Galilee (Heb. Galil, a 'circle' or 'circuit'), a name latterly applied to one of the four Roman divisions of Palestine, originally referred only to a district of the tribe of Naphtali. In the time of our Lord, Galilee embraced the whole northern portion of Palestine from the Mediterranean to the Jordan. The district was divided into Upper and Lower Galilee, the former being hilly and well wooded, the latter level and very fertile. At that time it was mainly inhabited by Syrians, Phœnicians, Arabs, and Greeks, with a few Jews. The principal towns were Tiberias and Sepphoris; those that figure in the gospels are Cana, Capernaum, Nazareth, and Nain. The Jewish inhabitants were held in low estimation by their brethren in Judæa, on account of their less rigid sentiments in regard to religion. After the destruction of Jerusalem the despised Galilee became the refuge of the proud doctors of Jewish law, and the city of Tiberias the seat of Rabbinical learning. The ruins of many fine synagogues are still extant in this region. Galilee now forms part of the pashalic of Damascus, in the Turkish province of Syria, and, as of yore, is remarkable for its beauty and fertility. It still has a considerable number of Jewish inhabitants. See Dr S. Merrill, Galilee in the Time of Christ (new ed. 1885).
The SEA OF GALILEE, called also in the New Testament the Lake of Gennesaret and the Sea of Tiberias, and in the Old Testament the Sea of Chinnereth or Cinneroth, a large lake in the northern half of Palestine. Lying 682 feet below sea-level, it is 13 miles long by 6 broad, and 820 feet deep. It occupies the bottom of a great basin, and is undoubtedly of volcanic origin. Although the Jordan runs into it red and turbid from the north, and many warm and brackish springs also find their way thither, its waters are cool, clear, and sweet. Its shores on the east and north sides are bare and rocky; on the west sloping gradually, and luxuriantly covered with vegetation. The surrounding scenery is hardly beautiful, but its associations are the most sacred in the world. It is enough to mention the names of some of the towns on its shores, Bethsaida, Capernaum, Magdala, and Tiberias. In the time of Jesus the region round about was the most densely populated in Galilee; now even its fisheries are almost entirely neglected.