst was now long past, and 20 years of uninterrupted peace and prosperity had made it blossom like the rose. There was nothing in the rule of the tetrarchs Antipas and Philip to discourage perseverance, so that the land was coming more and more under cultivation. It must have been beautiful, indeed, when human industry was developing all its resources and changing the whole scene into a blooming paradise. Nothing can give a better idea of what the whole district was becoming, than the classic passage in which Josephus (BJ iii. x. 8) describes the Plain of Gennesaret in his own day (see art. Gennesaret [Land of] in vol. i.).
With Josephus’ glowing description the Rabbis are in fullest harmony. Rish Laqish says: ‘If Paradise be in the land of Israel, Beth-Shan is its entrance’ (
But the district was not yet reduced to the calm beauty of a prosperous agricultural country. There would still be stretches of woodland remaining, tenanted by birds of brilliant colours and various forms. There would be here and there beautiful oaks, either singly or in groups, that had grown up during the years when the population was small (Baba Bathra v. 1). There would be rocky stretches, especially to the north-east of the Lake, covered with brambles, wild mustard, and coarse grass, or dotted with prickly bushes (nubk), where the wolf, the jackal, the fox, and the hyaena would make their homes, and where the brown serpent and the silvery-breasted poisonous snake would glide about.
The population would not be so dense nor the land so fully cultivated as in the days when Josephus wrote, so that there would be a more equal mingling of the wild beauties of nature with the advancing and taming conquests of agriculture. The landscape, too, was becoming varied by the presence of many buildings. It has been said that ‘the shores of the Lake seem to have borne cities and towns instead of harvests’ (Tristram, Land of Israel, 444); and this, understood in the light of what we have already said, is very true. These would for the most part be constructed of black stone, but varied at times by buildings of white marble, while even the polished granite of Syene helped to break the monotony; and although, on the whole, the majority of the buildings would be dull and sombre, still, in the midst of waving fields of green and gold, the presence of the humble village, and the beach sparkling with the houses and the palaces, the synagogues and the temples of Jewish and Roman inhabitants, would present a scene of great beauty, so that we can well understand how the wild desolations of the pre-Christian century, and the calm and peaceful years that followed the advent of the Messiah, combined to render the district more beautiful when Christ was a citizen of Capernaum than at any other time during its whole history.
iii. Climate.—The climate of the Jordan Valley is in many ways very peculiar. Its low level—the lowest depression in the world—gives it many characteristics which are all its own. The absence of all frost, and the general warmth throughout the whole year, explain to us fully the peculiar open-air life that we meet with in the Gospels. For the most part Christ speaks out of doors. So did the Rabbis of His time. Ben Azzai taught on the shores of Tiberias (Erubin, 29a), and Rabbi Jehudah in the open air (Moed Katon, 16a). In the Gospels the sick are freely carried about (Mat 4:23, Mar 2:3), are allowed to wait in the crowd (Luk 8:43 f.), and the people are indifferent if the night find them away from home (Mat 15:32, Mar 8:2-3). The average temperatures of the air (night and day) in January are 37° and 74° respectively, while in June they are 68° and 108°; but in July the thermometer frequently rises many degrees higher. The present writer has seen it at 106° at 6 a.m., and 139° has been recorded on the shore of the Lake at midday in August; and even the soil, the rocks, and the pebbles around the Lake side become so intensely heated that the bather must wait till long after sunset if he would enter the water without the risk of burning his feet. In such conditions, under the fiery glow of the sun and with months of drought, we can well understand that all the grass and herbage are burned up, and so in its present state of naked dreariness, visitors at such a season are naturally disappointed; but in other circumstances, and in days of universal irrigation, the whole scene would be very different (cf. Robinson’s Researches under 19th June). Another noteworthy point is that the temperature of the body may rise much higher in cases of fever, and without serious results, than would be possible in other climates, e.g. a temperature of 110° is not uncommonly recorded. This may explain the expression ‘great fever’ (
The temperature of the waters of the Lake does not vary so much as might be expected, and is very little lowered even by the melting of the snows on Hermon. This is to be accounted for by the fact that such waters have already passed through Lake Huleh and have also had a considerable course in the upper Jordan. The average to a depth of 30 ft. is 68°, from 30 to 50 ft. it is 62°, and at a greater depth there is a constant temperature of 59° (PEFSt
Rain.—The average number of rainy days during the year is 60, and the rainfall 22·5 inches. There is no rain during the months of June, July, August, and September. Two-thirds of the rainfall occurs in December, January, and February; the other months having only one to five days on which rain falls, which may mean either now and again, a whole day, or merely slight showers. The degree of humidity is greatest in January, when it stands at 77. It decreases till June, when it is 42; but in August, again, it has risen to 45; while in September it drops as low as 39.
