Galilee

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wheel; revolution
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary


GALILEE
1. Position.—Galilee was the province of Palestine north of Samaria. It was bounded southward by the Carmel range and the southern border of the plain of Esdraelon, whence it stretched eastward by Bethshean (Scythopolis, Beisan) to the Jordan. Eastward it was limited by the Jordan and the western bank of its expansions (the Sea of Galilee and Waters of Merom). Northward and to the north-west it was bounded by Syria and Phœnicia; it reached the sea only in the region round the bay of Acca, and immediately north of it. Its maximum extent therefore was somewhere about 60 miles north to south, and 30 east to west.
2. Name.—The name Galilee is of Hebrew origin, and signifies a ‘ring’ or ‘circuit.’ The name is a contraction of a fuller expression, preserved by Isa_9:1, namely, ‘Galilee of the [foreign] nations.’ This was originally the name of the district at the northern boundary of Israel, which was a frontier surrounded by foreigners on three sides. Thence it spread southward, till already by Isaiah’s time it included the region of the sea, i.e. the Sea of Galilee. Its further extension southward, to include the plain of Esdraelon, took place before the Maccabæan period. The attributive ‘of the nations’ was probably dropped about this time—partly for brevity, partly because it was brought into the Jewish State by its conquest by John Hyrcanus, about the end of the 2nd cent. b.c.
3. History.—In the tribal partition of the country the territory of Galilee was divided among the septs of Asher, Naphtali, Zebulun, and part of Issachar. In the OT history the tribal designations are generally used when subdivisions of the country are denoted; this is no doubt the reason why the name ‘Galilee,’ which is not a tribal name, occurs so rarely in the Hebrew Scriptures—though the passage in Isaiah already quoted, as well as the references to Kedesh and other cities ‘in Galilee’ (Jos_20:7; Jos_21:32, 1Ki_9:11, 2Ki_15:29, 1Ch_6:76), show that the name was familiar and employed upon occasion. But though some of the most important of the historical events of the early Hebrew history took place within the borders of Galilee, it cannot be said to have had a history of its own till later times.
After the return of the Jews from the Exile, the population was concentrated for the greater part in Judæa, and the northern parts of Palestine were left to the descendants of the settlers established by Assyria. It was not till its conquest, probably by Joho Hyrcanus, that it was once more included in Jewish territory and occupied by Jewish settlers. Under the pressure of Egyptian and Roman invaders the national patriotism developed rapidly, and it became as intensely a Jewish State as Jerusalem itself, notwithstanding the contempt with which the haughty inhabitants of Judæa regarded the northern provincials. Under the Roman domination Galilee was governed as a tetrarchate, held by members of the Herod family. Herod the Great was ruler of Galilee in b.c. 47, and was succeeded by his son Antipas, as tetrarch, in b.c. 4. After the fall of Jerusalem, Galilee became the centre of Rabhinic life. The only ancient remains of Jewish synagogues are to be seen among the ruins of Galilæan cities. Maimonides was buried at Tiberias. But it is as the principal theatre of Christ’s life and work that Galilee commands its greatest interest. Almost the whole of His life, from His settlement as an infant in Nazareth, was spent within its borders. The great majority of the twelve Apostles were also natives of this province.
4. Physical Characteristics.—Owing to moisture derived from the Lehanon mountains, Galilee is the best-watered district of Palestine, and abounds in streams and springs, though the actual rainfall is little greater than that of Judæa. The result of this enhanced water supply is seen in the fertility of the soil, which is far greater than anywhere in Southern Palestine. It was famous for oil, wheat, barley, and fruit, as well as cattle. The Sea of Galilee fisheries were also important. The formation of the country is limestone, broken by frequent dykes and outflows of trap and other volcanic rocks. Hot springs at Tiberias and elsewhere, and not infrequent earthquakes, indicate a continuance of volcanic and analogous energies.
5. Population.—Galilee in the time of Christ was inhabited by a mixed population. There was the native Jewish element, grafted no doubt on a substratum of the Assyrian settlers and other immigrants, whose intrusion dated from the Israelite Exile—with probably yet a lower stratum, stretching back to the days of the Canaanites. Besides these there was the cultivated European class—the inhabitants of the Greek cities that surrounded the Sea of Tiberias, and the military representatives of the dominant power of Rome. We have seen that in Judæa the Galilæans were looked down upon. ‘Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?’ (Joh_1:46) was one proverb. ‘Out of Galilee ariseth no prophet’ (Joh_7:52) was another, in the face of the fact that Galilee was the home of Deborah, Barak, Ibzan, Tola, Elon, with the prophets Jonah, Elisha, and possibly Hosea. The Galilæans no doubt had provincialisms, such as the confusion of the gutturals in speech, which grated on the sensitive ears of the Judæans, and was one of the indications that betrayed Peter when he endeavoured to deny his discipleship (Mat_26:73).
R. A. S. Macalister.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
Edited by James Hastings, D.D. Published in 1909


Galilee from galil. "A circle" or "circuit" around Kedesh Naphtali, in which lay the 20 towns given by Solomon to Hiram, king of Tyre, in payment for his having conveyed timber from Lebanon to Jerusalem (Jos_20:7; 1Ki_9:11). The northern part of Naphtali (which lay N. of Zebulun) was inhabited by a mixed race of Jews and Gentiles of the bordering Phoenician race (Jdg_1:30; 1Ki_9:11). Tiglath Pileser carried away captive its Israelite population to Assyria; then Esarhaddon colonized it with pagan (2Ki_15:29; 2Ki_17:24; Ezr_4:2; Ezr_4:10). Hence called (Isa_9:1) "Galilee of the nations," or "Gentiles" (Mat_4:13; Mat_4:15-16). During and after the captivity the Gentile element became the preponderating population, and spread widely; and the province included in our Lord's days all the ancient Issachar, Zebulun, Asher, and Naphtali.
The most northerly of the three provinces of Palestine, namely, Galilee, Samaria, Judaea (Joh_4:3-4; Luk_17:11; Act_9:31). Galilee's Gentile character caused the southern Jews of purer blood to despise it (Joh_1:46; Joh_7:52); but its very darkness was the Lord's reason for vouchsafing to it more of the light of His presence and ministry than to self-satisfied and privileged Judaea. There He first publicly preached, in Nazareth synagogue. From it came His apostles (Act_1:11; Act_2:7); foretold in Deu_33:18-19; Deu_33:23. Compare on Pentecost Act_2:7; Psa_68:27-28. Jerusalem, the theocratic capital, might readily have known Messiah; to compensate less favored Galilee He ministered mostly there. Galilee's debasement made its people feel their need of the Savior, a feeling unknown to the self right. cons Jews (Mat_9:13).
