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By-Paths of Bible Knowledge

Book # 5 - Galilee in the Time of Christ

Rev. Selah Merrill, D.D.

Chapter 10

THE NOTED CITIES AND TOWNS OF GALILEE.

IF now we turn to the cities and inhabitants of this province, we shall find a country whose surface was dotted with flourishing towns, and covered with a dense population. From the Gospels themselves, we should expect to find here numerous 'cities and villages,' swarms of people, activity and energy, much wealth, and in some cases even luxury.

Beginning with the Sea of Galilee, we find upon its shores no less than nine cities, while numerous large villages could be counted on the plains and hillsides around. Not far from Tiberias lay Bethmaus, where was a synagogue. About an hour's walk, or a little more than that, below the baths of Tiberias lay Tarichsea, where the fish business was, as we have seen, extensively carried on. The lake reached to the walls on two of its sides. Of the sea-fight there we have already spoken. At that time many thousands of the inhabitants were slain: six thousand robust young men were sent to Corinth to work on the canal which Nero was cutting through the Isthmus there, and thirty thousand more were sold as slaves. This place had had a hard fortune; for in B.C. 51 Cassius took it, and carried into slavery thirty thousand of its inhabitants. It was called a larger place than Tiberias. Josephus was brought there by sea (probably because the distance was considerable, and because Tiberias was unfriendly to him) the night after he was wounded near Capernaum. From a passage in Josephus, where he states that 'materials for rafts were abundant ' and ' workmen were numerous,' we gather that one of the important industries of the city was ship-building.

Near Tarichsea, and just below the point where the Jordan leaves the lake, there was a splendid bridge across the river, supported by ten piers, and thronged by soldiers, citizens, and merchant-caravans from the rich plains and cities of the Decapolis, which lay to the east.

Three or four miles from the Jordan, after crossing it, on the eastern shore of the lake, was situated a town which some scholars are inclined to identify with Hippos, an important city of the district ruled by Herod Agrippa II., a place where he sometimes resided, and one that obtained considerable notoriety in the Jewish war. But a more probable supposition as to the site of Hippos, and the one which, in consequence of our recent investigations, we are inclined to favour, is that it is identical with the modern Fik. Still further northward along the shore last mentioned, was situate Gamala, called Camel, from the peculiar shape or outline of the hill on which it stood. It was a little south of east from Tiberias, and its walls and towers commanded a fine view of the lake below and of the country on every side. The Talmud reckoned it as a city of Galilee. Josephus did not overrate the character of this place when he called it 'the strongest city in that part.' It was noted likewise for the bravery of its inhabitants. This fact, combined with its ' strong natural defences,' enabled it to withstand a siege of seven months from Agrippa II., after it had revolted from the Romans. Vespasian at last led against it three veteran and famous legions, the 5th, loth, and 15th, but they were vigorously repulsed, Agrippa was wounded, and Vespasian himself was once surrounded by the enemy and in imminent danger of losing his life. At length, however, the tide turned against the Jews, the fortress was subdued, and the garrison and citizens were terribly punished.

A short distance farther north, on the left, or south bank, of what is now called Wady Semakh, was Gergesa, near which was the scene of the demoniacs and the herd of swine¹. Passing on up the eastern side of the lake, to about one mile above where the Jordan enters it, one would reach the Eastern Bethsaida. Herod Philip, the tetrarch, had transformed this place from a fisherman's village into a beautiful and flourishing city, and given it a royal name, Julias, in honour of Julia, the daughter of Augustus; and here, in a magnificent and costly tomb, which he built for himself, Philip was buried A. D. 33. It was near this city that Christ fed the five thousand with the five loaves and two fishes, and, after sending the multitudes away, retired to the neighbouring hill to pray². From this place, after crossing the Jordan, to Tiberias, our starting-point, the distance is only four, or perhaps six, hours' ride; yet, within this limited space, along the north-western and western shore of the lake, were situated in the time of Christ no less than four flourishing cities or towns, namely: Chorazin, the Western Bethsaida, Capernaum, and Magdala. If, however, we may judge from the ruins existing at the present time, there were at least seven instead of four such towns within the distance here indicated. From this Western Bethsaida, which was a beautiful 'city,' πόλις, by the sea, three disciples were called— Philip, Andrew, and Peter, and this may also have been the home of Zebedee and his two sons, the apostles James and John. John calls it Bethsaida in Galilee, to distinguish it from the other³. It was intimately connected with many events in the life of Christ. The fine wheat-fields about Chorazin and Capernaum we have already noticed. To the names now given should be added another, that of Beth-Arbel, or Arbela, as it was also called in Christ's time, distant about one hour from Tiberias, and lying west of Magdala. It had been celebrated as a stronghold from the days of Hosea⁴. Josephus speaks of its fortified caves, which at many periods, but especially in the early days of Herod the Great, were the hiding-places of robbers. Its situation was important, as it commanded the road from Carmel, Ptolemais, and Southern Galilee to Damascus. In B. c. 39, after Herod was made king, he crushed these robbers by a bold and thorough stroke, perfectly characteristic of the man.

