TheSea of Galilee (Hebrew:יָם כִּנֶּרֶת,Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, גִּנֵּיסַר,Arabic:بحيرة طبريا), also calledLake Tiberias,Genezareth Lake orKinneret, is afreshwaterlake inIsrael. It is the lowest freshwater lake on Earth and the second-lowest lake in the world (after theDead Sea, asalt lake),[3] with its elevation fluctuating between 215 and 209 metres (705 and 686 ft) below sea level (depending on rainfall).[4] It is approximately 53 km (33 mi) in circumference, about 21 km (13 mi) long, and 13 km (8.1 mi) wide. Its area is 166.7 km2 (64.4 sq mi) at its fullest, and its maximum depth is approximately 43 metres (141 ft).[5] The lake is fed partly by underground springs, but its main source is theJordan River, which flows through it from north to south with the outflow controlled by theDegania Dam.
The lake has been called by different names throughout its history, usually depending on the dominant settlement on its shores. With the changing fate of the towns, the lake's name also changed.
The modern Hebrew nameKineret comes from theHebrew Bible, where it appears as the "sea of Kineret" inNumbers 34:11 andJoshua 13:27, and spelled כנרות "Kinerot" inHebrew inJoshua 11:2. This name was also found in the scripts ofUgarit, in theAqhat Epic. As the name of acity,Kinneret was listed among the "fenced cities" inJoshua 19:35. A persistent, though likely erroneous, popular etymology presumes that the nameKinneret may originate from the Hebrew wordkinnor ("harp" or "lyre"), because of the shape of the lake.[10] The scholarly consensus, however, is that the origin of the name is derived from the importantBronze andIron Age city of Kinneret, excavated at Tell el-'Oreimeh.[11] The city of Kinneret may have been named after the body of water rather than vice versa, and there is no evidence for the origin of the town's name.[12]
AllOld andNew Testament writers use the term "sea" (Hebrew יָםyam, Greek θάλασσα), with the exception ofLuke, who calls it "the Lake of Gennesaret" (Luke 5:1), from the Greek λίμνη Γεννησαρέτ (limnē Gennēsaret), the "Grecized form of Chinnereth".[13] TheBabylonian Talmud as well asFlavius Josephus mention the sea by the name "Sea of Ginosar" after the small fertileplain of Ginosar that lies on its western side.[14] Ginosar is yet another name derived from "Kinneret".[11]
The wordGalilee comes from the HebrewHaggalil (הַגָלִיל), which literally means "The District", a compressed form ofGelil Haggoyim "The District of Nations" (Isaiah 8:23). Toward the end of the 1st century CE, the Sea of Galilee became widely known as theSea of Tiberias after the city ofTiberias founded on its western shore in honour of the second Roman emperor,Tiberius. In the New Testament, the term "sea of Galilee" (Greek:θάλασσαν τῆς Γαλιλαίας,thalassan tēs Galilaias) is used in theGospel of Matthew4:18; 15:29, theGospel of Mark1:16; 7:31, and in theGospel of John6:1 as "the sea of Galilee, which is [the sea] of Tiberias" (θαλάσσης τῆς Γαλιλαίας τῆς Τιβεριάδος,thalassēs tēs Galilaias tēs Tiberiados), the late 1st century CE name.[15] Sea of Tiberias is also the name mentioned in Roman texts and in theJerusalem Talmud, and it was adopted into Arabic asBuḥayret Ṭabariyyāⓘ (بحيرة طبريا), "Lake Tiberias". Some writers use the spelling "Gallilee", for exampleSelah Merrill in a nineteenth century journal article.[16]
In 1989, remains of ahunter-gatherer site were found under the water at the southern end. Remains of mud huts were found inOhalo. Nahal Ein Gev, located about 3 km (1.9 mi) east of the lake, contains a village from the lateNatufian period. The site is considered one of the first permanent human settlements in the world from a time predating theNeolithic Revolution.[18]
Early Iron Age
According to Sugimoto (2015), the Iron Age IB (1150–1000 BCE) cities in the northeastern region of the Sea of Galilee likely reflect the activities of the Kingdom ofGeshur, mentioned in the Bible. Also, the later Iron Age IIA–B cities here are linked with the southern expansion of theAram-Damascus kingdom. Among these Galilean cities are Tel Dover, Tel ‘En Gev, Tel Hadar, Tel Bethsaida, and Tel Kinrot.[19]