Winds.—From May till October there are often sirocco days. They generally come 3, 7, or 10 at a time, though sometimes the hot wind lasts but one day, and then the day following brings a delightful sensation of coolness, enjoyment, and satisfaction. On the sirocco days the heat on the Lake and in the surrounding region is intensely depressing, but between the visits of the hot wind, westerly breezes blow in summer, and this makes the east side of the Lake pleasant. The western shore, however, south of Mejdel benefits little, as the winds pass over the protecting hills and strike the Sea far out, leaving the air inshore close and stifling. The north end of the Lake does not suffer to the same extent, because to the west of the Plain of Gennesaret the hills are somewhat lower and farther back, and, besides, the wind blows freely down the Valley of Pigeons, and gives the district around Capernaum all that the east side enjoys at such seasons. These westerly winds usually spring up in the afternoon, they become strong as the evening advances, but generally cease about 10 p.m. During the rest of the year the weather is more variable, and the winds blow from different directions. Strong winds sometimes come from the north-east, and when they diverge to the north and come over Hermon the temperature is still more reduced, and a sensation of chill is felt in the atmosphere. This sometimes occurs till well on in May; while, on the other hand, a hot south wind will sometimes blow up the Ghor (Jordan Valley) in April, bringing with it clouds of dust which dim the sunlight and darken the hills, giving one a premature sensation of the summer’s glow.
Storms.—The rainy season is generally introduced by thunderstorms. In October and November, small clouds, scarcely larger than a man’s hand, gather on Tabor, Jebel Jarmuk, and the other hills of Upper Galilee. They grow in size and in threatening aspect, and generally in three days’ time a violent thunderstorm with heavy rains bursts over the valley. This is then usually followed by a time of calm with a clear blue sky overhead. Such storms, but not generally so violent, occur from time to time during the winter, and the rainy season may be closed by something of the same nature. In the beginning of May the sky will be clouded, and there will be one or two days’ rain with or without thunder. Sometimes, however, when the valley has been enjoying the most peaceful calm, it will be affected by storms that have occurred elsewhere. The hills of Upper Galilee may have been hidden in dense mists for a day or two, but nothing has disturbed the peace of the Lake. There have been rains, however, on the high lands only a few hours distant, and these, forming themselves into mountain torrents, have come down, sweeping all before them (Mat 7:27, Luk 6:49) in their descent, and flooding what but a few minutes earlier had been a dry channel. The present writer has personally watched the Wady Rabadḯyeh and the Wady Leimôn, both of which cross the Plain of Gennesaret, as they became in an incredibly short time changed from little more than dry, stony river-beds to impassable foaming torrents; and, when the hills have been dark with clouds, has heard the warning given to get over these wadys ‘before the stream comes down.’
Storms may occur on the Lake at any season, and there are few places where changes come so suddenly. The experience of Lynch is that of every one who has spent any time here: ‘While pulling about the Lake, a squall swept down one of the ravines, and gave us a convincing proof of how soon the placid sea could assume an angry look’ (p. 164). The storms on the Sea of Galilee are in many ways peculiar, and sometimes the wind seems to blow from various directions at one time, tossing the boat about. This arises from the fact that the winds blow violently down the narrow gorges and strike the Sea at an angle, stirring the waters to a great depth. Many of the storms, too, are quite local in their character. This may be understood by the fact that when a westerly wind is blowing, all may be smooth along the shores to the north and south of Tiberias and for a mile out, but there we may pass in a moment from the region of perfect calm into a gale so violent that the only chance of safety is to run before the wind to the eastern shore. At other times the south end of the Lake may be comparatively peaceful, but, sailing northward, we no sooner reach Mejdel than the wind from Wady el-Hamâm will seize the sail, and, unless it be instantly lowered, overturn the boat. These winds are from the west, but it is generally the wind from the north-east that raises a general storm over the whole Sea. This wind blows right into the Sea from el-Batiha, and from this direction no part is sheltered. The suddenness, too, with which the storms spring up may be illustrated by a storm which came from this direction, and which the present writer observed. A company of visitors were standing on the shore at Tiberias, and, noting the glassy surface of the water and the smallness of the Lake, they expressed doubts as to the possibility of such storms as those described in the Gospels. Almost immediately the wind sprang up. In 20 minutes the sea was white with foam-crested waves. Great billows broke over the towers at the corners of the city walls, and the visitors were compelled to seek shelter from the blinding spray, though now 200 yards from the Lake side. It is further to be noted that the north end of the Lake, being less sheltered than the rest, is more subject to storms. Indeed, only in peculiar circumstances could it escape having a chief share in any storm.
