Thus far we have gained little except to learn that the Bible gives us no account of the origin of the word Galilee, of how large an area it embraced at first, or of how it came to be applied to all the northern part of Palestine.
Palestine west of the Jordan was, in the time of our Lord, divided into three provinces. Judaja, Samaria, and Galilee. The latter was the mo.st northern, and occupied in general the territory that had been assigned by Joshua to the four tribes, Asher, Naphtali, Zebulun, and Issachar.
* .'Vllndinjr probablv to a Galiliean habit of confoundinp the gutturals (Smith, //ry//Z. 4-23 n.; Dalm., Gram.d.Arnm. R,4'2t.}.
t The word, which has regularly the art,. ' the sidlil,' appears to mean 'circle' or 'district.' A])i)arentlv, Is 9' gives the full title r,j^rr;.^ht ]^9^. bn C/tarlr.1 .<,Yrth?)er^s .^ons
GALILEE
GALILEE
90
It extended to the Jordan on the E., the Leontes, Litany, on the N., the territory of Tyre, whicli was then a narrow strip of seacoast, on the W., and below the territory of Tyre it touched the Mediterranean and included I'toleniais {Acchn) and Jlount Carinel, and on the S. the line, whicli was irresndar. passed near Ginea (Jenin), included fScythopolis f>r Bethshean to the E., Taanacli and Megiddo to the \V., and followed the C'armel ridge to the Mediterranean. Its extent in miles was about sixty from north to south, and about thirty from east to west.
Josephus divides the province into Upper and Lower Galilee. Lower Galilee extended east and west from Carmel to the Jordan ; the S. line would be that already indicated as passing near Jenin. and the N. boundary included Arbela on the west of the Sea of Galilee, and also Jotapata (Jefat). Tarichea, Tiberias, Sepphoris (the capital of Galilee during a large portion of Christ's life), Cana, and Nazareth were all in Lower Galilee. The boundaries of Upper Galilee are given by Josephus (Wars. III. iii. 1; Life, 37), and were no doubt well understood by his readers ; but it is difficult for us to indicate its limits, since the places noted still remain unidentified. The dis- trict extended from Bersabe on the S. to Baca on tlie X., and from Thella, a place bordering on the Jordan, to Meroth on the west.
In the year H.C. 47 Galilee had as military governor a young man then but twenty-five years of age, who suljsequently became known to the world as Herod the Great. He had been appointed to this position by his father, Antipater, and proved a successful ruler. After his death, in K.i'. 4, his son Antipas was made tetrarch of Galilee, and, since he was not banished by Caligula tUl A.D. 39, he governed the province during the entire life of our Lord. During the reign of Antipas, Galilee was bounded on the E. by the dominions of his half-brother Herod Philip II. After the removal of Antipas, Galilee came under the rule of Herod Agrippa I., who died in A.D. 44 as dei^cribed in Ac 12. Although these men ruled by the favour of Kome, they were still native rulers, and in that fact the inhabitants felt a degree of pride, because their dependent state was thereby made less apparetit and no doubt far less galling.
In comparing Galilee with other portions of the Holy Land, there are certain respects in which it can claim to be uni(iue. In fact it would be difficult to find anywliere else on the globe another district of equal size whose natural characteristics are so wonderfully diversified as are those of Galilee.
The white dome of Harmon was ever present to the inliabitants as mucli as if that mountain had risen frmii their own soil, and the same was true of the wiile ex]ian.sf of tlie Mediterranean to the west. The long line of seacoast with its cities of wealth <iV.A its composite life must be taken into the account, and on the other side the depre.s.sion of the Jordan Valley, in which, 700 ft. below the level of the Mediterranean, lay the Sea of Galilee. In Lower Galilee the group of Nazareth hills was picturesque ; isolated Tabor had a grandeur ami a luMuty of it.s own, while in Upper (Jaliiee but a single peak, Jebel Jermuk, reached a height of 401)0 ft. ; 2000 to 2oOO ft. being the general eleva- tion. Nowhere were the mountains rugged, their gradual slopes and the intervening valleys were always attractive. The Ksdraelon plain was of inexhaustible fertility, and so was the region about Lakes .Mcrom and Tiberias. The climate was all that could be desired ; the temperature was mild on the .seacoast, hot in the Jorilan Valley, and always cool in the highlands. The air was in- vigorating, and no doubt it was owing jjartly to
this fact that the Galilseans were always noted for being healthy, liardy, and brave. The fore.sts, meadows, and pastures, the tilled fields and garden.^, the vineyards and olive orchards, the broad acres covered with wheat and barley, the fountains, streams, lakes, and rivers, the pro.speroiLs cities and towns which dotted the land, made the aspect of the country singularly varied and attractive.
In the Blessing of Moses (Ut 33) upon the tribes occupying this territory there are suggestive hints as to its natural features and the peculiar pro- ductioiLs of its fertile soil. Special characteristics of these highlanders are brought out in other portions of OT which are fidly confirmed and illustrated by what we learn from other sources, regarding both country and people. The XT, Josephus. the Tahnud, and modern research present attractive, not to say fascinating, pictures of this highly favoured land.