i. Geography. — The southernmost division of Galilee was Esdraelon (G. A. Smitli, HGHL p. 379). It consists of (1) tlie triangular plain about 200 feet above sea-level, 29 miles long from the foot of Carmel to Jenin, 15 from .Jenin to Tabor, and 15 from Tabor to the foot of Carmel ; (2) the valley of Jezreel (Nahr Jnlud), running down for 12 miles from Jezreel to Bethshean, some 400 feet below sea- level. The Plain of Esdraelon is watered by the Kishon flowing to the Mediterranean ; but, as the edges are somewhat liigher than the centre, it is often marshy. It ]ilaj'ed a great part in the his- tory of Palestine (cf. HGHL p. 391 ff.), but has no mention in the story of tlie Gospels.
On the other hand, tlie middle division of Galilee, known as Lower Galilee, contains nearly all the important sites of the Gospel record. Naz.-ireth, Capernaum, Shunem, Nain, Cana, etc., aic within its borders. It is bounded on the W. l>y llie I'lain of Ptolemais, on the S. by the Plains ui llsdiaelon and Jezreel, on the E. by the Sea of Galilee (though sometimes a part of tlie country east of the sea was considered Galiljean), and on the N. by a line pas.sing from the N. end of the Sea of CJalilee through Ramah to the coast. It consists of four cliains of hills running east and west, intercepted by valleys and plains. The hills reach a height of about 1200 feet. The southern chain consists of the Nazareth hills, with Mt. Tabor; the next range contains the Kiini Ilallhi of Crusading fame; the third, the (-ity of '.b)tap:ila, : while the fourth consists of the southern slopes i>f I he moun- tains of Upper Galilee. The central ]ilaiii of iJ- Buttmif is about 500 feet above sea-li'\el. while the coast of the Sea of Galilee is nearly Too te.f below sea-level. The wlnile country is well watered by streams flcjwinu easi m \ws(,, and was extremely fertile. The -i.i .1 il i liins was green, and
• The identificn t i ■ ' i i. Uiose of Sir C. W. Wilson
evergreen oaks grew on the hills. The corn- fields ga\e a plenteous harvest, and pomegranates abounded.
Upper Galilee ranged from the N. boundary of Lower Galilee to the Tyrian boundary, which seems to have been at the time of Christ just south of ^Cedesli, which according to Josephus was a Tyrian fortress on the borders of Galilee (Ant. Xin. V. 6; liJ IL xviii. 1, iv. ii. 3). It is a land of mountains, where the -hills run from 2000- to 4000 feet in height. It too was a fertile land, with thick woods, sycamores, olives, vines, and green pastures by its waters.
5. Roads. — ' Juda-a was on the road to nowhere ; Galilee is covered with roads to everywhere' (G. A. Smith, HGHL p. 425). Roads an the East even now are often mere tracks, scarcely recogniz- able by the Western. They are repaired for great occasions, and soon allowed to fall again into their natural condition. Remains of pavements, how- ever, show that at the time of Christ the Roman genius for road-making had been at work in the district of Galilee. Esijecially was this the case on the great liigh-road, the ' Way of the Sea,' as it was called in the Middle Ages (from an inter- pretation of Is <»'), which cios.d the middle of Lower Galilee. The eastern termini of the main roads were the two bri.lues which erossed the Jordan. These were (1)1 he l.ii.l-e .about half-way between Merom and tlie Se.a, of ( iaiilee, now called the 'Bridge of Jacob's I laiij^ht.is.' To this came the road from Damascus and the intervening country. Westward from the river the road ran by Safed and Ramah to Ptolemais. From this a branch struck off a few miles west of the river, jiassed by Arbela (Irbid), and rejoined the high- road near Ramah. Another branch went soutli- wards to the west coast of the Sea of Galilee at KhCin Miiiyeh, and proceeded to Bethshean, where it joined the road from (2) the bridge a few miles south of the Sea of Galilee, now called the Jisr cl- Mujamia. Over this bridge came the traffic from Arabia and Gilead. From it one road passed through Bethshean, the Valley of Jezreel, and tlie Plain of Esdraelon, to the coast of the Mediter- ranean, and so on to Egypt ; another by Cana and Sepjihoris to Ptolemais. The main road from the shore of the Sea of (ialilei' to the lii^ldands went by the Wndy d-Hammu,ii paM Arlnla, (hen be- tween Tabor and the Na/.aielli hills I.. Ilxiraelon. Along these and many oIluT vo.uls Ihcweil a cease- less stream of traffic, and the fulness of their life is reflected in tlie parables of i Bihl. iv. 5191 ; HGHL p. 430 f.).
6. Government. — Galilee was a part of the Roman Empire ; that is, in the days of Christ it was under the emperors Augustus and Tiberius. Roman garrisons were in towns all round the country. Roman influence was felt everywiiere. But the mass of the people had little or nothing to do with the Roman Empire directly. The direct govern- ment of the land was in the hands of Herod Antipas, to whom, with the title of 'tetrarcli,' it was , assigned by Augustus after the death of Herod. Antipas was 17 years old at his accession to power, and establislied his capital at Sepphoris. About the year 22, however, he built a new city on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, named it Tiberias in honour of the emperor, and made it his capital. This city was governed after the CJreek model by .1, .ouncil of GOO, with an Arcliim and c in these two cities was centred th .iWiiiinisI ration of affairs in (Jalilee il of Christ. But in Galilee, as elsewlii details of life were regulated by the Jews' own religious laws rather than by ordinary civil enact- ments. The chief authority was the Sanhedrin (see Sanhedrin) at Jerusalem, to which appeals