Hellenistic and Roman periods
The Sea of Galilee lies on the ancientVia Maris, which linkedEgypt with the northern empires. TheGreeks,Hasmoneans, andRomans founded flourishing towns and settlements on the lake includingHippos andTiberias. Contemporary Roman–Jewish historianFlavius Josephus was so impressed by the area that he wrote, "One may call this place the ambition of Nature"; he also reports a thriving fishing industry at this time, with 230 boats regularly working in the lake. Archaeologists discovered one such boat, nicknamed theJesus Boat, in 1986.[20]
Jesus appears on the shore of Lake Tiberias by James TissotJesus and themiraculous catch of fish, in the Sea of Galilee, byRaphael
In 135 CE,Bar Kokhba's revolt was put down which was part of theJewish–Roman wars. The Romans responded by banning all Jews fromJerusalem. The center of Jewish culture and learning shifted to the region of Galilee and the Kinneret, particularly Tiberias. It was in this region that theJerusalem Talmud was compiled.[21]
Middle Ages
The Sea of Galilee's importance declined when theByzantine Empire lost control, and the area came under the control of theUmayyad Caliphate and subsequent Islamic empires. The palace ofMinya was built by the lake during the reign ofal-Walid I (705–715 CE). Apart from Tiberias, the major towns and cities in the area were gradually abandoned.[citation needed] In 1187, SultanSaladin defeated the armies of theCrusaderKingdom of Jerusalem at theBattle of Hattin, largely because he was able to cut the Crusaders off from the valuable fresh water of the Sea of Galilee.[22]
The lake had little importance within the earlyOttoman Empire. Tiberias did see a significant revival of its Jewish community in the 16th century but had gradually declined until the city wasdestroyed in 1660. In the early 18th century, Tiberias was rebuilt byZahir al-Umar, becoming the center of his rule over Galilee, and seeing also a revival of its Jewish community.[citation needed]
Early 20th century
In 1908, Jewish pioneers established theKinneret Farm at the same time as and next to Moshavat Kinneret in the immediate vicinity of the lake. The farm trained Jewish immigrants in modern farming. One group of youth from the training farm establishedKvutzatDegania in 1909–1910, popularly considered as the firstkibbutz, another group foundedKvutzat Kinneret in 1913, and yet another the first proper kibbutz,Ein Harod, in 1921, the same year when the firstmoshav,Nahalal, was established by a group trained at the farm. The Jewish settlements around Kinneret Farm are considered the cradle of the kibbutz culture of earlyZionism; Kvutzat Kinneret is the birthplace ofNaomi Shemer, buried at the Kinneret Cemetery next toRachel—two prominent national poets.
Southern tip of the lake, seen from Mount PoriyaSunrise over the Sea of Galilee from the Oasis d'Emmanuel – Tibériade
In 1917, the British defeated Ottoman Turkish forces and took control ofPalestine, while France took control of Syria. In the carve-up of the Ottoman territories between Britain and France, it was agreed that Britain would retain control of Palestine while France would control Syria. This required the allies to fix the border between theMandatory Palestine and theFrench Mandate of Syria.[23] The boundary was defined in broad terms by theFranco-British Boundary Agreement of December 1920, which drew it across the middle of the lake.[24] However, the commission established by the 1920 treaty redrew the boundary. The Zionist movement pressured the French and British to assign as many water sources as possible to Mandatory Palestine during the demarcating negotiations. The High Commissioner of Palestine,Herbert Samuel, had sought full control of the Sea of Galilee.[25] The negotiations led to the inclusion into the Palestine territory of the whole Sea of Galilee, both sides of theRiver Jordan,Lake Hula, Dan spring, and part of theYarmouk.[26] The final border approved in 1923 followed a 10-meter wide strip along the lake's northeastern shore,[27] cutting the Mandatory Syria (State of Damascus) off from the lake.
