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Bible Dictionaries
Galilee
American Tract Society Bible Dictionary
or In the time of Christ, included all the northern part of Palestine lying west of the Jordan and north of Samaria. Before the exile the name seems to have been applied only to a small tract bordering on the northern limits, 1 Kings 9:11 . Galilee, in the time of Christ, was divided into Upper and Lower, the former lying north of the territory of the tribe of Zebulun, and abounding in mountains; the latter being more level and fertile, and very populous; the whole comprehending the four tribes of Issachar, Zebulun, Naphtali, and Asher. Lower Galilee is aid to have contained four hundred and four towns and villages, of which Josephus mentions Tiberias, Sepphoris, and Gabara, as the principal; though Capernaum and Nazareth are the most frequently mentioned in the New Testament, Mark 1:9 Luke 2:39 John 7:52 , etc. "Galilee of the Gentiles" is supposed to be Upper Galilee, either because it bordered on Tyre and Zidon, or because Phenicians, Syrians, Arabs, and other heathen were numerous among it inhabitants. The Galileans were accounted brave and industrious; though other Jews affected to consider them as not only stupid and unpolished, but also seditious, and therefore proper objects of contempt, Luke 13:1 23:6 John 1:47 7:52 . They appear to have used a peculiar dialect, by which they were easily distinguished from the Jews of Jerusalem, Mark 14:70 . Many of the apostles and first converts to Christianity were men of Galilee, Acts 1:11 2:7 , as well as Christ himself; and the name Galilean was often given as an insult, both to him and his followers. The apostate emperor Julian constantly used it, and in his dying agony and rage cried out, "O Galilean, thou hast conquered!" Our Savior resided here from infancy till he was thirty years of age, and during much of his public ministry; and the cities of his public ministry; and the cities of Nazareth, Nain, Cana, Capernaum, with the whole region of the sea of Galilee, are sacredly endeared to all his people by the words he there spoke, and the wonders he wrought. For the Sea of Galilee, see SEA 3.
These files are public domain and are a derivative of the topics are from American Tract Society Bible Dictionary published in 1859.
Rand, W. W. Entry for 'Galilee'. American Tract Society Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ats/g/galilee.html. 1859.