These facts may now be used to illustrate the two occasions on which Jesus is recorded to have been on the Sea in a storm (Mat 8:23, Mar 4:37, Luk 8:23; and Mat 14:24, Mar 6:48, Joh 6:18). On the former of these the journey was from Capernaum to Gergesa, and the wind was from the north-east. Thus the boat was struck on its side, and so ‘the waves beat into the ship’ and it became ‘filled.’ On the second occasion they were attempting to pass from Bethsaida Julias to Capernaum. The wind was against them, blowing down the Wady Hamâm and over the Plain of Gennesaret, so that they were ‘toiling in rowing, for the wind was contrary.’ It is also made clear to us that, although the wind prevented their getting to Capernaum, it was not such as would prevent boats coming from Tiberias (Joh 6:18-24). Even in the height of the storm they could have, under the shelter of the western hills, proceeded as far as Mejdel, and thus come early upon the scene at any point at the north end of the Lake when once the storm was calmed.
It might be imagined that the cessation of the storms might mean simply the passing from an exposed and stormy to a calmer and protected region, but in both the cases recorded this is impossible. In the first instance, when the wind was from the north-east, the whole Sea would be disturbed; while in the latter case the Sea to the north of Mejdel would be all affectcd by the storm; and as the passage was between el-Batiha and the Plain of Gennesaret, the boat would not even approach the region of calm.
iv. Industries.—During the peaceful years of Christ’s ministry the whole Lake-basin was becoming a focus of life and energy. We have already indicated, by references to Josephus and the Rabbis, what the land was in the process of becoming in so far as agriculture was concerned. The tilling of the soil must have been a tempting occupation where the land was so fertile, so well watered everywhere, and enjoyed so much of the sunshine. Besides, it could be sown two and even three times in the year. At the present time in the plain of el-Batiha this is the case. After the corn harvest is gathered in, Indian corn may be sown; and when this also has ripened and been cleared off, the land and the season are ready for vegetables and water melons. The peculiar climate, too, ripens the harvest a month earlier than on the higher lands of Galilee and Bashan. The melons and the cucumbers are ready for use fully four weeks before those of Acre and Damascus, so that the prospect of greater gain by being able to anticipate the markets in all the larger towns must have been a powerful incentive to diligence when the means of transport were easier than now. We know that the fruits of Gennesaret were taken to Judaea (M. Ma‘aser Sheni ii. 3), though it is said that they were not allowed in Jerusalem, lest on account of their goodness they should form an inducement, apart from the spiritual one, for pilgrims to journey thither (Bab.
Then the Gospels set before us a very great activity in fishing. There was a Jewish tradition that the fishing in the Lake was to be free to all, subject to the one condition that stakes were not to be set that might impede the progress of boats; and tradition further said that the freedom had been conferred by Joshua (Baba Qama, 80b). Not only the statements of the NT, but the names of the towns and villages, lead us to the knowledge of activity in this direction. Thus we have two towns of the name of Bethsaida (‘Fisherrow’); a village called Migdol Nunia (‘Fish-tower’), probably situated at ‘Ain Baridch (Pesach. 46a), and the great city of Taricheae (‘Fish factory’) at the south end of the Lake. At Taricheae, as the name indicates, the fish were salted and dried, and to-day the salt can be seen here encrusted on the sand like hoarfrost. So far as the Mosaic law was concerned, the fish in the Sea of Galilee were all clean; but, as one passage in the Gospels draws a distinction between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ (Mat 13:47-48), it may be of interest to note that the Jews of the present day, for some superstitious reason, refuse to eat one kind named burbût (Lynch, p. 165). Josephus (Vita, 12) found that the fishers were a strong party in Tiberias also, so we may conclude that the boats that came thence were used for fishing (Joh 6:23).