The British and French Agreement provided that existing rights over the use of the waters of the River Jordan by the inhabitants of Syria would be maintained; the government of Syria would have the right to erect a new pier atSemakh on Lake Tiberias or jointly use the existing pier; persons or goods passing between the landing-stage on the Lake of Tiberias and Semakh would not be subject to customs regulations, and the Syrian government would have access to the said landing-stage; the inhabitants of Syria and Lebanon would have the same fishing and navigation rights on Lakes Huleh, Tiberias and River Jordan, while the government of Palestine would be responsible for policing of lakes.[28]
State of Israel
View of the Sea of Galilee from space
On 15 May 1948, Syria invaded the newborn state of Israel,[29] capturing territory along the Sea of Galilee.[30] Under the 1949armistice agreement between Israel and Syria, Syria occupied the northeast shoreline of the Sea of Galilee. The agreement stated that the armistice line was "not to be interpreted as having any relation whatsoever to ultimate territorial arrangements." Syria remained in possession of the lake's northeast shoreline until the 1967Arab-Israeli war.
The lake lies in the center of the Jordan Valley, in the northern part of theSyrian-African rift. Several directions oftectonic movements characterize the region, mirroring the patterns typical of the entire Syrian-African rift: north–south movements, which started about 20 million years ago; stretching movements in the east–west direction, which began later, at the beginning of thePleistocene (about 1.8 million years ago), and caused thesubsidence of the lake area.
As a result of horizontal shifts in the north–south direction and subsidence of the area, a lake was formed, with an asymmetrical bottom—steeper in the east and a gentler in the west. In the southern part an underwater cliff is present, covered by the lake's sediments. The cliff is distinct in the western part and less so in the east.[31]
The Sea of Galilee in its current form was preceded byLake Lisan, which extended from the northern Sea of Galilee toHatzeva in the south, more than 200 km (120 mi) from the present southernmost point of the lake. Lake Lisan was preceded by Lake Ovadia, a much smaller fresh water lake. Lake Kinneret was formed in its current form less than 20,000 years ago, as a result of tectonic subsidence and the shrinking up of Lake Lisan.[32]
In 1986 theAncient Galilee Boat, also known as the Jesus Boat, was discovered on the northwest shore during a drought when water levels receded. It is an ancient fishing boat from the 1st century AD, and although there is no evidence directly linking the boat to Jesus and his disciples, it nevertheless is an example of the kind of boat that Jesus and his disciples, some of whom were fishermen, may have used.
During a routine sonar scan in 2003 (finding published in 2013),[33] archaeologists discovered an enormous conical stone structure. The structure, which has a diameter of around 230 feet (70 m), is made of boulders and stones. The ruins are estimated to be between 2,000 and 12,000 years old and are about 10 metres (33 ft) underwater.[34] The estimated weight of the monument is over 60,000 tons. Researchers explain that the site resembles early burial sites in Europe and was likely built in the earlyBronze Age.
In February 2018, archaeologists discovered seven intact mosaics withGreek inscriptions. One inscription, at five meters one of the longest found to date in western Galilee, gives the names of donors and the names and positions of church officials, including Irenaeus, bishop ofTyre in 445. Another mosaic mentions a woman as a donor to the church's construction. This inscription is the first in the region to mention a female donor.[35]
Water level
Sea of Galilee water levels (January 2004 – February 2012)
The water level is monitored and regulated. There are three levels at which the alarm is rung:
The upper red line, 208.9 m (685 ft) belowsea level (BSL), where facilities on the shore start being flooded.
The lower red line, 213.2 m (699 ft) BSL, where pumping should stop.
