Galilee

Galilee is a historic region in northern Israel, west of the Jordan River and north of Samaria. It is associated with events in the Hebrew Bible and the life of Jesus.

Sea of Galilee: A freshwater lake in northern Israel, also called Lake Tiberias and Lake Kinneret. This lake is the region’s defining geographic feature and the setting of many Gospel episodes.
Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy): The biblical kingdom traditionally ruled by Saul, David, and Solomon. Biblical accounts place Galilee within the northern territories of the united kingdom.
Upper Galilee: The mountainous northern part of the Galilee region. Its highlands differ sharply from the lower southern terrain.
Jesus: A first-century Jewish teacher whose life and teachings are central to Christianity. The Gospels locate much of Jesus’s public ministry in Galilee.
Nazareth: A city in northern Israel traditionally identified as the hometown of Jesus. The Gospels associate Jesus’s upbringing with this Galilean town.
Kingdom of Israel (Samaria): An Iron Age kingdom centered on Samaria that existed from the tenth to eighth centuries BCE. Galilee formed part of the northern kingdom before its conquest by Assyria.
Lower Galilee: The southern part of Galilee, characterized by rolling hills and broad valleys. This subdivision contains many of the region’s principal biblical-era settlements.
Galilean ministry: The period and activity associated with Jesus’s preaching and work in Galilee. This Gospel narrative gives the region its central place in Christian memory.
Capernaum: An ancient settlement on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee. The Gospels portray Capernaum as a center of Jesus’s activity.
Neo-Assyrian Empire: An ancient Mesopotamian empire that dominated the Near East from the tenth to seventh centuries BCE. Assyrian conquest reshaped Galilee’s population and political status.

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