Galilee, Sea of

(Matt. 4:18; 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; Josh. 12:3; 13:27), as is supposed from its harp-like shape. (2). The “lake of Gennesareth” once by Luke (5:1), from the flat district lying on its west coast. (3.) John (6:1; 21:1) calls it the “sea of Tiberias” (q.v.). The modern Arabs retain this name, Bahr Tabariyeh. This lake is 12 1/2 miles long, and from 4 to 7 1/2 broad. Its 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 from its source. In this distance of 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” (Matt. 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” (Matt. 4:18, 22; Mark 1:16-20; Luke 5: 1-11). He stilled its tempest, saying to the storm that swept over it, “Peace, be still” (Matt. 8:23-27; Mark 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.”

So called from the province of Galilee, which bordered on the western side. (Matthew 4:18) It was also called the “Sea of Tiberias,” from the celebrated city of that name. (John 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.” (Luke 5:1) It was called in the Old Testament “the Sea of Chinnereth” or “Cinneroth,” (Numbers 34:11; Joshua 12:3) from a town of that name which stood on or near its shore. (Joshua 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.

GALILEE, SEA OF, a small lake of deep interest to the Bible-reader as the scene of some of the most remarkable works of Jesus. The lake is named from the district or province of Galilee. It was known by several other names, as the sea of Chinnereth, Num 34:11; Deut 3:17, or Chinneroth. Josh 11:2; 1 Chr 12:3, or Cinneroth, 1 Kgs 15:20, probably from a town of that name which stood on its shore. Josh 19:35; the lake of "Gennezareth," which is a form of the name also given to the sea by many authors, is not found in the A.V. of our English Bible.Gennesaret, Luke 5:1, from the plain or land of that name on its north-western side. Matt 14:34; Mark 6:53; the sea of Tiberias, from the celebrated city of that name, John 6:1; and the sea, Matt 4:15. It is also called Gennesar in the Apocryjphal book of Maccabees, 1 Mace. 11:67. Its present name is Bahr Tabariyeh. It is worthy of note that all the towns whose names were applied to this lake were situated upon its western side. Situation and Extent. — This sea is 60 miles north-east from Jerusalem, and 27 east of the Mediterranean Sea. Its form is an irregular oval or pear-shape, the broad end being toward the north. Its length is 12 1/2 miles according to Wilson, 16 1/2 according to Baedeker, and its breadth from 4 to 7 1/2 miles. Its level varies at different seasons, and is from 600 to 700 feet below the Mediterranean, the mean depression being about 626 feet, and its depth 160 feet. Physical Features. — The lake is surrounded by an almost continuous wall of hills, broken or receding occasionally, as at Tiberias, the plain of Gennesaret, and at the Jordan. The hills are of limestone, basalt, and volcanic rocks, indications of volcanic action being also specially abundant in the Jordanic chasm, though Wilson sees nothing to indicate a volcanic origin of the lake. Hot springs abound; earthquakes are frequent. The Jordan runs through the lake, coloring its water for a mile. The water of the lake is slightly salty, but drunk by the people. Fish abound, many species having been found. Tristram says: "The shoals were marvellous black masses of many hundred yards long, with the black fins projecting out of the water as thickly as they could pack. No wonder that any net should break which enclosed such a shoal! Yet though the lake swarms with fish as I could not have believed water could swarm, there are but two boats existing on its whole extent besides a ferry-boat." (Land of Israel, p. 430.) Baedeker notes three miserable fishing-boats. These are all that are left to remind the traveller of the numerous boats which our Saviour saw on the Sea of Galilee. Josephus describes a naval engagement which took place on its waters between the Jews and the soldiers of Vespasian. Violent and Sketch-Map of the Sea of Galilee. (Palestine Exploration Fund.) sudden storms are common now on the lake, as in our Lord's day. Scripture History. — This lake is mentioned in the O.T. but seldom, and then rather incidentally, as in Num 34:11; Deut 