Magdala was also, as we have already seen, a flourishing city of this densely populated region; the name has been immortalised in every language of Christendom as denoting the birth-place of Mary Magdalene, or better, Mary of Magdala. Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum were those in which ' most ' of the Master's ' mighty works were done,' and which, ' because they repented not⁵,' He felt it necessary to ' upbraid ' and denounce. Capernaum was for nearly three years the home of Jesus. Here all the elements of Christ's character were exhibited as in no pther place. His own words throw much light on the condition of the city at that time. It was one of the chief points on the great caravan route, already referred to, leading from Egypt and the sea-coast to Damascus. It had its custom-house, its numerous tax-gatherers, its Roman garrison, its schools, and its costly synagogue⁶. Besides the places already mentioned as lying on or near the shore of the lake, we have yet to speak of Tiberias, on the west side, and which, probably, surpassed any one of the others, both in political and social importance (both Capernaum and Tarichaea may have equalled if not surpassed Tiberias in commercial importance), as well as in the richness and splendour of its buildings. With a decided Roman taste, Antipas (B.C. 4-A.D. 39) had lavished upon it vast sums of money to make it a perfect city. Here, close by the warm springs, and bathed by the blue waters of the lake, this luxurious and worldly Herod, the murderer of John the Baptist, had built magnificent Grecian colonnades, Roman gates, splendid public buildings, including his palace, and adorned the city with marble statues, and sought to appease the Jewish portion of the citizens, to whom these things were no doubt very distasteful, by building for them perhaps the finest synagogue in all the north, ' in whose colossal basilica during the period of the revolution the assemblies of the people were held.' The Βουλῆ, or council of nobles, of Tiberias numbered in the time of the Jewish war six hundred members. Previous to the building of Tiberias, Sepphoris had been the chief city of Galilee. Lewin thinks that Antipas built Tiberias a few years before Christ began His public ministry, about A.D. 27. There had been either a battle here, or else an old burying-ground, for the workmen came upon quantities of human bones, which made the place unclean to the stricter Jews. It is supposed that Christ never visited this city; for which two reasons are suggested: 1, He may have shared in the feeling of the orthodox Jews; or, 2, He may have wished to avoid Antipas⁷. In the time of Agrippa II. Tiberias was degraded below Sepphoris, and on this account there must have been some feeling between the citizens of the two places. Vespasian did not dare approach Tiberias, which had been fortified by Josephus, with less than three legions of his best troops. The old prejudice on account of the bones at last died out, and the Rabbis have a tradition as to how the city was made pure. Sailors formed quite a class among its inhabitants. The place was the scene of many important events in the Jewish war. But from the Jordan to the sea-coast, scattered everywhere among the hills, were numerous towns and cities, many of which were of great importance; we may mention Gischala, Kadesh, Safed, Caesarea Philippi (Paneas), Cana, Ramah, Gabara, Jotapata, Japha, Gabatha, Zabulon, Hazor, Rimmon, Nazareth, Tabor, Sepphoris; and in the south Bethshean (Scythopolis), and possibly Gadara. It must not be supposed that this list embraces all of even the important places of Galilee, for Josephus states that it had two hundred and four cities and villages, the smallest of which numbered about fifteen thousand inhabitants. Tarichaea had forty thousand, and Scythopolis about the same number. Japha was the largest 'village ' in Galilee, and strongly fortified. Zabulon was one of the largest cities in the north, and built in elegant style. It was 'a town of admirable beauty,' and 'its houses were built on the model of those of Tyre, Sidon, and Berytus.' This remark of Josephus will be significant when we add the statement of Strabo, that the houses of Tyre were many stories in height, 'more even than at Rome,' where Augustus, to check the passion for erecting lofty dwellings, decreed that buildings along the public ways at least should not exceed seventy feet in height. From the language we are to infer that, remote from the streets, they were still higher, and, of course, in other respects their elegant or magnificent character would correspond. Jotapata was 'the strongest of the cities fortified by Josephus.' Mount Tabor was a stronghold. There was a fortress on it at least from B.C. 218 to A.D. 70, which, however, dated probably from the early history of the country. In B.C. 218 it was taken by Antiochus the Great, and in B.C. 55 Alexander, son of Aristobuliis, and rival of Antipater, the father of Herod the Great, rallied his forces at Mount Tabor, but was defeated by Gabinius, and ten thousand of his men (i.e. Jews) were slain. This beautiful and conspicuous natural object, with its walls, towers and roofs, may well have been the ' city set upon a hill.' Safed, because of its lofty situation, was visible from the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Later, Safed and Tiberias formed two of the four sacred cities of the Jews; the two others were Hebron and Jerusalem. Sepphoris was of great importance. It was called ' the security of all Galilee.' Here were the public archives of the province, after they were removed from Tiberias in the time of Agrippa II., and here also was a royal magazine of arms. Some of these cities were built on the summits of hills, or, in other cases, on the brows of the mountains, and, when seen from afar, were compared to 'birds resting upon lofty nests.' Many of those places that were strongly fortified were celebrated for severe and bloody struggles during the Jewish war, and for the bravery of their inhabitants — fighting to the death for their country and homes.