"The Light to lighten the Gentiles, and the Glory of His people Israel," appropriately ministered on the border land between Israel and the Gentiles, still on Israel's territory, to which He was primarily sent (Mat_15:24). Places and persons despised of men are honored of God. The region the first to be darkened by the Assyrian invasion was cheered by the prophet's assurance that it should be the first enlightened by Immanuel (1Co_1:27-29). Its population being the densest of any part of Palestine, and its freedom from priestly and pharisaic prejudice, were additional grounds for its receiving the larger share of His ministry. It was bounded on the W. by the region of Ptolemais (Acre), namely, the plain of Akka to the foot of Carmel. The Jordan, the sea of Galilee, lake Huleh, and the spring at Dan, was the eastern border. The northern boundary reached from Dan westward to Phoenicia (Luk_8:26).
The southern border ran along the base of Carmel and the Samaritan hills to mount Gilboa, then along the valley of Jezreel by Scythopolis (Bethshean) to Jordan. Probably the cleansing of the ten lepers took place near Jenin, the border town of Galilee toward Samaria, near the S. of the sea of Galilee. Jebel Jermuk is the highest mountain, 4,000 ft. above the sea. There were two divisions:
I. Lower Galilee was the whole region from the plain of Akka on the W. to the lake of Galilee on the E., including the rich plain of Esdraelon, the heritage of Issachar, who submitted to servitude, to "tribute," for the sake of the rich plenty that accompanied it (Gen_49:14-15; Deu_33:18). "Rejoice Zebulun in thy going out (thy mercantile enterprises by sea and fishing in the lake of Galilee), and Issachar in thy tents (in thy inland prosperity, agriculture and home comforts) they shall suck of the abundance of the seas (the riches of the sea in general, and the purple dye extracted from the murex here) and of treasures hid in the sand" (the sand of these coasts being especially valuable for manufacturing glass, a precious thing anciently: Job_28:17).
"They shall call the people unto the mountain," etc.: Zebulun and Issachar shall offer their wealth at the Lord's appointed mount, and invite Gentile nations to join them (Psa_22:27-28, etc.). The conversion of the Gentiles, brought in to Israel and Israel's Savior, is herein prophetically typified (compare Isa_60:5-6; Isa_60:16; Isa_66:11-12). Asher "dips his feet in oil," i.e. abounds in olive groves. "Fat bread" and "royal dainties" are his, grain, wine, milk, butter, from his uplands and valleys (Gen_49:20; Deu_33:24-25). "Thy shoes iron and brass," i.e. thy hills shall yield these metals (Deu_8:9). "As thy days (so shall) thy strength (be)," i.e., as thy several days come (throughout life) strength will be given thee," Compare 1Ki_8:59 margin.
II. Upper Galilee extended from Bersabe on the S. to the village of Baca, bordering on Tyre, and from Meloth on the W. to Thella, near Jordan (Josephus, B. J., 3:3, sec. 1); in fact, the whole mountain range between the upper Jordan and Phoenicia. Its southern border extended from the N.W. of the sea of Galilee to the plain of Akka. This upper Galilee is chiefly meant by "Galilee of the Gentiles." The ravine of the Leonres separates the mountain range of upper Galilee from Lebanon, of which it is a southern prolongation. Safed is the chief town. The scenery is bolder and richer than that of southern Palestine. On the table land of upper Galilee lie the ruins of Kedesh Naphtali (Jos_20:7).
Bochart, altering the vowel points, translated Gen_49:21, "Naphtali is a spreading terebinth, which puts forth goodly branches"; for the country of Kedesh Naphtali is a natural park of oaks and terebinths. As Nazareth was the scene of our Lord's childhood, so Capernaum in Galilee was for long the home of His manhood (Mat_4:13; Mat_9:1). (See CAPERNAUM.) The three former, or the Synoptic Gospels chiefly present our Lord's ministry in Galilee; the Gospel of John His ministry in Judea. His parables in John and in the three Synoptists correspond to the features of Judaea and Galilee respectively. The vineyard, fig tree, shepherd, and desert where the man fell among thieves, were appropriate in Judaea; the grainfields (Mar_4:28), the merchants and fisheries (Mat_13:45; Mat_13:47), and the flowers (Mat_6:28), suited Galilee.
The Galilean accent and dialect were unique, owing to Gentile admixture (Mat_26:73). After Herod the Great's death Herod Antipas governed Galilee until six years after Christ's crucifixion. Herod Agrippa, with the title of "king," succeeded. On his death (Act_12:23) Galilee was joined to the Roman province of Syria. After the fall of Jerusalem Galilee became famed for its rabbis and schools of Jewish learning; and the Sanhedrim or great council was removed to Sepphoris, and then to Tiberias. Rabbi Judah Haqodesh here compiled the Mishna, to which the Gemara was subsequently added. The remains of splendid synagogues in Galilee still attest the prosperity of the Jews from the second to the seventh century.
Fausset's Bible Dictionary
By Andrew Robert Fausset, co-Author of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown's 1888.


Gal'ilee. (circuit). This name, which, in the Roman age, was applied to a large province, seems to have been originally confined to a little "circuit" of country round Kedesh-Naphtali, in which were situated the twenty towns given by Solomon to Hiram king of Tyre as payment for his work in conveying timber from Lebanon to Jerusalem. Jos_20:7; 1Ki_9:11.
In the time of our Lord, all Palestine was divided into three provinces; Judea, Samaria and Galilee. Luk_17:11; Act_9:31. Joseph. B.J. Iii. 3. The latter included the whole northern section of the country, including the ancient territories of Issachar, Zebulun, Asher and Naphtali. On the west, it was bounded by the territory of Ptolemais, which probably included the whole plain of Akka to the foot of Carmel. The southern border ran along the base of Carmel and of the hills of Samaria to Mount Gilboa, and then descended the valley of Jezreel by Scythopolis to the Jordan. The river Jordan, the Sea of Galilee, and the upper Jordan to the fountain at Dan, formed the eastern border; and the northern ran from Dan westward across the mountain ridge till it touched the territory of the Phoenicians.
Galilee was divided into two sections, "Lower" and "Upper." Lower Galilee included the great plain of Esdraelon with its offshoots, which ran down to the Jordan and the Lake of Tiberias, and the whole of the hill country adjoining it on the north to the foot of the mountain range. It was thus one of the richest and most beautiful sections of Pales-tine. Upper Galilee embraced the whole mountain range lying between the upper Jordan and Phoenicia. To this region, the name "Galilee of the Gentiles" is given in the Old and New Testaments. Isa_9:1; Mat_4:16.
