To this brief survey of biblical names for this lake we may add that Gennesar (t6 vSup toO Tei'pria-dp, RV ' the water of Gennesareth ') is given in 1 Mac ll"". .Tosephus had occasion to refer to this hake many times, and he always uses the name Gennesar (e.(i. Ant. XIII. v. 7). The change from the Heb. Kinnereth to Gennesar was a natural one (but see G. A. Smith, HdllL 44:! n.). .losephus adhered to the OT name in its changed form, while the NT writers, as we have seen, used the title ' Sea of Galilee.'
As to the meaning of these names, Galilee is obviou.sly derived from the province of that name, and Tiberias from the city on the west shore of the lake. Chinnereth may be from ""^t, 'harp.' Benzinger (Hi'h. Arch. 23) thinks this improbable ; and Fuerst suggests 'basin.' Gennesaret may have the same meaning as Chinnereth if we allow that it was simply transferred from the Hebrew ; or it may be from t/an and sdr, ' prince's garden,' applied, of course, to the Land of Gennesaret, from which the Sea of Galilee is once called the • Lake of Gennesaret' (Lk 5').
The Sea of Galilee is 13 miles long and a little less than 7 miles wide in its widest part. Its greatest depth is less than 200 ft. It is not quite oval in form, although it appears to be so when looked at from the surrounding heights. It is more properly pear - shaped, having the small end at the south. Its level below the Jlediterranean is about 700 ft. On the east side the mountain rises from its shore to an elevation of 2000 ft., the same as that of the great plateau of Ba.shan beyond. On the west side there is also a mountain wall, but towards the north the slopes are very gradual, and on the south the lake touches the (ilain of the .lordan Valley. To the eye it is a most attractive object, a beautiful body of water set deep in a va-st basin among the hills. Not oidy the .Jews, but people of many other races who were not natives of the soil, have praised the beauty of the Sea of Galilee. ' Although God has created seven seas.' said the Rabbi.s, 'yet He has cho.sen this one as His special delight.' They speak of its 'grace- fully flowing' or ' gliding waters.' The mountains, the peaceful shore at their base, the blue water overarched by the blue sky, form a landscape picture that has kindled the enthusiasm of many hearts. It is seen at present at its worst estate ; but in the time of our Lord this shore was a con-
Charlf.^ .'^cribner's Smis
GALILEE, SEA OF
GALILEE, SEA OF
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tinuous garden, and even the niattor-of-fact Pliny declared that this lake was ' surrounded by pleas- ant towns' (II\ V. 15).
These towns have been described briefly in the article Gai.ILKE, but the list at least may be repeated : — Tiberias, and south of it Bethinaus, Tarichea, Sinnahris, Gergesa, Gamala, Hippos, Julias, Bethsaida, Chorazin, Capernaum, Magdala, and Beth-arbel. On the niuuntain to the S.E. was Gadara, Sated on its lofty summit to the N. W., and a castle was perched directly above Tiberias almost overhanging tlie lake. Through Wady Hamam the Horns of Hattin appeared, and to the north rose the magniticent dome of Hermon. 'J'his famous mountain is not one of a cluster, it is not hemined in and dwarfed by surrounding peaks, but it stands alone, revealing its full graniJeur. From the shore of the Sea of tialilee, if we add its depression of 7110 ft. to the elevation of Mount Hermon, we look up to its summit a sheer height of over 10,000 ft. Among all the mountains of the world, such a view is seldom surpassed.
The hills, which appear to surround the lake, recede from the shore a distance varying from a few hundred yards to half a mile or more, and this belt is generally level, so that, without cutting or tilling, a carriage road could readily be constructed entirely round the lake ; with a horse and carriage the circuit could be made in four or five hours. At two points, where the recession of the mountain is greatest, two charming plains are formed, namely, el-Batiha on the N.E. of the lake, and Genuesarct on the X. W. They resemble each other, are equally fertile, but it is Gennesaret that has always received the most praise. See GKXXESAIIET (L.VXD OF).
The river Jordan enters the lake at the northern end. and passes out at the southern end. It brings down so much sediment at times tliat it appears like a very dirty stream : still the water of the lake itself is always clear ; it is also sweet and cool.
The steep mountain wall on the E. side, already referred to, is volcanic, a part of the great lava formation which includes the Bashan plain and the Hauran mountains, where exist a score or more of extinct craters. The hot springs of Gadara, within o miles of the S.E. corner of the lake, those at Tiberias on the W. shore, and like- wise the earthquakes which visit that region from time to time, are indications that internal fires still exist. The latest recorded earthquake from which Tiberhos suffered severely was in 1837, vividly described by the American missionary Kev. \\'m. M. Tliomson. well known as the author of Tlie Land and the Bnak. The region to the N. of the lake through which the Jordan pas.ses, extending to Chorazin and Tell Hum, is simply a ma.ss of large basalt boulders, packed so closely that it is ne.xt to impossible to get through tliem.