Galilee, Sea of

Gal'ilee, Sea of. So called from the province of Galilee, which bordered on the western side. Mat_4:18. It was also called the "Sea of Tiberias", from the celebrated city of that name. Joh_6:1. At its northwestern angle was a beautiful and fertile plain called "Gennesaret," and from that it derived the name of "Lake of Gennesaret". Luk_5:1. It was called, in the Old Testament, "the Sea of Chinnereth" or "the Sea of Cinneroth", Num_34:11; Jos_12:3, from a town of that name which stood on or near its shore. Jos_19:35. Its modern name is Bahr Tubariyeh.

Most of our Lord's public life was spent in the environs of this sea. The surrounding region was, then, the most densely peopled in all Palestine. No less than nine very populous cities stood on the very shores of the lake. The Sea of Galilee is of an oval long and six broad. It is 60 miles northeast of Jerusalem and 27 east of the Mediterranean Sea. The river Jordan enters it at its northern end and passes out at its southern end. In fact the bed of the lake is just a lower section of the Great Jordan valley.

Its more remarkable feature is its deep depression, being no less than 700 feet below the level of the ocean. The scenery is bleak and monotonous, being surrounded by a high and almost unbroken wall of hills, on account of which it is exposed to frequent sudden and violent storms. The great depression makes the climate of the shores almost tropical. This is very sensibly felt by the traveller in going down from the plains of Galilee.

In summer, the heat is intense, and even in early spring, the air has something of an Egyptian balminess. The water of the lake is sweet, cool and transparent; and as the beach is everywhere pebbly is has a beautiful sparkling look. It abounds in fish now, as in ancient times. There were large fisheries on the lake, and much commerce was carried on upon it.

Source: Smith’s Bible Dictionary

Galilee, Sea of

(ἡ θάλασσα τῆς Γαλιλαίας, hē thálassa tḗs Galilaías):

1. The Name

This is the name 5 times given in the New Testament (Mat_4:18; Mat_15:29; Mar_1:16; Mar_7:31; Joh_6:1) to the sheet of water which is elsewhere called “the sea of Tiberias” (Joh_21:1; compare Joh_6:1); “the lake of Gennesaret” (Luk_5:1); “the sea” (Joh_6:16, etc.), and “the lake” (Luk_5:1, etc.). The Old Testament names were “sea of Chinnereth” (ים־כּנּרת, yam-kinneretȟ: Num_34:11; Deu_3:17; Jos_13:27; Jos_19:35), and “sea of Chinneroth” (ים־כּנרות, yam-kin^erōtȟ: Jos_12:3; compare Jos_11:2; 1Ki_15:20). In 1 Macc 11:67 the sea is called “the water of Gennesar” (the Revised Version (British and American) “Gennesareth”). It had begun to be named from the city so recently built on its western shore even in New Testament times (Joh_21:1; Joh_6:1); and by this name, slightly modified, it is known to this day - Baḥr Ṭabarīyeh.

2. General Description

The sea lies in the deep trough of the Jordan valley, almost due East of the Bay of Acre. The surface is 680 ft. below the level of the Mediterranean. It varies in depth from 130 ft. to 148 ft., being deepest along the course of the Jordan (Barrois, PEFS, 1894, 211-20). From the point where the Jordan enters in the North to its exit in the South is about 13 miles. The greatest breadth is in the North, from el-Mejdel to the mouth of Wādy Semak being rather over 7 miles. It gradually narrows toward the South, taking the shape of a gigantic pear, with a decided bulge to the West. The water of the lake is clear and sweet. The natives use it for all purposes, esteeming it light and pleasant. They refuse to drink from the Jordan, alleging that “who drinks Jordan drinks fever.” Seen from the mountains the broad sheet appears a beautiful blue; so that, in the season of greenery, it is no exaggeration to describe it as a sapphire in a setting of emerald. It lights up the landscape as the eye does the human face; and it is often spoken of as “the eye of Galilee.” To one descending from Mt. Tabor and approaching the edge of the great hollow, on a bright spring day, when the land has already assumed its fairest garments, the view of the sea, as it breaks upon the vision in almost its whole extent, is one never to be forgotten. The mountains on the East and on the West rise to about 2,000 ft. The heights of Naphtali, piled up in the North, seem to culminate only in the snowy summit of Great Hermon. If the waters are still, the shining splendors of the mountain may be seen mirrored in the blue depths. Round the greater part of the lake there is a broad pebbly beach, with a sprinkling of small shells. On the sands along the shore from el-Mejdel to ‛Ain et-Tīneh these shells are so numerous as to cause a white glister in the sunlight.