3:17; Josh 11:2; 1 Chr 12:3; 1 Kgs 15:20. Its chief interest is its association with the public ministry of our Saviour. Upon its shores was "his own city," Matt 9:1; from fishing-boats on Galilee he called Simon Peter and his brother Andrew, and his partners James and John, who were thenceforth "to catch men," Matt 4:18,Matt 4:22; Mark 1:16-20; Luke 5:1-11; on it he stilled the tempest and made the winds and the sea obev him. Matt 8:23-27; Matt 14:22-33; see also Matt 17:27; Mark 7:31-35; at the Sea of Tiberias Christ also showed himself to the disciples after his resurrection. John 21. Of the nine or more populous cities which stood upon its shores, the more important were Bethsaida, Capernaum, Chorazin, Tiberias, and Magdala. Present Appearance. — Porter gives an eloquent description of the lake as it appeared to him from his tent-door, on a lovely spot, at evening: " The silence was profound. Even Nature seemed to have fallen asleep. The river glided noiselessly past; the sea was spread before me like a polished mirror. . . . East of the lake the side of Bashan's lofty plateau rose as a mountain-chain, and at its northern end my eye rested on the very scene of that miracle of mercy where thousands were fed, and at its southern end on that of the miracle of judgment, where 'the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place, and perished in the waters.' Away to the west the shattered ramparts of Tiberias seemed to rise out of the bosom of the lake, and behind them a dark mountain, in whose caverned cliffs repose the ashes of many a learned rabbin, while over all appeared the graceful rounded top of Tabor. Farther to the right, on the white strand, I saw the huts of Magdala, with the coast of Gennesaret extending from it northward to Capernaum — Christ's own city." At the present time the lake is almost utterly forsaken: only three or four fisher-boats can be found there; while at the time of Christ it was covered with sailing-vessels, and the surrounding western shore (the plain of Gennesaret) was, according to the glowing description of Josephus, a paradise of beauty and fertility. F.R. and C.R. Conder describe the famous sea as pear-shaped, and resembling in size the English lake Windermere. They add: "It is surrounded with precipices of limestone, except on the north, where a shelving slope leads to the shore from a plateau of basalt extending from the foot of the highest range of Upper Galilee. The scenery of the lake is bare, and much tamer The Sea of Galilee from Tiberias. (After original Photograph.) than that of the Dead Sea. The beach is narrow except on the north-west, where the cliffs recede, leaving a fertile plain (Gennesaret), 2 1/2 miles long and 1 mile broad, watered by several fine springs. The pebbly open shore on the north is broken into numerous bays, and is fringed with dark oleander bushes. On the south-eastern side is a palm-grove, and a few palms dot the western shore. The ruddy cliffs on the west and the steep slopes on the east are bare and desolate, but the sweet waters of the lake, in calm weather mirroring the surrounding hills and shining in the sun, present a beautiful scene, especially at evening. The sea is remarkable for its shoals of fish, for the violence of its sudden thunder-storms, and for the hot springs along its shores. The neighborhood of the lake is also peculiarly subject to volcanic disturbances." —Handbook of the Bible, p. 215 (1879). The Rev. Dr. S. Manning encountered a sudden and violent storm on this lake, illustrating many of the details of N.T. history: "I had taken a boat, on a bright, cloudless morning, to explore the eastern shores and the point where the Jordan enters the lake. There was not a ripple on the water, not a perceptible current in the air. Almost without warning, the wind rose: the waves, crested with foam, began to break over the sides of the boat. I was sitting on a cushion, or 'pillow,' on the flat, raised stern, 'in the hinder part of the ship,' and watched the crew 'toiling and rowing.' But all their efforts were in vain. They were unable to make any way, for 'the wind was contrary.' At length one of them jumped overboard, and, partly swimming, partly wading, towed the vessel ashore." —Holy Fields, p. 205. Capt. Wilson experienced a similar sudden storm.