The chief fishing ground to-day is in the neighbourhood of el-Batiha, and here the work is conducted in boats with drag-nets (
The fishing industry implied many others. Delitzsch (Handwerkleben zur Zeit Jesu) tells us that the fish from the Lake were sold in Jerusalem; and when we think of the greater refinement of the Apostle John, his acquaintance with the high priest (Joh 18:15), and his having a house in the Holy City (Joh 19:27), we feel almost compelled to infer with Nonnus that he had acted there as agent. The sale of fish in Jerusalem and elsewhere would mean the employment of a goodly number of muleteers, and in ordinary circumstances the Apostolic band would travel in such caravans, just as Joseph and Mary had previously done (Luk 2:44). We must get away from the idea that they always travelled on foot.
Then on the shore of the Lake itself the fishing industry implied boat-building and repairing, and this, amongst other things, may have helped to decide our Lord’s settlement in Capernaum, for there, as a carpenter, He could still from time to time exercise His own calling. At any rate, after He had settled here for some time, He was still known as ‘the carpenter’ (Mar 6:3). That this should be the case was quite in harmony with the practice of the teachers of those days. We find Rabbi Abin also working as a carpenter (naggâr), while Rabbi Ada and Rabbi Ise are said to have been fishers (zayyâdîn). To some extent also the boats may have been used for transport trade; but we are inclined to think that the fact that the two sides of the Lake belonged to two different tetrarchies, each with its own customs and taxation, would militate against this.
The Talmuds and Midrash bring to our notice other occupations carried on beside the Lake, especially at Magdala, a portion of which was named Migdol Zebaya (Erubin v. 7) from the dueing operations there conducted. So late as the year 1862, Sepp found this work still in existence, and indigo being grown in the fields of Mejdel. Then we read that there were 80 shops in the same town for the sale of linen (Taan. iv. 5), and we learn later that the linen of Galilee was fine (Baba Qama, 119a; Ber. Rab. c. 20). But perhaps of more interest than either of these is the fact that Magdala contained 300 shops for the sale of pigeons (Midr. Echa, 75d), which were used for purifications in the Temple (Luk 2:24). These pigeons would be captured among the overhanging rocks of Wady Hamâm, where they are so plentiful to-day, or trapped in nooses laid out in the adjoining fields (cf. Baba Qama vii.). These would be transferred to Jerusalem, where we learn that there were booths on the Mt. of Olives for the sale of such (Cholin, 53a), as well as in the Temple courts when the sellers had invaded the sacred precincts (Mat 21:12 etc.). In this connexion it is to be noted that when those who sold doves were driven out of the Temple they could not be ignorant of the personality and power of Him who expelled them. Magdala and the Mt. of Olives being thus connected, another item is cast into the balance in favour of some relationship between Mary of Magdala and the family of Bethany (cf. Baronius, Annales, cap. 32). It may also be interesting to note here a still further connexion, for in the year a.d. 67, when the Jewish war broke out, the Jews took occasion to destroy the booths on the Mt. of Olives because the occupants ‘established their doings on the Law, and did what was forbidden by the words of the wise’ (Cholin, 53a); and during the same year Magdala and other towns in Galilee were destroyed, and the epithets used in the reasons given seem to indicate that the inhabitants were Christian (Jerus.
v. Geography.—This has long been a vexed question, and is likely to remain so till excavating work is undertaken. The sites of Tiberias, Magdala, and Julias seem alone to be undisputed, so far as the Gospel history is concerned. The questions regarding the various sites will be treated each in its own place. The towns with which we are concerned were for the most part Jewish; but there were also Greek cities (
Roads.—The Sea of Galilee was in no sense in the 1st cent. what it is now, something of the nature of a retired mountain lake. On the contrary, it was kept in constant touch with the whole world. The western shore was one of the chief meeting-places of the world’s highways. The Via Maris (the Way of the Sea, Mat 4:15), a well-known trade route, along which the wealth of the East passed westward, touched its north-eastern shore. Paved portions of it still remain. Details of the network of highways meeting in this region will be found in their own place (see Roads); but we have to remark that the Jordan could be passed not only at the usual fords, but, during the spring and summer months, also by wading knee-deep along a kind of bar formed by pebbles and sand, where the river enters the Lake (Mat 14:13, Mar 6:33). Further, it is to be noted that most if not all of these roads were available not only for mules and camels, as in modern times, but also for vehicles, for we learn that on account of their quantity the contributions were sent from Magdala, Cabul, and Sogane to Jerusalem in waggons (Ta‘anith, iv. 5).