Galilee was the scene of the greater part of our Lord's private life and public acts. It is a remarkable fact that the first three Gospels are chiefly taken up with our Lord's ministrations in this province, while the Gospel of John dwells more upon those in Judea.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
By Dr. William Smith.Published in 1863


was one of the most extensive provinces into which the Holy Land was divided. It exceeded Judea in extent, but probably varied in its limits at different times. This province is divided by the rabbins into, 1. The Upper; 2. The Nether; and 3. The Valley. Josephus divides it into only Upper and Lower; and he says that the limits of Galilee were, on the south, Samaria and Scythopolis, unto the flood of Jordan. Galilee contained four tribes, Issachar, Zebulun, Naphtali, and Asher; a part, also, of Dan, and part of Persia, that is, beyond the river. Upper Galilee abounded in mountains. Lower Galilee, which contained the tribes of Zebulun and Asher, was sometimes called the Great Field, “the champaign,”
Deu_11:30. The Valley was adjacent to the sea of Tiberias. Josephus describes Galilee as very populous, and containing two hundred and four cities and towns. It was also very rich, and paid two hundred talents in tribute. The natives were brave and good soldiers; but they were seditious, and prone to insolence and rebellion. In the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, the inhabitants of Galilee and Peraea are scarcely mentioned, whether they were Jews returned from Babylon, or a mixture of different nations. The language of these regions differed considerably from that of Judea; as did various customs, in which each followed its own mode. Our Lord so frequently visited Galilee, that he was called a Galilean, Mat_26:69. The population of Galilee being very great, he had many opportunities of doing good in this country; and, being there out of the power of the priests at Jerusalem, he seems to have preferred it as his abode. Nazareth and Capernaum were in this division. From such a mixture of people, many provincialisms might be expected. Hence, we find Peter detected by his language, probably by his phraseology, as well as his pronunciation, Mar_14:70. Upper Galilee had Mount Lebanon and the countries of Tyre and Sidon on the north; the Mediterranean Sea on the west; Abilene, Ituraea, and the country of the Decapolis, on the east; and Lower Galilee on the south. Its principal city was Caesarea Philippi. This part of Galilee, being less inhabited by Jews, was thence called Galilee of the Nations, or of the Gentiles. Lower Galilee had the upper division of the same country to the north; the Mediterranean on the west; the sea of Galilee, or lake of Gennesareth, on the east; and Samaria on the south. Its principal cities were Tiberias, Chorazin, Bethsaida, Nazareth, Cana, Capernaum, Nain, Caesarea of Palestine, and Ptolemais. This district was of all others most honoured with the presence of our Saviour. Here he was conceived; here he was brought back by his mother and reputed father, after their return from Egypt; here he lived with them till he was thirty years of age; and, although after his entrance on his public ministry he frequently visited the other provinces, it was here that he chiefly resided. Here, also, he made his first appearance after his resurrection to his Apostles, who were themselves natives of the same country, and were thence called men of Galilee.
GALILEE, Sea of. This inland sea, or more properly lake, which derives its several names, the lake of Tiberias, the sea of Galilee, and the lake of Gennesareth, from the territory which forms its western and south-western border, is computed to be between seventeen and eighteen miles in length, and from five to six in breadth. The mountains on the east come close to its shore, and the country on that side has not a very agreeable aspect: on the west, it has the plain of Tiberias, the high ground of the plain of Hutin, or Hottein, the plain of Gennesareth, and the foot of those hills by which you ascend to the high mountain of Saphet. To the north and south it has a plain country, or valley. There is a current throughout the whole breadth of the lake, even to the shore; and the passage of the Jordan through it is discernible by the smoothness of the surface in that part. Various travellers have given different accounts of its general aspect. According to Captain Mangles, the land about it has no striking features, and the scenery is altogether devoid of character. “It appeared,” he says, “to particular disadvantage to us, after those beautiful lakes we had seen in Switzerland; but it becomes a very interesting object when you consider the frequent allusions to it in the Gospel narrative.” Dr. Clarke, on the contrary, speaks of the uncommon grandeur of this memorable scenery. “The lake of Gennesareth,” he says, “is surrounded by objects well calculated to heighten the solemn impressions made by such recollections, and affords one of the most striking prospects in the Holy Land. Speaking of it comparatively, it may be described as longer and finer than any of our Cumberland and Westmoreland lakes, although perhaps inferior to Loch Lomond. It does not possess the vastness of the lake of Geneva, although it much resembles it in certain points of view. In picturesque beauty, it comes nearest to the lake of Locarno, in Italy, although it is destitute of any thing similar to the islands by which that majestic piece of water is adorned. It is inferior in magnitude, and in the height of its surrounding mountains, to the Lake Asphaltites.” Mr. Buckingham may perhaps be considered as having given the most accurate account, and one which reconciles, in some degree, the differing statements above cited, when, speaking of the lake as seen from Tel Hoom, he says, that its appearance is grand, but that the barren aspect of the mountains on each side, and the total absence of wood, give a cast of dulness to the picture: this is increased to melancholy by the dead calm of its waters, and the silence which reigns throughout its whole extent, where not a boat or vessel of any kind is to be found. The situation of the lake, lying, as it were, in a deep basin between the hills which enclose it on all sides, excepting only the narrow entrance and outlets of the Jordan at either end, protects its waters from long-continued tempests: its surface is in general as smooth as that of the Dead Sea. But the same local features render it occasionally subject to whirlwinds, squalls, and sudden gusts from the mountains, of short duration; especially when the strong current formed by the Jordan is opposed by a wind of this description from the south-east, sweeping from the mountains with the force of a hurricane, it may easily be conceived that a boisterous sea must be instantly raised, which the small vessels of the country would be unable to resist. A storm of this description is plainly denoted by the language of the evangelist, in recounting one of our Lord's miracles: “There came down a storm of wind on the lake, and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water; and they ceased, and there was a calm,”
Luk_8:23-24. There were fleets of some force on this lake during the wars of the Jews with the Romans, and very bloody battles were fought between them. Josephus gives a particular account of a naval engagement between the Romans under Vespasian, and the Jews who had revolted during the administration of Agrippa. Titus and Trajan were both present, and Vespasian himself was on board the Roman fleet. The rebel force consisted of an immense multitude, who, as fugitives after the capture of Tarichaea by Titus, had sought refuge on the water. The vessels in which the Romans defeated them were built for the occasion, and yet were larger than the Jewish ships. The victory was followed by so terrible a slaughter of the Jews, that nothing was to be seen, either on the lake or its shores, but the blood and mangled corpses of the slain; and the air was infected by the number of dead bodies. Six thousand five hundred persons are stated to have perished in this naval engagement, and in the battle of Tarichaea, beside twelve hundred who were afterward massacred in cold blood, by order of Vespasian, in the amphitheatre at Tiberias, and a vast number who were given to Agrippa as slaves.
