Storms on the Sea of Galilee Help Us Fresh-Water Lake, Making It Ideal for Better Understand and Appreciate What Those Involved in the Fishing Industry
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TGP: Matthew 15:22-36 STORMSon the Sea of Galilee Looking westward across the Sea of Galilee from Hippos. BY G. AL WRIGHT, JR. Galilee. How does knowing about the Many varieties of fish live in the storms on the Sea of Galilee help us fresh-water lake, making it ideal for better understand and appreciate what those involved in the fishing industry. VERYBODY TALKS ABOUT we read in the New Testament? A person can stand anywhere the weather. Even when we meet along the shore and see the expanse someone for the first time, we Geographical Features of the lake, which is defined by the tend to talk about the weather. Located at the northern end of the mountains that surround it. The EThis article is about the weather. It Jordan River Valley, the Sea of Galilee mountains differ in height reaching is about one kind of weather. It is is 680 feet below sea level; measuring over 2,000 feet above sea level on the about one kind of weather in a par- 13 by 7 1/2 miles at its widest points, it eastern side of the sea at the Golan ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ BRENT BRUCE (60/9593) ILLUSTRATOR ticular location—storms on the Sea of covers approximately 64 square miles. Heights. With its green and blue hues, LIFEWAY.COM/BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR 79 the lake is beautiful to behold from in a physical sense and then simply have no end. James 1:6 uses the any vantage point. The ancient rabbis cite the reference for the symbolic term symbolically and translates it said, “Although God has created seven usage. Looking up these verses in as “surging sea.” seas, yet He has chosen this one as His which words are used symbolically Lailaps describes a severe wind- special delight.”1 But the beauty of this may help us better appreciate the storm or at its most extreme, a sea can turn ugly when a storm hits. force of the storms. hurricane.6 Used only three What do we know about the storms Anemos, which is translated times (“windstorm,” Mark 4:37; on the Sea of Galilee? “wind”2 (Mark 4:39),3 is used numer- “windstorm,” Luke 8:23; “storm,” ous times in the New Testament, but 2 Peter 2:17), this term describes the Storm Words Mark 4:35-41 uses it in conjunction most forceful of the weather condi- The New Testament records Jesus with two other storm words. The tions. This word depicts weather being involved with two storms on three, when used together, depict the that is both threatening and vio- the Sea of Galilee. In the first, He kind of tempestuous force that rocks a lent. This word is used symboli- walked on the water; in the sec- boat and all who are in it! The word is cally in 2 Peter 2:17. ond, He spoke and calmed a raging used symbolically in Ephesians 4:14 These four words together, all storm (Matt. 14:22-33; Mark 4:35-41). and is translated “wind.” used in the context of the storm The Gospel writers used four Kuma is translated “wave”4 stories in the New Testament, different Greek words that can help (Mark 4:37). When used in seem to point to three realties about us understand the nature and char- these storm stories, it accentu- these storms. They were sudden. acter of these storms. Each word ates the unpredictability and They were unpredictable. They also occurs elsewhere in the New instability of the situation. were often extremely violent. Do Testament in a symbolic sense. Jude 13 uses the word symbolically the meanings of these four words The symbolic usage helps illustrate and translates it as “waves.” validate what we know about the intensive force behind these Kludon can be roughly translated storms on the Sea of Galilee? words when used to describe a as “rough water”5 (“raging waves,” literal weather phenomenon. We Luke 8:24). This word pictures a will look at how the word is used succession of waves that seem to Sea of Galilee Weather Averages Wind averages in miles per hour Rain averages in inches 9 8.4 PHOTO/ BRENT BRUCE (165/B/1799) ILLUSTRATOR 8.2 • 8 • • 7.7 8.1 7.1 • 7 7.1 6.6 • • 6.2 • 6.7• • 6 5.9 • 5.8• 5.6• 5 4 3.5• 3 2.8 2.7• • Above: The pits According to 2 with stone floors early historians, 1.6 • 1.2 are saline pools at Magdala had a 1 1.2• • the fish market in thriving salted fish 0.6 ancient Magdala, export enterprise, 0.5 • 0.1 0.1 • which was the which allowed the 0 • 0 0 • hometown of town to be self- JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC Mary Magdalene. sustaining. 80 BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR / SUMMER 2020 PHOTO BY JAMES BALLA ON UNSPLASH Above: Shore of wind events, not rain events. The the Sea of Galilee. fierce windstorms would sweep Left: Mosaic of a over the Golan Heights, plunge fishing boat, pos- passionately to the sea, and pro- sibly dated to the 1st cent. AD. The duce ferocious winds that would mosaic shows two cause waves to rise over the top of masts and the a boat, striking terror in the hearts steering rudder 7 ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ BRENT BRUCE (165/B/2016) ILLUSTRATOR on the boat’s right of those on board. (stern) side. In the The words that are used in the lower right is a accounts of Jesus calming storms remaining partial image of a fish. all point to the wind that blows the waves—with no mention of rain. Storm Facts Second, the height of the moun- It was the wind that agitated the Most researchers who have given time tains, particularly on the eastern sea, and it was Jesus who spoke and energy to studying the topog- side rising upwards of 2,000 feet and brought calm to both. I raphy of the Sea of Galilee and the above sea level, creates a natural 1. Todd Bolen, “The Sea of Galilee,” Jerusalem Perspective, nature of the storms that are recorded collision course for the cold air October 31, 1989, www.jerusalemperspective.com/1476/. in the Bible agree that a storm on descending from such a height to 2. “a‡nemoß“ (anemos, a strong wind) in Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early the sea can be characterized as sud- meet the warm air mass ascending Christian Literature [BDAG], rev. and ed. Frederick William den, unpredictable, and potentially from the lake below. Under such Danker, 3rd ed. (Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 2000), 77. 3. All Scripture quotations are from the Christian violent. Several factors contribute circumstances the collision comes Standard Bible (CSB). to this conclusion. First, the location suddenly and violently. 4. “kuvma“ (kuma, wave) in BDAG, 575. 5. “klu/dwn“ (kludon, rough water) in BDAG, 550. of the Sea of Galilee at the northern Third, the topography and the 6. “lai√lay“ (lailaps; whirlwind, hurricane) in BDAG, 581. end of the Great Rift Valley and its colliding of warm and cold air 7. “What Type of Storms Did Jesus Calm: Wind or Rain?” thus being surrounded by mountains masses create swirling and unpre- in Lexam Geographic Commentary on the Gospels, ed. provide an optimum setup for the dictable winds. What seems to be Barry J. Beitzel (Bellingham, WA : Lexham, 2017), 177–80. perfect storm. The winds that create clear from both the geographical the storm come across the mountains location of the Sea of Galilee and G. Al Wright, Jr., is pastor of and drop suddenly and severely upon the words that are used about the the First Baptist Church in the lake below. storms on the sea is that they were Waynesboro, Georgia. LIFEWAY.COM/BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR 81.