vi. Population.—We can now well understand the various classes of people who dwelt in and around this district. In the Greek towns the population would be chiefly Greek-speaking sojourners of mixed race—the Levantines of those days. The Roman soldiery would be there in considerable numbers as well as scattered through the towns, especially where customs were collected. There would be courtiers around the Herods in Tiberias and Julias—‘Herodians,’ as they were called; and they were, for the most part, Sadducecs. The publicans would have their headquarters in the two capitals, but they would be employed everywhere, and would be specially active at the north end of the Lake, on the great trade routes. There, too, the Pharisees and probably also the Essenes (BJ ii. viii. 4) would be chiefly in evidence. It is the population at this north end that chiefly concerns us; for amongst them the Lord dwelt, and there He had His own city (Mat 9:1). The people here were essentially Jewish, but there was a world of difference from the Judaism of Judaea. Graetz (ii. 148, English ed.) has well described this when he says: ‘Morality was stricter in Galilee, and the laws and customs more rigidly enforced. The slightest infringement was not allowed, and what the Judaeans permitted themselves the Galilaeans would by no means consent to.’ We might almost put it, Judaea had much of the semblance of piety, Galilee more of the reality. Indeed, their piety as Jews had already impressed even the heathen world (Luk 7:5). The Talmuds tell us that the Galilaean loved honour more than wealth, and that the contrary was the case in Judaea (Jerus.
Then it is to be noted that the people were to a certain extent bilingual. Judging from similar conditions in this district and elsewhere at the present day, we should say that the language of the homes and of the Jewish population among themselves was Aramaic, but that the men would generally be acquainted colloquially with the Hellenistic speech of the larger towns. The native language, too, had its own peculiarities (Mat 26:73), the chief of which was a remarkable confusion of the gutturals, which is repeatedly ridiculed in the Talmuds, where a notable example is given of a Galilaean being asked, when shouting on the street, whether he wished to sell ‘wool,’ ‘a sheep,’ ‘wine,’ or ‘a donkey’ (Bab.
To sum up, then, the population of this district was as manly, industrious, independent, moral, pious, and experienced in the world as any in Palestine. It was among men who were morally right that our Lord chose to settle. It was such that He made His first disciples, and finally His Apostles. Had these been willing to compromise conscience, they might easily have passed into easier walks of life. In the full strength of early manhood, they might have had a share in the settlement of Tiberias (Ant. xviii. ii. 3), but they had resisted that temptation. It is true that Matthew the publican (Mat 10:3) was among them, but it is to be remembered that here he did not serve an alien like the publicani in Judaea. The taxes he collected would go to the coffers of Antipas in Tiberias (Titus Livius, 32 F; Cicero, in Verr. ii. 72), and they would be drawn from the tax on goods passing along the highways as well as on the fish from the Lake, as at the present day. This latter fact suggests a peculiar relationship between Matthew and the ‘fisher-folk’ among the Twelve, and a still more interesting one between him and Simon the Zealot, who had fought against these taxes.
We conclude by observing that, as no land in the world save Palestine could have given us the Bible, no part of the land save this, with its wealth of recent historical association and variety in nature, from the torrid heat of el-Ghuweir to the perennial snows of Hermon, could so well have suited the Great Teacher in His appeal to men of every kindred and every clime. In its calm beauty it was in many ways worthy of the presence of the Son of Man, and it presents us with a beautiful picture of many aspects of His life and character. It deserved all that Jew and Gentile said in its praise even in their playing with its names—Tiberias
Literature.—Hasting’s Dictionary of the Bible and Encyc. Bibl. art. ‘Galilee, Sea of’; G. A. Smith, HGHL
Wm. M. Christie.
SEA OF GALILEE.—See Galilee [Sea of].
A lake in Palestine, about 13 miles long, and 7.5 miles wide, which lies in the Jordan gorge. In the time of Our Lord, vines and fig-trees and thick forests surrounded it, the nearby plains yielded rich harvests twice a year, and many cities were situated on its shores. Today they are barren and desolate, with only a few straggling villages. The Sea of Galilee is closely connected with the life of Our Lord: He came and went from one side to another with His disciples, to spread His teaching and perform miracles; commanded the winds and sea, and there came a great calm (Matthew 8); walked on its surface (Matthew 14); and explained the parables (Matthew 13). There took place the two miraculous draughts of fishes, after the first of which the Apostles were called (Luke 5) and after the second Peter was made Vicar of Jesus Christ on earth (John 21). On another occasion a tax was paid through a miraculous catch (Matthew 17).
See GALILEE, SEA OF.
