GALILEE, SEA OF, a lake in Palestine through which flows the river Jordan. It is 14 m. long, 8 m. broad, has a superficial area of 112 sq.m. and lies 68o ft. below the level of the Mediter ranean sea. Its maximum depth is 15o ft. The excessive depth which Lortet believed he had discovered at the northern end of the lake has been disproved. The shape of the lake has been likened to a harp or a pear. In the Old Testament it is known as the Sea of Chinnereth or Chinneroth. In the books of the Maccabees and Josephus it is named Gennesar; in the Gospels it is usually the Sea of Galilee. Once it is called the Lake of Gennesaret (Luke v. I), and twice the Sea of Tiberias (John vi. 1, xxi. I), a name which has survived in the modern Bahr Tabariyeh.
The sea of Galilee lies in the great Jordan valley trough-fault. During the Pluvial period almost the whole of this depression was occupied by a great inland sea extending from Huleh to a point 40 m. beyond the present southern limit of the Dead sea. Late in geological time the lava which flowed from the volcanoes amongst the southern Galilean hills into the depression combined with lava which flowed down the Yarmuk valley to the east, as well as with the silt washed down later to cause a blockage behind which the waters of the Jordan were pent to form a lake.
The hills which close in upon the sea on the south-west side recede from the shore towards the north to form a great natural amphitheatre with the Plain of Gennesareth as arena. On the east the plateau of Jaulan presents its steep and heavily-scored side towards the lake. Yet, unlike the Dead sea, there is between the water's edge and the foot of the hills a clear passage all round the lake. The Jordan enters it on the north, emerging from a narrow gorge and having on its left bank the marshy plain of El-Batihah. On the north-western shore is the plain of El-Ghuweir, generally supposed to be the plain of Gennesareth whose wonderful fertility is so glowingly described by Josephus. It is a land which "sup plies men with the principal fruits, with grapes and figs continually,. during ten months of the year, and the rest of the fruits as they become ripe together through the whole year." (Bell. Jud. iii. 1o. 8.) The plain, which is to-day covered with rank grass and bushes, has been purchased by the Jews and may be expected to recover some of its former glory. North of El-Ghuweir are several warm springs of moderate temperature. At Hamath (Emmaus), a short distance south of Tiberias, are seven hot springs the largest of which has a temperature of 137° F. The lake is well stocked with fish of the genera Cliromis, Barbus, Capoeta, Discognathus, Nemachilus, Blennius and Clarias. There is a close affinity between the fish of Galilee and those of the East African lakes and streams. The Chromis Simonis, according to popular belief, is the fish from which Peter took the piece of money (Matt. xviii. 27). Bird life is abundant. Grebes of all kinds, gulls and pelicans frequent the lake. On its shores are to be found tortoises and mud-turtles, crayfish and sandhoppers. Twenty-six boats and 115 men are engaged in fishing the lake.
The hills surrounding the sea are brown and bare in the sum mer-time but in the spring are clothed with vegetation. Oleander brakes flourish round the lake and the tall papyrus plant is found on the north shore. Set deep amongst hills and consequently sub ject to sudden squalls and violent storms, which develop rapidly, sailing on the lake is not unattended with risk. The best view of the lake is obtained from the top of the hills on its western shore. The absence of boats from its waters and the lack of industry .on its shores tinge the scene with melancholy. In the days of Josephus the lake was alive with craft ; populous towns and villages throbbing with life were clustered on its coasts. On a day when nature is herself gioomy, the sense of desolation and dreariness pierces to the very soul of the onlooker; but to the view of the lake glistening and sparkling in the sun, the soul leaps joyous, and the vision of what was calls into being an attractive vision of what may yet be.
Archaeology.—The principal sites of archaeological interest in the area of the lake are (I) Kerdzeh (Chorazin) 2 m. from the north shore in a wady of the same name. Its ruins include a no table synagogue built with black basalt. (2) Tell-Hum (Caper naum, q.v.) on the lake shore south of Kerazeh with the remains of an early synagogue and possibly a church. (3) Khan Minyeh, with extensive ruins at the north end of the plain of Gennesareth. Its identification with Bethsaida is suggested. (4) Tell `Ureimeh, between Khan Minyeh and Tell-Hum, the site of an Amorite city whose name has been forgotten. (5) Mejdel (Magdala) , south of the plain of Gennesareth with rock-cut tombs. (6) Tabariyeh (Tiberias) with remains of the mediaeval period. (7) Khirbet Kerak at the south-west corner of the lake with a ruined citadel and traces of a large and important town. It has been generally identified with Taricheae but more recently an identification with the Beth-Yerah of the Talmud, called by the Greeks Philoteria, has been advocated. (8) Sinn en-Nabreh (Sennabris), near to Kerak where Vespasian fixed his camp in his advance from the south on Taricheae and Tiberias. (9) Khirbet Susieh, on the east ern shore, identified with Hippos one of the cities of the Decapolis. (io) Kal at el-Husn, opposite Tiberias, exhibiting ruins of a city that was walled, broken sarcophagi and rock-cut tombs; suggested identification with the Gamala of Josephus. (I I) Fik, about 2 m. E. of Kal at el-Husn, a large village with ruins of ancient build ings, identified by Eusebius with Aphek. (12) Khirbet Kersa, opposite Mejdel, the Gerasa or Gergesa of the 4th century. The Wady where the "Galilee skull" was found, opens on to the plain of Gennesareth. (See GALILEE.) Dolmans and other stone erections have been found at `Ain Tdbigha and Khdn Jubb Yusi f .
(E. Ro.)