Caesarea Philippi deserves special notice. ' It was the famous seat of idol-worship for many ages.' Its present name, Banias, is a corruption of Panes, which commemorates the worship of the Greek god Pan. But the name Paneas is in turn but a corruption of the far more ancient name Balinas, which commemorates the worship here of Baal ten and perhaps fifteen centuries before the place was even known to the Greeks. The old inhabitants of the land could hardly have selected a more charming locality than this as a religious centre. On account of its scenery alone it had been a place of note from the earliest times. It has been spoken of as ' the finest spot in the Holy Land; ' far up among, or rather under, the hills, beneath Hermon's 'eternal tent of snow,' with its castles and palaces, its grotto-sanctuary of Pan, and its marble gods, with scenery both picturesque and grand, — it might well be esteemed as 'beautiful for situation.'

West and south of the town stretched the great Huleh Plain and the Lake wrhich was known in earlier times as ' the waters of Merom,' whose shores were the scene of one of the greatest battles of Joshua's time, when the tribes of Northern Canaan massed their forces — warriors, horses and chariots — ' even as the sand that is upon the sea-shore in multitude⁸,' for a final and desperate conflict with the invader. Seven centuries later these shores were desolated by the conquering army of Tiglath Pileser, King of Assyria⁹. Two centuries before Christ (B.C. 198) a great battle was fought immediately before this town between Scopas, the general of Ptolemy Epiphanes, and Antiochus the Great, in which a large part of Scopas' army was destroyed. This battle is specially memorable and interesting in the annals of Palestine because in it elephants were extensively used, which must have caused terror to the people of Upper Galilee who either witnessed or engaged in the struggle.

The 'grotto-sanctuary' just referred to, was, as Josephus describes it, 'a very fine cave in a mountain, under which there is a great cavity in the earth, and the cavern is abrupt, and prodigiously deep, and full of still water; over it hangs a vast mountain, and under the caverns arise the springs of the Jordan¹⁰.' In the parallel passage in the Wars'¹¹, he describes 'a yawning chasm' in the cave, 'which descends to an immeasurable depth, containing a vast collection of still water, hitherto found unfathomable by any length of line.' Herod the Great adorned this place, ' which was already a remarkable one,' still further, by the erection of a beautiful temple of white marble, which he dedicated to Augustus. Under Herod Philip the place was greatly enlarged, and it enjoyed perhaps its most flourishing period, although it retained its importance throughout the first century at least.

Eastward from the town, towards Damascus, ran one of the main highways of the country, which from the days of Abraham had been a favourite route for invading armies. By a law of the land, these roads were of such width that chariots could meet and pass each other without difficulty or danger. On the north side of this highway, three miles from Caesarea Philippi, stood one of the strongest castles in Syria, from whose walls and towers the beholder could look down on the Lake and Plain, and up to the highlands of Galilee that rose beyond. The public road, after crossing the Plain, divided and led up over the hills in two directions, one branch going to Sidon and the other to Tyre. Both roads were guarded by castles situated at the most commanding points. That on the road to Tyre was in full view from that above Banias, and as in those days means for signalling from point to point were well known, the soldiers in these two fortresses— in times of danger or in moments of victory — no doubt by this means communicated with each other across the great Plain below.