The Sea of Galilee is a freshwater lake in northern Palestine. It is approximately twenty kilometres long, twelve kilometres wide, and about two hundred metres below sea level. In Bible times it was known also as the Sea of Chinnereth (Num 34:11), the Lake of Gennesaret (Luk 5:1) and the Sea of Tiberias (Joh 6:1; Joh 6:16-25; Joh 21:1). (For details see PALESTINE, sub-heading ‘Upper Jordan and Sea of Galilee’.)
The Sea of Galilee is a large body of water in Palestine. It has had many names in its history. In the Old Testament, the Sea of Galilee was known as:
the Sea of Chinnereth,
Chinneroth (Joshua 12:3), or
Kinnereth (Numbers 34:11).
It was named for a nearby town called Chinnereth (Joshua 19:35).
Later, the name was changed to Lake of Gennesaret. The city of Gennesaret was located on the site of Chinnereth or Tell Ureime (Luke 5:1; 1 Maccabees 11:67). The most familiar name, the Sea of Galilee, was because of its connection with the province of Galilee to the west (Matthew 4:18).
It was also sometimes called the Sea of Tiberias (John 6:1, 23; 21:1) because the town of Tiberias was located on its southwestern shore. In about AD 26, Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great, built the town near the warm springs of Hamath by the sea and named it for the emperor Tiberias. In the Gospels "the sea" usually means the Sea of Galilee. Its modern Hebrew name is Yam Kinneret.
Where Is the Sea of Galilee?
The sea is in the lower section of the Jordan Valley about 96.5 kilometers (60 miles) north of Jerusalem, located in a range of mountains. The mountains of Upper Galilee are northwest of the lake. The mountains rise to a height of 1,219.2 meters (4,000 feet) above sea level. The mountains on the east and west reach lower elevations, about 609.6 meters (2,000 feet). On the west, south, and east is the Decapolis, a group of influential city-states founded during a period of Greek settlement.
At the northwest corner of the lake, the mountain wall flattens into the rich plain of Gennesaret. On the east at 609.6 meters (2,000 feet) above sea level, it gives way to the fertile El Batihah (a marshy plain) in the northeast, where the Jordan enters the sea. At the time of the New Testament, the Sea of Galilee was surrounded by the towns of Capernaum, Bethsaida, Korazin, Magdala, Tiberias, and others.
The sea is a major part of the Jordan River. The Jordan River feeds it with water from the snow-covered Mount Hermon (over 2,743.2 meters, or 9,000 feet, above sea level) and the Lebanon mountains. In its 104.6-kilometer (65-mile) course from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea, the Jordan River drops 179.8 meters (590 feet), an average of about 1.7 meters per kilometer (or nine feet per mile).
What Is the Sea of Galilee Like?
The lake is about 20.9 kilometers or 13 miles long and 9.7 kilometers or 6 miles wide. It is 12.1 kilometers (7.5 miles) at its broadest point opposite Magdala. Its elevation is almost 213.4 meters (700 feet) below the Mediterranean Sea. Its greatest depth is 60.9 meters (200 feet). Its shape resembles a harp (a musical instrument with strings stretched over a triangular frame). Some scholars think the name Chinnereth comes from a Hebrew word meaning "harp."
The climate is semi-tropical. Because of this climate, and the sulphur springs at Tiberias, the lake became a resort site for healing. The rich fish population made fishing an important industry (Matthew 4:18–22; Mark 1:16–20; Luke 5:9–11). Sudden and violent storms, caused by the meeting of warm and cold air, are common (Matthew 8:23–27; Mark 4:35–41; Luke 8:22–25).
Why Is the Sea of Galilee Important?
Most of the events of the life of Jesus took place in Galilee, most especially around Gennesaret, a densely populated area of Palestine. Jesus may have lived in Capernaum (Matthew 4:13). He performed many miracles in this area (11:23).
Because the area on the west of the lake was a health resort, Jesus found many sick people there and healed them (Mark 1:32–34; 6:53–56). Other important events in the area included:
the Sermon on the Mount, traditionally near Capernaum (Matthew 5:1 and following; compare 8:1, 5);
the drowning of the swine in the region of the Gadarenes (Matthew 8:28–34);
the curse on Korazin (Matthew 11:21);
the calming of the sea (Matthew 8:23–27; Mark 4:35–41; Luke 8:22–24); and
Jesus walking on the water (Matthew 14:22–23; Mark 6:45–51; John 6:16–21).
Aquifer Open Bible Dictionary © 2026 Mission Mutual, an adaptation of the Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary © 2023 Tyndale House Publishers. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.