The main formation of the surrounding district is limestone. It is overlaid with lava; and here and there around the lake there are outcrops of basalt through the limestone. At eṭ-Tābgha in the North, at ‛Ain el Fulīyeh, South of el-Mejdel, and on the shore, about 2 miles South of modern Tiberias, there are strong hot springs. These things, together with the frequent, and sometimes terribly destructive, earthquakes, sufficiently attest the volcanic character of the region. The soil on the level parts around the sea is exceedingly fertile. See GENNESARET, LAND OF. Naturally the temperature in the valley is higher than that of the uplands; and here wheat and barley are harvested about a month earlier. Frost is not quite unknown; but no one now alive remembers it to have done more than lay the most delicate fringe of ice around some of the stones on the shore. The fig and the vine are still cultivated with success. Where vegetable gardens are planted they yield plentifully. A few palms are still to be seen. The indigo plant is grown in the plain of Gennesaret. In their season the wild flowers lavish a wealth of lovely colors upon the surrounding slopes; while bright-blossoming oleanders fringe the shore.

Coming westward from the point where the Jordan enters the lake, the mountains approach within a short distance of the sea. On the shore, fully 2 miles from the Jordan, are the ruins of Tell Ḥūm. See CAPERNAUM. About 2 miles farther West are the hot springs of eṭ-Tabgha. Here a shallow vale breaks northward, bounded on the West by Tell ‛Areimeh. This tell is crowned by an ancient Canaanite settlement. It throws out a rocky promontory into the sea, and beyond this are the ruins of Khān Minyeh, with ‛Ain et-Tīneh close under the cliff. Important Roman remains have recently been discovered here. From this point the plain of Gennesaret (el-Ghuweir) sweeps round to el-Mejdel, a distance of about 4 miles. West of this village opens the tremendous gorge, Wādy el Ḥamām, with the famous robbers' fastnesses in its precipitous sides, and the ruins of Arbela on its southern lip. From the northern parts of the lake the Horns of Ḥaṭṭīn, the traditional Mount of Beatitudes, may be seen through the rocky jaws of the gorge. South of el-Mejdel the mountains advance to the shore, and the path is cut in the face of the slope, bringing us to the hot spring, ‛Ain el-Fulīyeh, where is a little valley, with gardens and orange grove. The road then crosses a second promontory, and proceeds along the base of the mountain to Tiberias. Here the mountains recede from the shore, leaving a crescent-shaped plain, largely covered with the ruins of the ancient city. The modern town stands at the northern corner of the plain; while at the southern end are the famous hot baths, the ancient Hammath. A narrow ribbon of plain between the mountain and the shore runs to the South end of the lake. There the Jordan, issuing from the sea, almost surrounds the mound on which are the ruins of Kerak, the Tarichea of Josephus Crossing the floor of the valley, past Semakh, which is now a station on the Haifa-Damascus railway, we find a similar strip of plain along the eastern shore. Nearly opposite Tiberias is the stronghold of Ḳal‛at el Ḥoṣn, possibly the ancient Hippos, with the village of Fīḳ, the ancient Aphek, on the height to the East. To the North of this the waters of the sea almost touch the foot of the steep slope. A herd of swine running headlong down the mountain would here inevitably perish in the lake (Mat_8:32, etc.). Next, we reach the mouth of Wādy Semak, in which lie the ruins of Kurseh, probably representing the ancient Gerasa. Northward the plain widens into the marshy breadths of el-Baṭeiḥah, and once more we reach the Jordan, flowing smoothly through the fiat lands to the sea.

3. Storms

The position of the lake makes it liable to sudden storms, the cool air from the uplands rushing down the gorges with great violence and tossing the waters in tumultuous billows. Such storms are fairly frequent, and as they are attended with danger to small craft, the boatmen are constantly on the alert. Save in very settled conditions they will not venture far from the shore. Occasionally, however, tempests break over the lake, in which a boat could hardly live. Only twice in over 5 years the present writer witnessed such a hurricane. Once it burst from the South. In a few moments the air was thick with mist, through which one could hear the roar of the tortured waters. In about ten minutes the wind fell as suddenly as it had risen. The air cleared, and the wide welter of foam-crested waves attested the fury of the blast. On the second occasion the wind blew from the East, and the phenomena described above were practically repeated.