This place has borne in history no less than seven different names, although Caesarea Philippi is the only one by which it is known in the New Testament, — called thus to distinguish it from its sister city on the sea-coast. About the commencement of our era it had likewise a variety of masters. It is a curious but interesting fact that in the year 36 B.C. this town, and the region about it, were owned by the fascinating but infamous Cleopatra, having been bestowed upon her by the infatuated Antony. After her death it was farmed out to Zenodorus, a petty ruler, who disgraced his office by his intrigues with the robbers of the desert. On his death, in B.C. 20, Herod the Great came into possession of it, by whom it was bequeathed to his son Herod Philip, He died in A.D. 33, when it reverted to the Emperor Tiberius, and was attached to the Roman province of Syria. Scarcely four years passed before it was given by Caligula, in A.D. 37, to Herod Agrippa I., who died in A.D. 44. This is the person called in Acts xii. 1, 'Herod the King,' who died, as there narrated, a terrible death at Caesarea on the sea-coast. For nineteen years subsequent to his death it was under the dominion of the procurators Cuspius Fadus, Tiberius Alexander, and Cumanus. At last it was bestowed upon Herod Agrippa II. in A.D. 53, to whom it belonged during the Jewish war, or from A.D. 66 to A.D. 70,

In A. D. 67, after the destruction of Jotapata, and Galilee was practically subdued, King Agrippa II. invited Vespasian to Caesarea Philippi, and entertained him, it is said, ' in the best manner his resources permitted.' Here the Roman general ' rested his troops for twenty days, and enjoyed himself in festivities, presenting thank-offerings to God for his success,' i. e. over the patriots of Galilee. This was in midsummer, and his son Titus was with him during this interval of relaxation from their work of conquest. Three years later, in A.D. 70, after Vespasian had gone to Rome, Titus, who had taken Jerusalem, went again to Caesarea Philippi, and remained some time, exhibiting public spectacles of various kinds. Very many of the Jewish prisoners taken at Jerusalem were brought hither at this time, and destroyed in the most violent and cruel manner. • Some were thrown to wild beasts, while others, in large bodies, were compelled to encounter one another in combat.'

These facts show, on the one hand, that this place possessed unusual attractions, while, on the other, these scenes and deeds of cruelty and blood, which the Romans enjoyed, and even looked upon as sport, only add to the chequered history of this ancient town, which has witnessed almost every variety of fortune that cities or men can experience.

The interest of these few historical facts, as connected with this place, will be greatly enhanced, it seems to us, when we consider that Caesarea Philippi was visited by our Lord, and that one of the foot-hills of Hermon, overlooking the region as well as the town itself, was the scene of the Transfiguration. This single fact would make it one of the most sacred localities in the Holy Land. It was here that Christ questioned His disciples as to His own character: ' Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am¹²? ' On the one hand, before their eyes as they sat and spoke together, were the military power of Rome and pagan idolatry in its most fascinating forms, and on the other Christ and His disciples, a humble band; but the Master utters to one of them the notable words: ' Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it:' — a prediction of ultimate triumph in the face of what to human wisdom must have seemed insurmountable obstacles. This city, famous for the visits and works of kings, emperors, and victorious generals, was honoured also by the presence of Jesus of Nazareth. This is, however, but one of the many strange contrasts which meet us almost at every turn as we study the history of this land of marvels.

The terrible energy with which the Galileans defended Jotapata in the Jewish war ought never to be forgotten. Vespasian tried to starve them out, but could not. The valley about it was so deep that the sight failed on looking down into it.

The citizens of Gadara fought at Tarichsea. It was taken by Vespasian, burned, and the inhabitants massacred.

Cana was perhaps Cana of Galilee, a place memorable to the Christian, where Josephus was at one time when summoned to Tiberias¹³.

Sepphoris was the seat of one of the Five Councils which Gabinius established to govern the nation; it was a place of strength, and had an arsenal. The Talmud mentions an 'upper' and a Mower' town.

At Scythopolis the 15th legion wintered after Jotapata. Josephus makes it belong to the Decapolis, of which ' it was the largest city; ' but commercially it belonged to the region of the Sea of Galilee. Both the Talmud and Josephus agree in this. Scythopolis, and certain places east of the Sea of Galilee, which are usually reckoned to Peraea, the Talmud counts to Galilee. But even if we had not this authority, the fact that they lay on or near the shore of the Lake, and would therefore add very much to its life and business, is sufficient reason for mentioning them in our estimate of Galilee.