To Herod Antipas was allotted all Galilee, together with the district of Perea, which includes that part of Palestine east of the Jordan to Arabia, and south of Pella to Machaerus,and which in the New Testament is called the “coasts of Judea beyond Jordan.”[546]
To Herod Philip were given Iturea and Trachonitis.The former extends from the northern border of Jaulân[547] to the banks of the Jennâny, and from the eastern base of Hermon to the great caravan road to Mecca; and the latter, adjoining Iturea on the east,includes the lesser provinces of Batanea,[548] Gaulonitis,[549] and Auranitis, or the modern Hauran.
St. Luke also mentions the province of Abilene, which is north of Iturea, and extends within 12 miles of Damascus.“It originally included Heliopolis and Iturea, with the mountain region lying between,”[550] and had Chalcis as the capital city, the ruins of which remain. According to Strabo, Ptolemy, the son of Menneaus, was ruler of the province, who, after the annexation of Syria by the Romans, continued to hold his possessions till succeeded to the throne by his son Lysanias. Transferring the seat of his government to Abila, on the banks of the ancient Abana, he reigned till murdered through the artifices of Cleopatra, to whom the kingdom was given by Mark Antony. Subsequently passing into the hands of the tyrant Zenodorus,the province ultimately reverted to a descendant of Lysanias, bearing the same name, and who was “tetrarch of Abilene.”[551]
The term Galilee is as old as Joshua.[552] Signifying a “circle” or “circuit,”it was originally applied to the region about Kadesh, “a city of refuge.”[553] In the reign of Solomon it designated the area containing the twenty cities he gave to Hiram of Tyre, which were afterward known as the “coasts of Tyre and Sidon,” and which, in the lapse of time, having become colonized by strangers,received the name of “Galilee of the Gentiles,” or of the “nations.”[554] Under the jurisdiction of the Romans, Galilee was the designation of all that magnificent region embracing the ancient tribeships of Issachar, Zebulun, Asher, and Naphtali, which extended from the Plain of Esdraelon to Mount Hermon, and from the Jordan to the Mediterranean.According to Josephus, this vast section of Palestine was divided into two parts, “called the Upper Galilee and the Lower.”[555] The latter was bounded on the south by a line drawn from Carmel to Scythopolis, and on the north by a line extending from the Bay of ’Akka to Tiberias, and the former extended from this latter line on the south to Hermon on the north, and from this point westward to the sea.
Whether considered geographically or historically, the Sea of Tiberias is the most remarkable feature in the physical geography of Galilee. Either from a town upon its ancient shore or from its harp-like shape,it was early called “the Sea of Chinnereth.”[556]At later periods it was successively called the “Sea of Tiberias,”[557] from the imperial city of that name standing on its western coast;the “Sea of Galilee,”[558] because it belonged to the province of Galilee; and, finally,the “Lake of Gennesaret,” corrupted from Cinnereth, the title of a noble plain on its northwestern shore.[559] With a depression of 650 feet below the level of the Mediterranean, it is 13 miles long, six wide, and 165 feet deep. Lying in a volcanic basin, its form is oval and its sides are shelving. Unlike the lofty and rugged mountains which encompass the Scotch and Italian lakes, the surrounding hills are neither high nor uniform. On the eastern coast they are steep and barren, and rise to the height of 2000 feet; on the west they are not so lofty, but smooth, more sloping, and are dotted with trees and tufts of grass, and are furrowed by gentle ravines. At either end the western hills retire, permitting the Jordan to enter the sea on the north and to find an exit on the south. The shores are alternately smooth and rocky. The smoother portions are strewn with beautiful shells, while at intervals the everlasting hills plant their dark feet upon the whitened beach. Through an open cliff and between grassy slopes numberless streamlets pour their crystal waters into the sea, and on their green banks gorgeous oleanders bloom and tropical flowers fill the air with their perfume. The water is clear, cool, and sweet, and abounds with fish, as in the days of Bethsaida’s fishermen. Though it is almost uniformly calm, there are times when the winds rush down the mountain gorges and up the Jordan valley, lashingthe placid waters into foam, and causing the waves to roll high and furiously. Its beauty is most apparent in the freshness of the morning, or amid the golden tints and purple shadows of evening; or in the sweet repose of a summer’s moonlight night, when the serene skies, with moon and stars, are mirrored on its quiet bosom; or during the solemn grandeur of a thunderstorm, when the heavens scowl, the wild winds rage, the lightning darts through the gloom in bars of fire or in sheets of light, and along the trembling mountains the thunder rolls responsive to the waves that madly break upon the rock-bound shore.