The black (low-level) line, 214.4 m (703 ft) BSL, where irreversible damage occurs.[36]
Daily monitoring of the Sea of Galilee's water level began in 1969, and the lowest level recorded since then was November 2001, which today constitutes the "black line" of 214.87 meters below sea level (although it is believed that in the first half of the 20th century, the water level had fallen lower than the current black line at times of drought). The Israeli government monitors water levels and publishes the results daily.[37] Increasing water demand in Israel, Lebanon and Jordan, as well as dry winters, have resulted in stress on the lake and a decreasing water line to dangerously low levels at times. The Sea of Galilee is at risk of becoming irreversibly salinized by the salt water springs under the lake, which are held in check by the weight of the freshwater on top of them.[38]
After five years of drought up to 2018, the Sea of Galilee was expected to drop near the black line.[39] In February 2018, the city of Tiberias requested adesalination plant to treat the water coming from the Sea of Galilee and demanded a new water source for the city.[40] March 2018 was the lowest point in water income[definition needed] to the lake since 1927.[41] In September 2018 theIsraeli energy and water office announced a project to pour desalinated water from the Mediterranean Sea into the Sea of Galilee using a tunnel. The tunnel is expected to be the largest of its kind in Israel and will transfer half[clarification needed] of the Mediterranean desalted water and will move 300 to 500 million cubic meters of water per year.[42] The plan is said to cost five billion shekels.[43]
Since the beginning of the 2018–19 rainy season, the Sea of Galilee has risen considerably. From being near the ecologically dangerous black line of −214.4 m, the level has risen by April 2020 to just 16 cm (6.3 in) below the upper red line, a result of strong rains and a radical decrease in pumping.[44] During the entire 2018–19 rainy season the water level rose by a historical record of 3.47 meters (11.4 ft), while the 2019–20 winter brought a 2.82 meters (9 ft 3 in) rise.[44] The Water Authority dug a new canal in order to let 5 billion liters (1.1×109 imp gal; 1.3×109 U.S. gal) of water flow from the lake directly into the Jordan River, bypassing the existing dams system for technical and financial reasons.[44]
Water use
The Sea of Galilee as seen from Gamla in the Golan Heights
TheNational Water Carrier of Israel, completed in 1964, transports water from the lake to the population centers of Israel, and in the past supplied most of the country's drinking water.[45] In 2016 the lake supplied approximately 10% of Israel's drinking water needs.[46]
In 1964, Syria attempted construction of aHeadwater Diversion Plan that would have blocked the flow of water into the Sea of Galilee, sharply reducing the water flow into the lake.[47] This project and Israel's attempt to block these efforts in 1965 were factors which played into regional tensions culminating in the 1967 Six-Day War. During the war, Israel captured theGolan Heights, which contain some of the sources of water for the Sea of Galilee.
Up until the mid-2010s, about 400 million m3 (14 billion cu ft) of water was pumped through the National Water Carrier each year.[48] Under the terms of theIsrael–Jordan peace treaty, Israel also supplies 50 million m3 (1.8 billion cu ft) of water annually from the lake toJordan.[49] In recent years the Israeli government has made extensive investments inwater conservation,reclamation anddesalination infrastructure in the country. This has allowed it to significantly reduce the amount of water pumped from the lake annually in an effort to restore and improve its ecological environment, as well as respond to some of the most extreme drought conditions in hundreds of years affecting the lake'sintake basin since 1998. Therefore, it was expected that in 2016 only about 25 million m3 (880 million cu ft) of water would be drawn from the lake for Israeli domestic consumption, a small fraction of the amount typically drawn from the lake over the previous decades.[46]
Tourism
Tourists on a boat at Tiberias, 1891Kinneret beach
Tourism around the Sea of Galilee is an important economic segment. Historical and religious sites in the region draw both local and foreign tourists. The Sea of Galilee is an attraction forChristian pilgrims who visit Israel to see the places where Jesus performed miracles according to the New Testament. Alonzo Ketcham Parker, a 19th-century American traveler, called visiting the Sea of Galilee "a 'fifth gospel' which one read devoutly, his heart overflowing with quiet joy".[50]
