907 Galilee, Galileans 908 potential for anti-Sacramentarian polemic (Comm. Galilee (mAr 9 : 2). Not only do we have here a divi- Gen. 31.48-55). sion between Upper and Lower Galilee, but the mention of the sycamore tree (Shiqma) reflects the Bibliography : ■ Calvin, J., Commentaries on the First Book of Moses Called Genesis, vol. 2 (trans. J. King; Grand Rapids, differences in altitude and vegetation between Up- Mich. 1989). ■ Luther, M., Luther’s Works, vol. 6 (ed. J. J. per Galilee (1200 m. above sea level) and Lower Gal- Pelikan, Saint Louis, Miss. 1970). ■ Sheridan, M. (ed.), Gen- ilee (600 m. above sea level), as sycamores do not esis 12–50 (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, vol. grow in areas higher than 400 m. above sea level. 2; Downers Grove, Ill., 2002). ■ Skinner, J., A Critical and The term “Galileans” appears only in the late Exegetical Commentary on Genesis (ICC; Edinburgh 1930). Second Temple period. This is a good reason to con- ■ Speiser, E. A., Genesis (AB 1; New York/London 1964). nect it to the self-identification of the Jews living in John Lewis this region or the Judeans identifying the Galileans. See also /Mizpah, Mizpeh To understand this self-identity it is necessary to present the development of the Jewish settlement in the Galilee from the First Temple period to the Galilee, Galileans 1st century CE. It is very clear today, according to I. Geography many archaeological excavations which were con- II. Hebrew Bible/Old Testament ducted in the Galilee that its Israelite population III. New Testament collapsed after the Assyrian attack in 732 BCE. Very few sites continued to exist for ten to fifty years I. Geography after the Assyrian conquest and most of the sites The term “Galilee” appears for the first time in the were abandoned. Historical sources are almost com- Bible in Josh 20 : 7; 21 : 32, concerning the cities of pletely silent about any remnants from this period, refuge: “Qedesh in the Galilee, in the Mountain of until the second century BCE. The book of Macca- Naphtali.” Although it is clear that it already has a bees (1 Macc 5 : 14-24) describes the arrival of mes- geographical unit connotation, the common de- sengers from the Galilee and Trans-Jordan who ask scription in the Bible is “Land of Naphtali” or Judah to help them against the Gentile’s attacks. “from Dan…” In the list of administrative units of Judah sends his brother Simon to rescue the “broth- the kingdom of Solomon, where some geographical ers” in the north and the campaign brings Simon units are mentioned, the Galilee is still missing and and his troops to chase the Gentile militias “to the instead the territories of the tribes are described. In gates of Ptolemais.” Then Simon takes those who the famous episode of King Solomon returning the did not want to stay in the Galilee and brings them land of Kabul to King Hiram in 1 Kgs 9 : 11, the to Jerusalem “with joy.” What can we learn from unit Galilee is mentioned again. It is clear however this story? 1) There were people in the Galilee who that in those books of the Bible in which it is men- considered themselves “brothers” of the Judean tioned, the name is connected to the northern, Jews. 2) Judah was ready to risk his small army by mountainous part of the land of Israel. sending them far away to help these people. 3) The In the book of Judith (1 : 8) it is first mentioned clashes with the Gentiles took place in central as a geographical term divided into “upper” and Lower Galilee. 4) The number of Jews in Galilee was “lower,” meaning “higher” and “lower,” in correla- probably small, they needed help, and some of tion. The book of Maccabees (1 Macc 5 : 14-24) men- them if not all did not want to stay there while a tions it for the first time in connection with the strong Jewish territory was built in Judea. 5) The native population who connect themselves to the force of a young Hasmonean territory in Judea was Jews of Judea, and Judah the Maccabee, or the au- not strong enough to establish and protect a Jewish thor of the book, called them “brothers.” Since territory in the Galilee. then, all historical sources are using the term Gali- Neither the book of Maccabees nor Josephus, lee, or its two geographical units, as a common ref- give us a description of a conquest of the Galilee by erence. The first source which gives a geographical the Hasmoneans. There is the famous short descrip- description of the Galilee and some of its borders is tion by Josephus about the conversion of the Iturae- Josephus (J.W. 3.35-40). ans to Judaism by Judah Aristobolus