Biblical and Theological Dictionary by Richard Watson
PRINTER 1849.


Galilee was the northern section of Palestine. It was a mountainous region that extended from the Lake of Galilee north to the Lebanon Ranges and west to the coastal plain. The Old Testament barely mentions it by name, since it was not in those days a distinct political territory. When the Old Testament refers to places in Galilee, it usually mentions them according to their location in the tribal areas of the region – Dan, Naphtali, Issachar, Zebulun and Asher (Jos_20:7; Isa_9:1; cf. Mat_4:12-15).

In New Testament times Galilee was a clearly defined region and a province of the Roman Empire. It fell within the sub-kingdom of Herod Antipas (Mar_6:14-29; Luk_3:1; Luk_23:6-12) and his successor Herod Agrippa I (Act_12:20), but was under the overall rule of Rome. (For details see HEROD.)
The population of Galilee was a mixture of Jews and Gentiles, and this was one reason why the strict Jews of Judea despised the Galilean Jews (Joh_7:41; Joh_7:52). Added to this, Galilee was cut off from Judea by the territory of the Samaritans, a people of mixed blood and mixed religion who hated, and were hated by, the Jews (Luk_9:51-56; Joh_4:3-4; Joh_4:9).
Jesus grew up in Galilee (see NAZARETH) and spent most of the three and a half years of his public ministry there (Mat_2:22-23; Mat_3:13; Mat_4:12-16; Mat_4:23; Mat_15:29; Mat_17:22; Mat_19:1; Mat_21:11; Mat_26:32; Mat_26:69; Mat_27:55; Mat_28:7; Mat_28:16). Towns of Galilee that feature in the story of Jesus are Caesarea Philippi in the far north (Mat_16:13), Capernaum, Bethsaida, Chorazin, Magdala and Tiberias around the Lake of Galilee (Mat_4:13; Mat_11:21-23; Mat_27:56; Mar_6:45; Joh_6:17; Joh_6:23), and Nazareth, Cana and Nain in the hill country south of the lake (Luk_2:39; Luk_4:16; Luk_7:11; Joh_2:1-11; Joh_4:46; Joh_21:2). (For further details see separate entries under the names of these towns. For details of the physical features of Galilee see PALESTINE.)
Bridgeway Bible Dictionary by Don Fleming
PRINTER 1990.


gal?i-lē (הגּליל, ha-gālı̄l, הגּלילה, hagelı̄lāh, literally, ?the circuit? or ?district?; ἡ Γαλιλαία, hē Galilaı́a):
1. Galilee of the Nations
Kedesh, the city of refuge, is described as lying in Galilee, in Mt. Naphtali (Jos_20:7; compare Jos_21:32). The name seems originally to have referred to the territory of Naphtali. Joshua's victorious campaign in the north (Josh 11), and, subsequently, the triumph of the northern tribes under Deborah and Barak (Jdg 4 f) gave Israel supremacy; yet the tribe of Naphtali was not able to drive out all the former inhabitants of the land (Jdg_1:33). In the time of Solomon the name applied to a much wider region, including the territory of Asher. In this land lay the cities given by Solomon to Hiram (1Ki_9:11). Cabul here named must be identical with that of Jos_19:27. The Asherites also failed to possess certain cities in their allotted portion, so that the heathen continued to dwell among them. To this state of things, probably, is due the name given in Isa_9:1 to this region, ?Galilee of the nations,? i.e. a district occupied by a mixed population of Jews and heathen. It may also be referred to in Jos_12:23, where possibly we should read ?king of the nations of Galilee? (legālı̄l), instead of ?Gilgal? (begilgāl). Yet it was within this territory that, according to 2Sa_20:18 (Septuagint) lay the two cities noted for their preservation of ancient Israelite religious customs in their purity - Abel-bethmaacah and Dan.
2. Ancient Boundaries
There is nothing to guide us as to the northern boundary of Galilee in the earliest times. On the East it was bounded by the upper Jordan and the Sea of Galilee, and on the South by the plain of el-Baṭṭauf. That all within these limits belonged to Galilee we may be sure. Possibly, however, it included Zebulun, which seems to be reckoned to it in Isa_9:1. In this territory also there were unconquered Canaanite cities (Jdg 1, 30).
3. Before the Exile
At the instigation of Asa, king of Judah, Benhadad, son of Tabrimmon of Damascus, moved against Israel, and the cities which he smote all lay within the circle of Galilee (1Ki_15:20). Galilee must have been the arena of conflict between Jehoahaz and Hazael, king of Syria. The cities which the latter captured were recovered from his son Benhadad by Joash, who defeated him three times (2Ki_10:32; 2Ki_13:22). The affliction of Israel nevertheless continued ?very bitter,? and God saved them by the hand of Jeroboam son of Joash, the great warrior monarch of the Northern Kingdom, under whom Galilee passed completely into the hands of Israel (2Ki_14:25). But the days of Israel's supremacy in Northern Palestine were nearly over. The beginning of the end came with the invasion of Tiglath-pileser III, who took the chief cities in Galilee, and sent their inhabitants captive to Assyria (2Ki_14:29). Probably, as in the case of the Southern Kingdom, the poorest of the land were left as husbandmen. At any rate there still remained Israelites in the district (2Ch_30:10 f); but the measures taken by the conqueror must have made for the rapid increase of the heathen element.