TIBERIAS AND THE SEA OF GALILEE.
Other lakes are more exquisitely beautiful; others present to the eye loftier forms of grandeur; but as it is impossible for the mind to dissociate the historical from a scene like this, so the presence of that Divine One has imparted to the “Sea of Galilee” an unparalleled beauty, and his divine works have rendered it the most sacred of earthly lakes. On its northwestern shore stood the city of his adoption; from the deck of one of its fishing-boats he taught the multitude; over its calm waters he often sailed on a voyage of mercy, or to a “desert place” for prayer; on its troubled bosom, as on a pavement of adamant, he walked in the “fourth watch of the night;” twice he rose in majesty, “rebuked the winds,” and said to the waves, “Peace, be still;” and on its shores he met his disciples after his passion and resurrection.
Four miles from the southern end of the lake, and occupying a plain two miles long and less than half a mile wide, stands the once imperial city of Tiberias. Though only mentioned by the sacred writers in connection with the sea, it fills no inconsiderable portion of the political history of Galilee. Whether built upon the site of the ancient city of Chinnereth or not, it evidently covers, in part, the site of some old town, as sepulchres of great antiquity are on the sloping plain. Coming in possession of Galilee, Herod Antipas founded the new city, made it the capital of his kingdom, and named it after his friend and patron, the Emperor Tiberius. Inviting citizens from all parts to take up their residence within its walls, he granted them extraordinary privileges, and spared neither art nor treasure to render it worthy of his throne and palace. Here, in the day of his pride and luxury, he so far forgot the respect due the marriage covenant and the obligations of consanguinity asto marry Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. For an offense so grave and notorious the faithful and courageous John the Baptist reproved the king, who, under the pretense of fearing lest John might take advantage of his own popularity and instigate a rebellion, ordered his arrest, and imprisoned him in the tower of Machaerus. It was here in his royal palace, while holding a feast in honor of his birthday, that Salome, the daughter of his incestuous wife, danced before him, and pleased him to such a degree that he swore to give her whatever she should ask, “to the half of his kingdom.” Influenced by her infamous mother, Salome asked for “John’s head in a charger.” Bound by his promise, the king reluctantly yielded, and dispatching one of his guards, the noblest and purest of prophets fell a victim to the revenge of a woman smarting under rebuke, and to the cowardice of a prince whose mortified pride was only excelled by the fears that tormented the dreams of his nights and the vision of his days. Whether intentionally or otherwise, Josephus has given us the pretense of John’s death rather than the true cause, in asserting that Antipas feared lest he might cause a revolt; but, as if half conscious of the injustice he had done the character of so eminent a prophet, the Jewish historian tells us that the Jews attributed the subsequent misfortunes of Herod to the death of John the Baptist. Retributive justice was speedily visited upon the son of Herod the Great. Having divorced his first wife, who was the daughter of a celebrated Arabian prince, that he might marry Herodias, Aretas, the father of the divorced wife, resolved to avenge the affront offered to his daughter, and declared war against Herod, and in a single battle vanquished his ungrateful son-in-law, and literally destroyed his army.
Jealous of the prosperity of her brother Agrippa, who from a private citizen had become king of Judea, Herodias persuaded Antipas to visit Rome and request the same dignity from the Emperor Caius. Learning of the conspiracy, Agrippa anticipated the arrival of his uncle, and accused Antipas of conspiracy against Tiberius, and asserted that he was then carrying on a correspondence with Artabanus, king of Parthia, against the Romans. Convinced of the justness of the accusation,the emperor banished him to Lyons, and afterward to Spain, where he and his wife Herodias died in exile.[560]