In April 2011, Israel unveiled a 40-mile (64 km) hiking trail in Galilee for Christian pilgrims, called the "Jesus Trail". It includes a network of footpaths, roads and bicycle paths linking sites central to the lives of Jesus and his disciples. It ends atCapernaum on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus expounded his teachings.[51] Another key attraction is the site where the Sea of Galilee's water flows into the Jordan River, to which thousands of pilgrims from all over the world come to be baptized every year.[citation needed]
Israel's most well-known open water swim race, the Kinneret Crossing, is held every year in September, drawing thousands of open water swimmers to participate in competitive and noncompetitive events.[52] Tourists also partake in the building of rafts onLavnun Beach, called Rafsodia. Here many different age groups work together to build a raft with their bare hands and then sail that raft across the sea.[53] Other economic activities include fishing in the lake andagriculture, particularlybananas, dates, mangoes, grapes and olives in the fertile belt of land surrounding it.[54]
The Turkish Aviators Monument, erected during the Ottoman era, stands near KibbutzHa'on on the lakeshore, commemorating the Turkish pilots whose monoplanes crashed en route to Jerusalem.[55]
Ecology
Redbelly tilapia (Tilapia zillii; "St. Peter's fish") served in a Tiberias restaurant
The warm waters of the Sea of Galilee support various flora and fauna, which have supported a significant commercial fishery for more than two millennia. Local flora include various reeds along most of the shoreline as well asphytoplankton. Fauna includezooplankton,benthos and a number of fish species such asMirogrex terraesanctae.[5] The Fishing and Agricultural Division of the Ministry of Water and Agriculture of Israel lists 10 families of fish living in the lake, with a total of 27 species – 19 native and 8introduced species.[56] Local fishermen talk of four types of fish: "مشط musht" (tilapia); sardin (the Kinneret bleak,Mirogrex terraesanctae); "بني biny" or Jordan barbel,Luciobarbus longiceps (barb-like); and North African sharptoothcatfish (Clarias gariepinus).[56] The tilapia species include the Galilean tilapia (Sarotherodon galilaeus), the blue tilapia (Oreochromis aureus), and the redbelly tilapia (Tilapia zillii).[56] Fish caught commercially includeTristramella simonis and the Galilean tilapia, locally called "St. Peter's fish".[5] In 2005, 300 short tons (270 t) of tilapia were caught by local fishermen. This dropped to 8 short tons (7.3 t) in 2009 because ofoverfishing.[57] A fish species that is unique to the lake,Tristramella sacra, used tospawn in the marsh and has not been seen since the 1990s droughts.[58] Conservationists fear this species may have becomeextinct.[58]
Low water levels in drought years have stressed thelake's ecology. This may have been aggravated by over-extraction of water for either the National Water Carrier to supply other parts of Israel or, since 1994, for the supply of water to Jordan. Droughts of the early and mid-1990s dried out the marshy northern margin of the lake.[58] It is hoped that drastic reductions in the amount of water pumped through the National Water Carrier will help restore the lake's ecology over the span of several years.
^Easton's Revised Bible Dictionary, "Chinnereth". Another speculation is that the name comes from a fruit called in Biblical Hebrewkinar, which is thought to be the fruit ofZiziphus spina-christi.
^Merrill, S.,Oriental Department: Palestine Explorations, inThe American Antiquarian: A Quarterly Journal Devoted to Early American History, Ethnology and Archaeology, Chicago, Volume 2, Issue 2, (1 October 1879), p. 155, accessed on 29 November 2024
^"Khirbet Al-Minya".Jalili48. Moslih Kanaaneh. 12 May 2006. Retrieved3 February 2015.
^Franco-British Convention on Certain Points Connected with the Mandates for Syria and the Lebanon, Palestine and Mesopotamia, signed 23 December 1920. Text available inAmerican Journal of International Law, Vol. 16, No. 3, 1922, 122–126.
^abcDr. Rafael D. Guererro III (5 May 2018)."St. Peter's Fish in Israel".Agriculture Monthly (August 2015). Manila, Philippines. Retrieved21 October 2019.
^"Still Fishers of Men".Vermont Catholic.1 (12): 3. June 2010.
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