4. After the Exile
In post-exilie times Galilee is the name given to the most northerly of the three divisions of Western Palestine. The boundaries are indicated by Josephus (BJ, III, iii, 1). It was divided into Lower and Upper Galilee, and was encompassed by Phoenicia and Syria. It marched with Ptolemais and Mt. Carmel on the West. The mountain, formerly Galliean, now belonged to the Syrians. On the South it adjoined Samaria and Scythopolis (Beisān) as far as the river Jordan. It was bounded on the East by Hippene, Gadara, Gaulonitis and the borders of the kingdom of Agrippa, while the northern frontier was marked by Tyre and the country of the Tyrians. The northern limit of Samaria was Ginea, the modern Jenı̄n, on the south border of Esdraelon. Lower Galilee, therefore, included the great plain, and stretched northward to the plain of er-Rāmeh - Ramah of Jos_19:36. Josephus mentions Bersabe, the modern Abu-Shebā, and the Talmud, Kephar Ḥănanyāh, the modern Kefr ‛Anan, as the northern border; the former being about a mile North of the latter. The plain reaches to the foot of the mountain chain, which, running East and West, forms a natural line of division. Upper Galilee may have included the land as far as the gorge of the Liṭāny, which, again, would have formed a natural boundary to the N. Josephus, however, speaks of Kedesh as belonging to the Syrians (BJ, II, xviii, 1), situated ?between the land of the Tyrians and Galilee? (Ant., XIII, v, 6). This gives a point on the northern frontier in his time; but the rest is left indefinite. Guthe, Sunday and others, followed by Cheyne (EB, under the word), on quite inadequate grounds conclude that certain localities on the East of the Sea of Galilee were reckoned as Galilean.
5. Character of the Galileans
In the mixed population after the exile the purely Jewish element must have been relatively small. In 165 bc Simon Maccabeus was able to rescue them from their threatening neighbors by carrying the whole community away to Judea (1 Macc 5:14ff). Josephus tells of the conquest by Aristobulus I of Ituraea (Ant., XIII, xi, 3). He compelled many of them to adopt Jewish religious customs, and to obey the Jewish law. There can be little doubt that Galilee and its people were treated in the same way. While Jewish in their religion, and in their patriotism too, as subsequent history showed, the population of Galilee was composed of strangely mingled elements - Aramaean, Iturean, Phoenician and Greek In the circumstances they could not be expected to prove such sticklers for high orthodoxy as the Judeans. Their mixed origin explains the differences in speech which distinguished them from their brethren in the South, who regarded Galilee and the Galileans with a certain proud contempt (Joh_1:46; Joh_7:52). But a fine type of manhood was developed among the peasant farmers of the two Galilees which, according to Josephus (BJ, III, iii, 2), were ?always able to make a strong resistance on all occasions of war; for the Galileans are inured to war from their infancy ... nor hath the country ever been destitute of men of courage.? Josephus, himself a Galilean, knew his countrymen well, and on them he mainly relied in the war with Rome. In Galilee also the Messianic hope was cherished with the deepest intensity. When the Messiah appeared, with His own Galilean upbringing, it was from the north-countrymen that He received the warmest welcome, and among them His appeal elicited the most gratifying response.
6. Later History
In 47 bc, Herod the Great, then a youth of 25, was made military commander of Galilee, and won great applause by the fashion in which he suppressed a band of robbers who had long vexed the country (Ant., XIV, ix, 2). When Herod came to the throne, 37 bc, a period of peace and prosperity for Galilee began, which lasted till the banishment of his son Antipas in 40 ad. The tetrarchy of Galilee was given to the latter at his father's death, 4 bc. His reign, therefore, covered the whole life of Jesus, with the exception of His infancy. After the banishment of Antipas, Galilee was added to the dominions of Agrippa I, who ruled it till his death in 44 ad. Then followed a period of Roman administration, after which it was given to Agrippa II, who sided with the Romans in the subsequent wars, and held his position till 100 ad. The patriotic people, however, by no means submitted to his guidance. In their heroic struggle for independence, the command of the two Galilees, with Gamala, was entrusted to Josephus, who has left a vivid narrative, well illustrating the splendid courage of his freedom-loving countrymen. But against such an adversary as Rome even their wild bravery could not prevail; and the country soon lay at the feet of the victorious Vespasian, 67 ad. There is no certain knowledge of the part played by Galilee in the rebellion under Hadrian, 132-35 ad.
At the beginning of the Roman period Sepphoris (Ṣafūriyeh), about 3 miles North of Nazareth, took the leading place. Herod Antipas, however, built a new city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, which, in honor of the reigning emperor, he called Tiberias. Here he reared his ?golden house,? and made the city the capital of his tetrarchy. See TIBERIAS. After the fall of Jerusalem, Galilee, which had formerly been held in contempt, became the home of Jewish learning, and its chief seat was found in Tiberias where the Mishna was committed to writing, and the Jerusalem Talmud was composed. Thus a city into which at first no pious Jew would enter, in a province which had long been despised by the leaders of the nation, became the main center of their national and religious life.
7. Cities of Galilee
Among the more notable cities in Galilee were Kedesh Naphtali, the city of refuge, the ruins of which lie on the heights West of el-Ḥuleh; Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum, North of the Sea of Galilee; Nazareth, the city of the Savior's youth and young manhood; Jotapata, the scene of Josephus' heroic defense against the Romans, which stood at Tell Jefāt, North of the plain of Asochis (BJ, III, vii, viii); Cana of Galilee; and Nain, on the northern slope of the mountain now called Little Hermon.
8. General Description
In physical features Galilee is the most richly diversified and picturesque district in Western Palestine; while in beauty and fertility it is strongly contrasted with the barren uplands of Judah. Cut off from Mt. Lebanon in the North by the tremendous gorge of the Liṭāny, it forms a broad and high plateau, sinking gradually southward until it approaches Ṣafed, when again it rises, culminating in Jebel Jermuk, the highest summit on the West of the Jordan. From Ṣafed there is a rapid descent by stony slope and rocky precipice to the shore of the Sea of Galilee. The mountains of which Jebel Jermuk is the Northeast outrunner stretch westward across the country, and drop upon the plain of er-Rameh to the South. Irregular hills and valleys, with breadths of shady woodlands, lie between this plain and that of Asochis (el-Baṭṭauf). The latter is split from the East by the range of Jebel Tor‛ān. South of Asochis rise lower hills, in a cup-like hollow among which lies the town of Nazareth. South of the town they sink steeply into the plain of Esdraelon. The isolated form of Tabor stands out on the East, while Carmel bounds the view on the West. The high plateau in the North terminates abruptly at the lip of the upper Jordan valley. As the Jordan runs close to the base of the eastern hills, practically all this valley, with its fine rolling downs, is included in Galilee. The plain of Gennesaret runs along the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee. From the uplands to the West, stretching from Ḳurūn Ḥattı̄n (the traditional Mount of Beatitudes) to the neighborhood of Tabor, the land lets itself down in a series of broad and fertile terraces, falling at last almost precipitously on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. The descent toward the Mediterranean is much more gradual; and the soil gathered in the longer valleys is deep and rich.
