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Bible Dictionaries
Galilee Sea of
People's Dictionary of the Bible
or Galilee, Sea of. Named from the province of Galilee, which bordered on its western side, Matthew 4:18. It was also called the "Sea of Tiberias," from the city of that name, John 6:1, and "Sea of Chinneroth" in the Old Testament. 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; Numbers 34:11; Joshua 12:3, and Galilee, Joshua 19:35. Its modern name is Bahr Tubarîyeh. Most of our Lord's public life was spent in the environs of this sea. The Sea of Galilee is of an oval shape, about 12 miles long and 6 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. Its most 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. 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 it 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. There are only a few small boats now to be found on the lake.
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Rice, Edwin Wilbur, DD. Entry for 'Galilee Sea of'. People's Dictionary of the Bible. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/rpd/g/galilee-sea-of.html. 1893.
