Scenes From the Promised Land

Come Tour the Sea of Galilee!

FEW sites come more readily to the minds of Bible readers than the Sea of Galilee. But could you close your eyes and envision this freshwater sea, locating key places, such as where the Jordan River enters and exits or the locations of Capernaum and Tiberias?

Take time to study the aerial view below, comparing the inset key. How many of the numbered locations can you identify? The more of them you know, the more your Bible will live and be meaningful. To that end, come along for a brief, instructive tour.

This aerial view looks to the northeast. Let us start with #1. What part of the sea is that? Yes, the southern end, where the Jordan exits, heading down between Samaria and Gilead to empty into the Dead Sea. To the left you have a closer view of this end of the sea, also shown in the 1993 Calendar of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

The Sea of Galilee lies deep in the Rift Valley, about 700 feet [200 m] below the Mediterranean Sea. As you examine the aerial view, note the mountains rising from its eastern shore (around #7). Hills and mountains rise also on the nearer, or western, shore, emphasizing that this sea lies in a basin, the sea being about 13 miles [21 km] in length and a maximum of 7 1/2 miles [12 km] wide. There was space on the shores for villages and even cities, such as Tiberias (#2). Recall that a crowd in boats from Tiberias crossed the sea to where Jesus had miraculously fed the 5,000.​—John 6:1, 10, 17, 23.

As you move along the shoreline north from Tiberias, you pass the fertile region of Gennesaret (#3).a In this area Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount, and possibly on the shore nearby, he called Peter and three others to become “fishers of men,” as depicted here. (Matthew 4:18-22) Traveling on, you come to Capernaum (#4), which was a center of activities for Jesus, even being referred to as “his own city.” (Matthew 4:13-17; 9:1, 9-11; Luke 4:16, 23, 31, 38-41) Continuing eastward around the sea, you traverse (#5) where the upper Jordan empties into the sea (below). Then you come to the area of Bethsaida (#6).

We can use even these few locations to illustrate how your knowledge of the Sea of Galilee can help you to follow, and to visualize, Bible accounts. After Jesus fed the 5,000 in the area of Bethsaida and a crowd attempted to make him king, he sent the apostles by boat toward Capernaum. During their voyage, storm winds suddenly swept down from the mountains and whipped up waves, striking fear in the apostles. But Jesus came to them walking on the sea, calmed the storm, and enabled them to land safely near Gennesaret. (Matthew 14:13-34) Those who came from Tiberias crossed over again to Capernaum.​—John 6:15, 23, 24.

Continuing around the eastern side of the sea, you pass what was likely referred to as “the country of the Gadarenes [or, Gerasenes].” Recall that here Jesus expelled demons from two men. Those spirits sadistically entered into a large herd of swine, which charged over a cliff into the sea. One of the men thereafter gave a witness in the nearby Greek-speaking cities of the Decapolis. Jesus both arrived at and departed from this area by boat across the Sea of Galilee.​—Matthew 8:28–9:1; Mark 5:1-21.

As you complete your tour toward the lower end of the sea, you pass near where a major river (called the Yarmuk) brings considerable water to the lower Jordan River.

The Bible does not specify a location for some events around the Sea of Galilee, such as Jesus’ postresurrection appearance when Peter and other apostles were fishing (below). Do you think it was near Capernaum? In any case, your knowledge of this important sea helps you to visualize that possibility.

[Footnotes]

[Pictures on page 24]

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[Picture Credit Line on page 24]

Pictorial Archive (Near Eastern History) Est.

[Picture Credit Line on page 24]

Pictorial Archive (Near Eastern History) Est.

[Picture Credit Line on page 24, 25]

Garo Nalbandian

[Picture Credit Line on page 25]

Pictorial Archive (Near Eastern History) Est.