The district may be described as comparatively well watered. The Jordan with its mighty springs is, of course, too low for purposes of irrigation. But there are many perennial streams fed by fountains among the hills. The springs at Jenin are the main sources of the river Kishon, but for the greater part of its course through the plain the bed of that river is far below the surface of the adjoining land. The dews that descend from Lebanon and Hermon are also a perpetual source of moisture and refreshment.
9. Products
Galilee was famous in ancient times for its rich and fruitful soil, ?full of the plantations of trees of all sorts, insomuch that it invites the most slothful to pains in its cultivation by its fruitfulness; accordingly it is all cultivated by its inhabitants, and no part of it lies idle? (BJ, III, iii, 2). See also GENNESARET, LAND OF. The grapes grown in Naphtali were in high repute, as were the pomegranates of Shikmona - the Sykaminos of Josephus - which stood on the shore near Mt. Carmel. The silver sheen of the olive meets the eye in almost every valley; and the olive oil produced in Galilee has always been esteemed of the highest excellence. Its wheat fields also yielded an abundant supply, the wheat of Chorazin being proverbial. The great plain of Esdraelon must also have furnished rich provision. It cannot be doubted that Galilee was largely drawn upon for the gifts in kind which Solomon bestowed upon the king of Tyre (2Ch_2:10). At a much later day the inhabitants of Tyre and Sidon depended upon the produce of Galilee (Act_12:20).
Galilee was in easy touch with the outside world by means of the roads that traversed her valleys, crossed her ridges and ran out eastward, westward and southward. Thus she was connected with the harbors on the Phoenician seaboard, with Egypt on the South, with Damascus on the Northeast, and with the markets of the East by the great caravan routes (see ?Roads? under PALESTINE).
10. Contact with the Outside World
In the days of Christ the coming and going of the merchantmen, the passing of armies and the movements of the representatives of the Empire, must have made these highways a scene of perpetual activity, touching the dwellers in Galilee with the widening influences of the great world's life.
11. Population
The peasant farmers of Galilee, we have seen, were a bold and enterprising race. Encouraged by the fruitfulness of their country, they were industrious cultivators of the soil. Josephus estimates the population at 3,000,000. This may be an exaggeration; but here we have all the conditions necessary for the support of a numerous and prosperous people. This helps us to understand the crowds that gathered round and followed Jesus in this district, where the greater part of His public life was spent. The cities, towns and villages in Galilee are frequently referred to in the Gospels. That the Jewish population in the centuries immediately after Christ was numerous and wealthy is sufficiently proved by the remains from those times, especially the ruins of synagogues, e.g. those at Tell Ḥūm, Kerāzeh, Irbid, el-Jish, Kefr Bir‛im, Meirōn, etc. Near the last named is shown the tomb of the great Jewish teacher Hillel.
Galilee was not without her own heroic memories. The great battlefields of Megiddo, Gilboa, and the waters of Merom lay within her borders; and among the famous men of the past she could claim Barak, Ibzan, Elon and Tola of the judges; of the prophets, Jonah and Elisha at least; possibly also Hosea who, according to a Jewish tradition, died in Babylon, but was brought to Galilee and buried in Ṣafed (Neubauer, Geog. der Talmud, 227). When the chief priests and Pharisees said, ?Search, and see that out of Galilee ariseth no prophet,? it argued strange and inexcusable ignorance on their part (Joh_7:52). Perhaps, however, in this place we should read ὁ Προφήτης, ho prophḗtēs, ?the prophet,? i.e. the Messiah. It is significant that 11 out of the 12 apostles were Galileans.
For detailed description of the country, see ISSACHAR; ASHER; ZEBULUN and NAPHTALI; see also GALILEE, SEA OF.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
PRINTER 1915.


Gal?ilee, the name given to one of the three principal divisions of Palestine, the other two being Judea and Samaria. This name of the region was very ancient. It occurs in the Hebrew forms of Galil and Galilah, Jos_20:7; Jos_21:3; 1Ki_9:11; 2Ki_15:29; and in Isa_9:1 we have 'Galilee of the nations;' 1Ma_5:15; Mat_4:15.
Galilee was the northernmost of the three divisions, and was divided into Upper and Lower. The former district had Mount Lebanon and the countries of Tyre and Sidon on the north; the Mediterranean Sea on the west; Abilene, Itur?a, and the country of Decapolis on the east; and Lower Galilee on the south. This was the portion of Galilee which was distinctively called 'Galilee of the nations,' or of the 'Gentiles,' from its having a more mixed population, i.e. less purely Jewish than the others. Caesarea Philippi was its principal city. Lower Galilee had Upper Galilee on the north, the Mediterranean on the west, the Sea of Galilee or Lake of Gennesareth on the east, and Samaria on the south. Its principal towns were Tiberias, Chorazin, Bethsaida, Nazareth, Cana, Capernaum, Nain, Caesarea of Palestine, and Ptolemais. This is the district which was of all others the most honored with the presence of our Savior. Here he lived entirely until he was thirty years of age; and although, after the commencement of his ministry, he frequently visited the other provinces, it was here that he chiefly resided. Here also he made his first appearance to the Apostles after his resurrection; for they were all of them natives of this region, and had returned hither after the sad events at Jerusalem (Mat_28:7).
Hence the disciples of Christ were called 'Galileans.' They were easily recognized as such; for the Galileans spoke a dialect of the vernacular Syriac different from that of Judea, and which was of course accounted rude and impure, as all provincial dialects are considered to be, in comparison with that of the metropolis. It was this which occasioned the detection of St. Peter as one of Christ's disciples (Mar_14:70). The Galilean dialect was of a broad and rustic tone, which affected the pronunciation not only of letters but of words.
The Galileans are mentioned by Josephus as a turbulent and rebellious people, ready on all occasions to rise against the Roman authority. This character of them explains what is said in Luk_13:1, with regard to 'the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.' Josephus, indeed, does not mention any Galileans slain in the Temple by Pilate; but the character which he gives that people sufficiently corroborates the statement. The tumults to which he alludes were, as we know, chiefly raised at the great festivals, when sacrifices were slain in great abundance; and on all such occasions the Galileans were much more active than the men of Judea and Jerusalem, as is proved by the history of Archelaus, which case, indeed, furnishes an answer to those who deny that the Galileans attended the feasts with the rest of the Jews.
This seditious character of the Galileans also explains why Pilate, when sitting in judgment upon Jesus, caught at the word Galilee when used by the chief priests, and asked if he were a Galilean (Luk_23:6). To be known to belong to that country was of itself sufficient to prejudice Pilate against him, and to give some countenance to the charges, unsupported by impartial evidence, which were preferred against him, and which; Pilate himself had, just before, virtually declared to be false.
The Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature
by John Kitto.


Galilee
(Γαλιλαία, often in the N.T. and Apocrypha, as well as Josephus), the rendering also in a few passages (Jos_20:7; Jos_21:32; 1Ki_9:11; 1Ch_6:76; Isa_9:1) of the Heb. גָּלַיל, galil' (fem. גְּלַילָה, gelilah', 2Ki_15:29), which prop. signifies a circle (e.g., a ring, Est_1:6; Son_5:14), or circuit of country, i.e., one of the little circular plains among the hills of northern Palestine, such as is now seen near edesh. SEE TOPOGRAPHICAL TERMS. As a special locality, it is first mentioned by Joshesa, who describes Kedesh as "is Galilee in Mount Naphtahi" (20:7). Its limited extent is indicated in 2Ki_15:29, where the historian, detailing the conquests of Tiglath-pileser, states that "he took Ijon, and Abel-Beth-Maachah, and Janaoh, and Kedesh and Hazor and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtalai." Galilee, therefore, did not extend beyond the bounds of Naphtali; and a comparison with other passages shows that it embraced only the northern section of that tribe, or at least that the name was at first confined to that district (Jos_20:7; Jos_21:32; Josepheus, Ant. 5:1, 18). The region thus lay on the summit of a broad mountain ridge. Here were situated the towns which Solomon offered to Hiram as payment for his services in procuring timber and stones for the Temple. Hiram, however, whose great want was grain for his island city, and who doubtless expected a portion of some of the rich plains of central Palestine, could not conceal his disappointment when he saw the mountain towns and their rugged environs, and declined them as useless (1Ki_9:11, and 2Ch_8:2). SEE CABUL. At this period, Galilee, though within the allotted territory of Naphtali, does not appear to have been occupied by the Israelites. It was only after Hiram had declined the towns that Solomon rebuilt and colonized them (2 Chronicles l.c.). Hazor, the great stronghold and capital of the northern Canaanites, lay within or near Galilee; and, though Joshua had captured and burned it (Joshua 11), yet during the rule of the judges it was possessed by a king, Jabin, whose general, Sisera, dwelt in the neighboring Harosheth of the Gentiles (Judges 4). The presence of these powerful and war-like tribes, and the natural strength of the country, sufficiently account for the continued occupation of the old Gentile inhabitants. David subdued, but did not expel them. Solomon, as has been seen, took some of their towns; but they remained among these rugged mountains in such numbers that in the time of Insaiah the district was definitely known by the name of "Galilee of the Gentiles" (גּלַיל הִגּוֹיַם, Isa_9:1 : in Mat_4:15, Γαλιλαία τῶν ἐθνῶν in Macc. 5:15, Γαλιλαία ἀλλοφύλων). It is probable that the strangers increased in number, and became during the captivity the great body of the inhabitants; extending themselves also over the surrounding comsntry, they gave to their new territories the old name, until at length Galilee became one of the largest provinces of Palestine. In the time of the Maccabees, Galilee contained only a few Jews living in the midst of a large heathen population (1Ma_5:20-23); Strabo states that in his day it was chiefly inhabited by Syrians, Phoenicians, and Arabs (16, page 760); and Josephus says Greeks also dwelt in its cities (Life, 12). The name also Occurs in Tob_1:2; Jdt_11:8, etc.
In the time of our Lord, all Palestine was divided into three provinces, Judma, Samaria, and Galilee (Act_9:31; Luk_17:11; Josephus, War, 3:3). The latter included the whole northern section of the country, comprising the ancient territories of Issachar, Zebulun, Asmer, and Naphtali. Josephus defines its boundaries, and gives a tolerably full description of its scenery, products, and population. He says the soil is rich and well cultivated; fruit and forest trees of all kinds abound; numerous large cities and populous villages, amounting in all to no less than two hundred and forty, thickly stud the whole face of the country; the inhabitants are industrious and warlike, being trained to arms from their infancy (War, 3:3, 3; Life, 45). On the west it was bounded by the territory of Ptolemais, which probably included the whole plain of Akka to the foot of Carmel. The southern border man along the base of Carmel and of the hills of Samaria to Mount Gilbaoa, and then descended the valley of Jezreel by Scythopolis to the Jordan. (The Talmud, Gittin, 7:7, gives a place called כפר עיתנאיas the southern limit.) The River Jordan, the Sea of Galilee, aned the Upper Jordan to the fountain at Dan formed the eastern border (Reland, Palaest. page 181); and the northern ran from Dan westward across the mountain ridge till it touched the territory of the Phoenicians (Josephus, War, 3:3, 1; compare Luk_8:26). SEE PALESTINE.
