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Bible Encyclopedias
Sea

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

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sē ( ים , yām ; θάλασσα , thálassa ; in Acts 27:5 πέλαγος , pélagos ): The Mediterranean is called ha -yām ha -gādhōl , "the great sea" (Numbers 34:6; Joshua 1:4; Ezekiel 47:10 , etc.); ha -yām ha -'aḥărōn , "the hinder," or "western sea" (Deuteronomy 11:24; Deuteronomy 34:2; Joel 2:20; Zechariah 14:8 ); yām pelishtı̄m , "the sea of the Philis" (Exodus 23:31 ); the King James Version translates yām yāphō' in Ezra 3:7 by "sea of Joppa," perhaps rightly.

The Dead Sea is called yām hā - melaḥ , "the Salt Sea" ( Numbers 34:3; Deuteronomy 3:17; Joshua 3:16 , etc.); ha -yām ha -ḳadhmōnı̄ , "the east sea" (Ezekiel 47:18; Joel 2:20; Zechariah 14:8 ); yām hā -‛ărābhāh ,"the sea of the Arabah" (Deuteronomy 3:17; Joshua 3:16; Joshua 12:3; 2 Kings 14:25 ).

The Red Sea is called yām ṣūph , literally, "sea of weeds" ( Exodus 10:19; Numbers 14:25; Deuteronomy 1:1; Joshua 2:10; Judges 11:16; 1 Kings 9:26; Nehemiah 9:9; Psalm 106:7; Jeremiah 49:21 , etc.); (ἐρυθρὰ θάλασσα , eruthrá thálassa ), literally, "red sea" (The Wisdom of Solomon 19:7; Acts 7:36; Hebrews 11:29 ); yām micrayim , "the Egyptian sea" (Isaiah 11:15 ).

Yām is used of the Nile in Nahum 3:8 and probably also in Isaiah 19:5 , as in modern Arabic baḥr , "sea," is used of the Nile and its affluents. Yām is often used for "west" or "westward," as "look from the place where thou art,... westward" (Genesis 13:14 ); "western border" (Numbers 34:6 ). Yām is used for "sea" in general (Exodus 20:11 ); also for "molten sea" of the temple (1 Kings 7:23 ).

The Sea of Galilee is called kinnereth , "Chinnereth" ( Numbers 34:11 ); kinărōth , "Chinneroth" (Joshua 11:2 ); kinnerōth , "Chinneroth" (1 Kings 15:20 ); yam kinnereth , "the sea of Chinnereth" (Numbers 34:11; Joshua 13:27 ); yām kinnerōth , "the sea of Chinneroth (Joshua 12:3 ); (ἡ λίμνη Γεννσαρέτ , hē lı́mnē Gennēsarét ), "the lake of Gennesaret" (Luke 5:1 ); and (τὸ ὔδωρ Γεννησάρ , tó húdōr Gennēsár ), "the water of Gennesar" (1 Macc 11:67), from late Hebrew גּנסר , ginēṣar , or (גּניסר , genēṣar ; ἡ θάλασσα τῆς Γαλιλαίας , hē thálassa tḗs Galilaı́as ), "the sea of Galilee" (Matthew 4:18; Matthew 15:29; Mark 1:16; Mark 7:31; John 6:1 ); (ἡ θάλασσα τῆς Τιβεριάδος , hē thálassa tḗs Tiberiádos ), "the sea of Tiberias" (John 21:1; compare John 6:1 ).

In Jeremiah 48:32 we have yām ya‛zēr , "the sea of Jazer." Jazer is a site East of the Jordan, not satisfactorily identified (Numbers 21:32; Numbers 32:1 , Numbers 32:3 , Numbers 32:15; Joshua 13:25; Joshua 21:39; 2 Samuel 24:5; 1 Chronicles 6:81; 1 Chronicles 26:31; Isaiah 16:8 , Isaiah 16:9 ). See SEA OF JAZER .

In midhbar yām , "the wilderness of the sea" ( Isaiah 21:1 ), there may perhaps be a reference to the Persian Gulf.

Bibliography Information
Orr, James, M.A., D.D. General Editor. Entry for 'Sea'. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. https://www.studylight.org/​encyclopedias/​eng/​isb/​s/sea.html. 1915.
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