Sea of Galilee
The
Sea of Galilee is
Israel's largest
freshwater lake, approximately 53
kilometers (33
miles) in circumference, about 21 km (13 miles) long, and 13 km (8 miles) wide; it has a total area of 166 km², and a maximum depth of approximately 43
[http://www.ilec.or.jp/database/asi/dasi09.html] meters. At 209 meters below sea level, it is the lowest freshwater lake on Earth and the second-lowest lake in the world after the
Dead Sea, a saltwater lake
[The 1996 discovered subglacial Lake Vostok challenges both records; it is estimated to be 200 to 600 meters below sea level.]. It is not a
sea by any normal definition; it is called a sea by tradition. The lake is also known on modern maps as
Lake Galilee or
Lake Tiberias. The name
Galilee refers to the region of Galilee in which it is located. In modern
Hebrew it is known by its biblical name,
(ים כנרת), "Sea of Kinnereth" (Numbers 34:11; Joshua 13:27). The name may originate from the Hebrew word
kinnor ("harp" or "lyre") - which the lake's shape resembles. It has also been called the
Lake of Gennesaret or the
Sea of Gennesaret (
Luke 5:1) after the name of a small fruitful plain which lies on its western side. The
Arabic name for the lake is (بحيرة طبريا) meaning
Lake Tiberias. Other names of the Sea of Galilee: Ginnosar, Lake of Gennesar, Sea of Chinneroth, Sea of Tiberias (Roman) and Waters of Gennesaret.
The Kinneret is fed by underground springs, but its main source is the
Jordan River, which flows through it from north to south. The lake is situated deep in the Jordan
Great Rift Valley, the valley caused by the separation of the
African and
Arabian Plates. Consequently the area is subject to
earthquakes and, in the past,
volcanic activity. This is evidenced by the abundant
basalt and other
igneous rock that define the geology of the Sea of Galilee region.
Due to its low-lying position in the rift valley, surrounded by hills, the sea is prone to sudden violent storms; hence the New Testament story about
Jesus calming the storm. Indeed, the main feature of the lake seems to be its ever-changing character. It is still noted, as in
New Testament times, for its rich fish stocks, and in today's restaurants, "St. Peter's Fish" (
tilapia) is very popular.
The Sea of Galilee lies on the ancient
Via Maris which linked
Egypt with the northern empires. The
Greeks,
Hasmoneans, and
Romans founded flourishing towns and settlements here:
Gadara,
Hippos,
Tiberias and others. The first-century historian
Flavius Josephus was so impressed by the area that he wrote, "One may call this place the ambition of Nature." Josephus also reported a thriving fishing industry at this time, with 230 boats regularly working in the lake.
 |
The Sea of Galilee |
Much of the ministry of
Jesus occurred on the shores of Lake Galilee. In those days, there was a continuous ribbon development of settlements and villages around the lake and plenty of trade and ferrying by boat. The gospels of
Mark (1:14-20) and
Matthew (4:18-22) describe how Jesus recruited four of his
apostles from the shores of Lake Galilee; the fishermen
Peter and his brother
Andrew and the brothers
John and
James. One of Jesus' famous teaching episodes, the
Sermon on the Mount, was given on a hill overlooking the lake. Many of his miracles were also recorded to occur here: his walking on water, calming a storm, feeding five thousand people (in
Tabgha), and many others.
In
135, the second Jewish revolt against the Romans, called
Bar Kokhba's revolt, was put down. The Romans responded by banning all Jews from
Jerusalem. The center of Jewish culture and learning shifted to the region of the Kinneret, particularly the city of
Tiberias. It was in this region that the so-called "
Jerusalem Talmud" was probably compiled.
In the time of the
Byzantine Empire, the lake's significance in Jesus' life made it a major destination for Christian
pilgrims. This led to the growth of a full-fledged
tourist industry, complete with package tours and plenty of comfortable inns.
|
Political map of the Sea of Galilee region today. |
The lake's importance declined when the Byzantines lost control of it. The area came under the control of the
Umayyad Caliphate and subsequent Islamic empires. Except for Tiberias, the major towns and cities were gradually abandoned. In
1187,
Saladin defeated the armies of the
Crusades at the
Battle of Hattin, largely because he was able to cut the Crusaders off from the valuable fresh water of the Sea of Galilee.
In
1909 Jewish pioneers built their first cooperative farming village (
kibbutz), Kvutzat
Kinneret which trained Jewish immigrants in farming and agriculture. Later, Kinneret pioneers established Kibbutz Degania. Kinneret was the cradle of the Kibbutz culture of early
Zionism and was the birthplace of
Naomi Shemer and the burial site of
Rachel - two of the most prominent Israeli poets.
In
1923 an agreement between the
United Kingdom and
France established the border between the
British Mandate of Palestine and the
French Mandate of Syria. The British handed over the southern
Golan Heights to the French in return for the northern
Jordan Valley. The border was re-drawn so that both sides of the
Jordan river and the whole of the Sea of Galilee, including a 10-meter wide strip along the northeastern shore, were made a part of Palestine[
1]. The
1947 UN Partition Plan put this territory area inside the Jewish state.
|
Fisherman in the Sea of Galilee, 1890-1900 |
During the
1948 Arab-Israeli War,
Syria occupied the lake's northeastern shore. This
map illustrates the border lines and the
Demilitarized Zones at the time the
1949 Armistice Agreements were signed. In
1967, the State of Israel took control of the entire Sea of Galilee as well as the Golan during the
Six Day War. Syria still claims the northeastern shore of the sea[
2], arguing it is a part of the
Golan Heights.
Israel's
National Water Carrier, built in
1964, transports water from the lake to the population centers of Israel, and is the source of most of the country's drinking water. Israel also supplies water from the lake to the
West Bank and to
Jordan (under the terms of the
Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace). Increasing water demand and some dry winters have resulted in stress on the lake and a decreasing water line, at times to dangerously low levels.
Today, tourism is again the Kinneret's most important economic activity. The entire Sea of Galilee is a popular holiday resort area. The many historical and spiritual sites around the lake, especially its main town Tiberias, are visited by millions of local and foreign tourists annually. Other economic activities include fishing in the lake and agriculture, particularly
bananas, in the fertile belt of land surrounding it.
*
World Lakes Database entry for Sea of Galilee