Galilee was divided into two sections (Cyrill, c. Jul. 2), "Lower" (ἡ κατὰ) and "Upper" (ἡ ἄνω Γαλιλαία, Josephus, War, 2:20, 6; Ant. 5:1, 22). The Talmud has; a threefold division, with reference to the Sabbatical year (Shebiith, 9:2; "Upper Galilee [העליון] embraces all above Capharananias, and does not produce sycamores; Lower [חתחתוֹן], all below C., and bears sycamores; the valley is the territory of Tiberias" [the Ghor]). A single glance at the country shows that the division was natural. Lower Galilee included the great plain of Esdraelon, with its offshoots, which run down to the Jordan and the Lake of Tiberias; and the whole of the hill-country adjoining it on the north to the foot of the mountain range. The words of Josephus are clear and important (War, 3:3, 1): "It extends from Tiberias to Zabuloia, adjacent to which, on the sea-coast, is Ptolemais. In breadth it stretches from a village called Xaloth, laing in the Great Plain, to Bersabe." "The village of Xaloth" is evidently the Chesullotom of Jos_19:12, now called Iksail, and situated at the base of Mount Tabor, on the northern border of the Great Plain (Porter, Handbook, page 359). But a comparison of Josephus, Ant. 20:6, 4, with War 3:2, 4 proves that Lower Galilee extended as far as the village of Ginea, the modern Jenin, on the extreme southern side of the plain. The site of the northern border town, Bersabe, is not known; but we learn incidentally that both Arbela and Jotopata were in Lower Galilee (Josephus, Life, 37; War, 2:20, 6); and as the former was situated near the northwest angle of the Lake of Tiberias, and be better about eight miles north of Nazareth (Porter, handbook, pages 432, 377), ewe coucluded timat Lower Galilee included the whole region extending from the plain of Akka, on the west, to the shores of the balke on the east. It was thus one of the richest and most beautiful sections of Palestine. The plain of Esdraelon presents an unbroken surface of fertile soil — soil so good that to enjoy it the tribe of Issachar condescended to a semi-nomadic state, and "became a servant to tribute" (Deu_33:18; Gen_49:14-15). With the exception of a few rocky summits around Nazareth the Dills are all wooded, sand sink down in graceful slopes to broad winding vales of the richest green. The outlines are varied, the colors soft, and the whole landscape is characterized by that picturesque luxuriance which one sees in parts of Tuscany. The blessings promised by Jacob and Moses to Zebulun and Asher seem to be here inscribed on the features of the country. Zebulun, nestling amid these hills, "offers sacrifices of righteousness" of the abundant flocks nourished by their rich panstures; he rejoices "in his goings out" along the fertile plain of Esdraaelon; "he sucks of the abundance of the seas" — his possessions skirting the Bay of Haifa at the base of Carmel; and he "sucks of treasures hid in the sand," possibly in allusion to the glass, which was first made from the sands of the River Belus (Deu_33:18-19; Pliny, 5:19; Tacitus, Hist. 5). Ashera dwelling amid the hills an the north-west of Zebulun, on the borders of Phienicia "dips his feet in oil," the produce of luxuriant olive groves such as still distinguish this region; "his bread," the produce of the plain of Phoenicia, and the fertile upland valleys “is fat;" "he yields royal dainties" — oil and wine from his olives and vineyards, and milk and butter from his pastures (Gen_49:20; Deu_33:24-25). The chief towns of Lower Galilee were Tiberias, Tarichaea, at the southern end of the Sea of Galilee, and Sepphoris (Josephus, Life, 9, 25, 29, 37). The latter played an important part is the last great Jewish emar (Josephus, Life, 45; War, 2:18, 11). It is now called Sefurieh, and is situated about three miles south of Nazareth (Porter, Handbook, page 378). These were, besides, two strong fortresses, Jotapata, now called Jefat, and Mount Tabor (Josephus, War, 3:7, 3 sq.; 4:1, 6). The towns most celebrated in N.T. history are Nazareth, Cana, and Tiberias (Luk_1:26; Joh_2:1; Joh_6:1).
Upper Galilee, according to Josephus, extended from Bersabe on the south to thee village of Baca, on the borders of the territory of Tyre, and from Meloth as the west to Thella, a city near the Jordan (War, 3:3, 1). None of these places are now known, but there is no difficultv in ascertaining the position and approximate extent of the province. It embraced the whole mountaim range lying beteween the upper Jordan and Phoenicia. Its southern border ran along the foot of the Safed range from the northwest angle of the Sea of Galilee to the plain of Akka. To this region the name "Galilee of the Gentiles" is given in the O. and N.T. (Isa_9:1; Mat_4:15). So Eusebius states (Onom. s.v. Γαλιλαία). The town of Capernaum, on the north shore of the lake, was in Upper Galilee (Onom. s.v. Capharnaum), and this fact is important, as showing how far the province extended southward, and as proving that it, as well as Lower Galilee, touched the lake. The mountain range of Upper Galilee is a southern prolongation of Lebanon, from which it is separated by the deep ravine of the Leolates. SEE LEBANON.
The summit of the range is talabe-land, part of which is beautifully wooded with dwarf oak, intermixed with tangled shrubberies of hawthorn and arbutus. The whole is varied lay fertile upland plains, green forest glades, and wild picturesque glens breaking down to the east and west. The population is still numerous and industrious, consisting chiefly of Metawileh, a sect of Mohamedans. Safed is the principal town, and contains about 4000 souls, one third of ehom are Jews. It is one of the four holy Jewish cities of Palestine, and has for three centuries or more been celebrated for the sacredness of its tombs and the learning of its rabbins. Safed seems to be the center of an extensive volcanic district. Shocks of earthquake are felt every few years. One occurred in 1837 which killed about 5000 persons (Porter, Handbook, page 438). Of the table-land of Upper Galilee lie the ruins of Kedesh- Naphtali (Jos_20:7), and Giscala (now el-Jish), a city fortified by Josephus, and celebrated as the last place in Galilee that held out against the Romans (War, 2:22, 6; 4:1, 1; 2, 1-5).
Galilee was the scene of the greater part of our Lord's private life and public acts (see Wichmannshausen, Dea Galilea, Vitelb. 1711; Buddeus, De Galilea rebus gestis Christi clara, Jen. 1718 [Miscell. Sacr. 3:1156 sq.]; Less, De Galatians Servat. miracc. theatro, Gott. 1175 [Opp. 1781, 2:369 sq.]). His early years were spent at Nazareth, and when he entered on his great work he made Capernaum his home (Mat_4:13; Mat_9:1). It is a remarkable fact that the first three Gospels are chiefly taken up with our Lord's ministrations in this province, while the Gospel of John dwells more upon those in Judaea (see Miller, De ordine rerum Christi in Galilea gestarum, Hal. 1770). The nature of our Lord's parables and illustrations weas greatly influenced by the peculiar features and products of the country. The vineyard, the fig-tree, thee shepherd, and the desert in the parable of the Good Samaritan, were all appropriate in Judaea while the corn-fields (Mat_4:23), the fisheries (Mat_13:47), the merchants (Mat_13:45), and the flowers (Mat_6:28), are no less appropriate in Galilee. The apostles were all either Galilaeans by birth or residence (Act_1:11), and as such they were despised, as their master had been, by the proud Jews (Joh_1:46; Joh_7:52; Act_2:7). It appears, also, that the pronunciation of those Jews who resided in Galilee had become peculiar, probably from their contact with their Gentile neighbors (Mat_26:73; Mar_14:70; see Lightfoot, Opp. 2:77). On the death of Herod the Great the province of Galilee was given by Caesar to his son Antipas (Joseph. War, 2:6, 3). After the destruction of Jerusalem Galilee became the chief seat of Jewish schools of learning, and the residence of their most celebrated rabbins. The National Council or Sanhedrimn was taken for a time to Jabneh in Philistia, but was soon removed to Sepphoris, and afterwards to Tiberias (Lightfoot, Opp. 2, page 141). The Mishna was here compiled by Rabbi Judah Hakkodesh (cir. A.D. 109220), and a few years afterwards the Gemara was added (Buxtorf, Tiberias, page 19). Remains of splendid synagogues still exist in many of the old towns and villages, showing that from the 2d to the 7th century the Jews were as prosperous as they were numerous (Porter, Handbook, pages 427, 440). SEE GALILAEAN.

CYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL
press 1895.





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