4. Fish

The sea contains many varieties of fish in great numbers. The fishing industry was evidently pursued to profit in the days of Christ. Zebedee was able to hire men to assist him (Mar_1:20). In recent years there has been a considerable revival of this industry. See FISHING. Four of the apostles, and these the chief, had been brought up as fishermen on the Sea of Galilee. Peter and Andrew, James and John.

The towns around the lake named in Scripture are treated in separate articles. Some of these it is impossible to identify. Many are the ruins of great and splendid cities on slope and height of which almost nothing is known today. But from their mute testimony we gather that the lake in the valley which is now so quiet was once the center of a busy and prosperous population. We may assume that the cities named in the Gospels were mainly Jewish. Jesus would naturally avoid those in which Greek influences were strong. In most cases they have gone, leaving not even their names with any certainty behind; but His memory abides forever. The lake and mountains are, in main outline, such as His eyes beheld. This it is that lends its highest charm to “the eye of Galilee.”

The advent of the railway has stirred afresh the pulses of life in the valley. A steamer plies on the sea between the station at Semakh and Tiberias. Superior buildings are rising outside the ancient walls. Gardens and orchards are being planted. Modern methods of agriculture are being employed in the Jewish colonies, which are rapidly increasing in number. Slowly, perhaps, but surely, the old order is giving place to the new. If freedom and security be enjoyed in reasonable measure, the region will again display its long-hidden treasures of fertility and beauty.

Source: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

Galilee, Sea of

Mat_4:18; Mat_15:29), is mentioned in the Bible under three other names.

(1.) In the Old Testament it is called the “sea of Chinnereth” (Num_34:11; Jos_12:3; Jos_13:27), as is supposed from its harp-like shape.

(2.). The “lake of Gennesareth” once by Luke (Luk_5:1), from the flat district lying on its west coast.

(3.) John (Joh_6:1; Joh_21:1) calls it the “sea of Tiberias” (q.v.). The modern Arabs retain this name, Bahr Tabariyeh.

See map, of the Sea of Galilee

This lake is 12 1/2 miles long, and from 4 to 7 1/2 broad. It surface is 682 feet below the level of the Mediterranean. Its depth is from 80 to 160 feet. The Jordan enters it 10 1/2 miles below the southern extremity of the Huleh Lake, or about 26 1/2 miles there is a fall in the river of 1,682 feet, or of more than 60 feet to the mile. It is 27 miles east of the Mediterranean, and about 60 miles north-east of Jerusalem. It is of an oval shape, and abounds in fish.

Its present appearance is thus described: “The utter loneliness and absolute stillness of the scene are exceedingly impressive. It seems as if all nature had gone to rest, languishing under the scorching heat. How different it was in the days of our Lord! Then all was life and bustle along the shores; the cities and villages that thickly studded them resounded with the hum of a busy population; while from hill-side and corn-field came the cheerful cry of shepherd and ploughman. The lake, too, was dotted with dark fishing-boats and spangled with white sails. Now a mournful, solitary silence reigns over sea and shore. The cities are in ruins!”

This sea is chiefly of interest as associated with the public ministry of our Lord. Capernaum, “his own city” (Mat_9:1), stood on its shores. From among the fishermen who plied their calling on its waters he chose Peter and his brother Andrew, and James and John, to be disciples, and sent them forth to be “fishers of men” (Mat_4:18, Mat_4:22; Mar_1:16-20; Luk_5:1-11). He stilled its tempest, saying to the storm that swept over it, “Peace, be still” (Mat_8:23-27; Mar_7:31-35); and here also he showed himself after his resurrection to his disciples (John 21).

“The Sea of Galilee is indeed the cradle of the gospel. The subterranean fires of nature prepared a lake basin, through which a river afterwards ran, keeping its waters always fresh. In this basin a vast quantity of shell-fish swarmed, and multiplied to such an extent that they formed the food of an extraordinary profusion of fish. The great variety and abundance of the fish in the lake attracted to its shores a larger and more varied population than existed elsewhere in Palestine, whereby this secluded district was brought into contact with all parts of the world. And this large and varied population, with access to all nations and countries, attracted the Lord Jesus, and induced him to make this spot the centre of his public ministry.”

Source: Easton’s Bible Dictionary