which, accord- This border is based on the concentration of ing to some historians, was the annexation of Jews in Jewish villages and towns and therefore Galilee; others suggest that Galilee was already does not include western Galilee. A similar border taken at the time of John Hyrcanus I, after his cam- line is reflected in the list of sixteen settlements paign against Scythopolis. Some archaeological evi- which were fortified by Josephus Flavius in the dence was found, displaying destruction layers of Galilee, and it includes eastern Upper Galilee and settlements from the late Hellenistic period (Mt. the entire Lower Galilee (J.W. 2.572-75). Mizpe HaYamim, Yodefat, the fortress of Qeren In the Mishnah, there is a comment which hints Naftali, Esh-Shuhra). In some of them Hasmonean at a geographical position that from Kefar Hananya coins were found above this layer. In any case, and higher it is Upper Galilee and lower, it is Lower young Jannaeus, according to Josephus, was raised Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception vol. 9 Authenticated | [email protected] © Walter de Gruyter, Berlin/Boston, 2014 Download Date | 12/11/18 10:26 PM 909 Galilee, Galileans 910 Map 1 Ancient Galilee in the Galilee. The first two Galilean cities and their The term Γαλιλαι appears in Josephus a few inhabitants which appear on the stage of history in times but the most important one is probably the postbiblical times during the event of the annexa- reference in Ag. Ap. 1.48 “… I was in command of tion of Galilee by the Hasmoneans are Sepphoris those whom we call Galileans…” (Zippori) and Asochis (Shikhin) in central Lower However, it seems as though the term came into Galilee – the same area where Simon’s troops may use during the 1st century BCE to the 1st century have marched towards Ptolemais some years before. CE, at the same time that the term “Edomeans” ap- It can hint at the area in which Jewish/Israelite rem- pears in southern Judea. nants concentrated during the five hundred years of historical and archaeological silence. Bibliography: ■ Aviam, M., Jews, Pagans, and Christians in the It is a common assumption today that the Jew- Galilee (Rochester 2004). ■ Freyne, S., Galilee from Alexander ish population of Galilee in the 1st century BCE was the Great to Hadrian (Wilmington, Del. 1980). ■ Horsley, R. composed of Jews who remained from earlier peri- A., Archaeology, History, and Society in Galilee (Valley Forge, ods, possibly some groups of local Gentiles who had Pa. 1996). ■ Leibner, U., Settlement and History in Hellenistic, converted to Judaism after the Hasmonean annexa- Roman, and Byzantine Galilee (TSAJ 127; Tübingen tion, veterans and garrisons of the Hasmonean 2009). ■ Schumacher, G., Abila of the Decapolis (London army, and mainly Jews who had emigrated from 1889). crowded Judea. Mordechai Aviam Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception vol. 9 Authenticated | [email protected] © Walter de Gruyter, Berlin/Boston, 2014 Download Date | 12/11/18 10:26 PM 911 Galilee, Galileans 912 II. Hebrew Bible/Old Testament ception (Matt 11 : 20–24; Mark 6 : 1–6; Luke 10 : 13– Galilee (MT Gālîl, Gĕlîlâ; LXX Γαλιλαα) is the name 15). All four Gospels relate that Jesus at some point of the mountainous region in the north of Pales- determined to take his message to the south, where tine, delimited by the Mediterranean coast to the he was crucified. Matthew, Mark, and John but not west, Litani river to the north, the Jordan to the Luke report that a resurrection appearance took east, and the Jezreel Valley to the south. Its name is place in Galilee (Matt 28 : 7, 16–20; Mark 16 : 7; derived from the Hebrew root g-l-l “to roll,” like the John 21). substantives gālîl “round rod,” “ring” (Esth 1 : 6), Much discussion has centered on the ways in and gĕlîlâ “district” (Josh 13 : 2; Ezek 47 : 8; Joel which the Galilean Judaism of Jesus might have dif- 4 : 4). In the MT, when used as the name of the re- fered from the religion of Jerusalem and its envi- gion, these substantives are always determined by rons. Many for instance have argued that the Juda- definite article or in a genitive relation (the latter ism of the north was more open to pagan influence only Isa 8 : 23 [9 : 1]). or more hellenized than its counterpart in the The MT refers to Galilee six times. Kedesh in south (cf. Judg 18 : 7; 2 Kgs 15 : 29, 17 : 24–7; Isa Galilee was one of the refuge cities set apart under 9 : 1–2; 1 Macc 5), or that Galileans were less strin- Joshua (Josh 20 : 7; 21 : 32; 1 Chr 6 : 61 [76]; cf. gent about Torah observance (cf.