north of this again is the fertile basin of the Buttauf, separated from
the sea-coast plains by low hills. East of the Buttauf extends the
basaltic plateau called Sahel el Aḥmā (“the inaccessible plain”),
rising 1700 ft. above the Sea of Galilee. North of the Buttauf is a
confused hill country, the spurs falling towards a broad valley which
lies at the foot of the mountains of Upper Galilee. This broad
valley, running westwards to the coast, is perhaps the old boundary
of Zebulun—the valley of Jiphthah-el (Josh, xix. 14). The great
plain of Esdraelon is of triangular form, bounded by Gilboa on the
east and by the ridge which runs to Carmel on the west. It is 14 m.
long from Jenīn to the Nazareth hills, and its southern border is
about 20 m. long. It rises 200 ft. above the sea, the hills on both
sides being some 1500 ft. higher. The whole drainage is collected
by the Kishon, which runs through a narrow gorge at the north-west
corner of the plain, descending beside the ridge of Carmel to the sea.
The broad valley of Jezreel on the east, descending towards the
Jordan valley, forms the gate by which Palestine is entered from
beyond Jordan. Mount Tabor stands isolated in the plain at the
north-east corner, and rather farther south the conical hill called
Nebi Duḥi rises between Tabor and Gilboa. The whole of Lower
Galilee is well watered. The Kishon is fed by springs from near
Tabor and from a copious stream from the west side of the plain of
Esdraelon. North-west of Nazareth is Wādi el Melek, an open
valley full of springs. The river Belus, just south of Acre, rising in the
sea-coast marshes, drains the whole valley above identified with
Jiphthah-el. On the east the broad valley of Jezreel is full of
magnificent springs, many of which are thermal. The plains of
Esdraelon, and the Buttauf, and the plateau of el-Aḥmā are all
remarkable for the rich basaltic soil which covers them, in which corn,
cotton, maize, sesame, tobacco, millet and various kinds of vegetable
are grown, while indigo and sugar-cane were cultivated in former
times. The Nazareth hills and Gilboa are bare and white, but west
of Nazareth is a fine oak wood, and another thick wood spreads over
the northern slopes of Tabor. The hills west of the great plain are
partly of bare white chalk, partly covered with dense thickets. The
mountains north of the Buttauf are rugged and covered with scrub,
except near the villages, where fine olive groves exist. The principal
places of importance in Lower Galilee are Nazareth (10,000 inhabitants),
Sepphoris (now Seffuria), a large village standing above the
Buttauf on the spurs of the southern hills, and Jenīn (En Gannim),
a flourishing village, with a palm garden (3000 inhabitants). The
ancient capital, Jezreel (Zerin), is now a miserable village on a precipitous
spur of Gilboa; north of this are the small mud hamlets,
Solam (Shunem), Endūr (Endor), Nein (Nain); on the west side
of the plain is the ruin of Lejjūn (the Legio of the 4th century, which
was then a place of importance). In the hills north of the Buttauf
is Jefāt, situated on a steep hill-top, and representing the Jotapata
defended by Josephus. Kefr Kenna, now a flourishing Christian
village at the foot of the Nazareth hills, south of the Buttauf, is
one of the sites identified with Cana of Galilee, and the ruin Kāna, on
the north side of the same plain, represents the site pointed out to
the pilgrims of the 12th and 13th centuries.
The mountains are tilted up towards the Sea of Galilee, and the drainage of the district is towards the north-west. On the south the rocky range of Jebel Jarmūk rises to nearly 4000 ft. above the sea; on the east a narrow ridge 2800 ft. high forms the watershed, with steep eastern slopes falling towards Upper Galilee. Jordan. Immediately west of the watershed are two small plateaus covered with basaltic débris, near el-Jish and Kades. On the west are rugged mountains with deep intricate valleys. The main drains of the country are—first, Wādi el ʽAyūn, rising north of Jebel Jarmūk, and running north-west as an open valley; and secondly, Wādi el Ahjār, a rugged precipitous gorge running north to join the Leontes. The district is well provided with springs throughout, and the valleys are full of water in the spring-time. Though rocky and difficult, Upper Galilee is not barren, the soil of the plateaus is rich, and the vine flourishes in the higher hills, especially in the neighbourhood of Kefr Birʽīm. The principal town is Ṣafed, perched on a white mountain 2700 ft. above the sea. It has a population of about 9000, including Jews, Christians and Moslems.
Josephus gives a good description of the Galilee of his time in Wars, iii. 3. 2: “The Galileans are inured to war from their infancy, and have been always very numerous; nor hath the country been ever destitute of men of courage or wanted a numerous set of them; for their soil is universally rich and fruitful, and full of plantations of trees of all sorts, insomuch that it invites the most slothful to take pains in its cultivation. . . . Moreover, the cities lie here very thick, and the very many villages there are here are everywhere full of people.” Though the population is diminished and the cities ruinous, the country is still remarkable for fertility, thanks to the copiousness of its water-supply draining from the Lebanon mountains.
The principal products of the country are corn, wine, oil and soap (from the olives), with every species of pulse and gourd.
The antiquities of Galilee include dolmens and rude stone monuments, rock-cut tombs, and wine-presses, with numerous remains of Byzantine monasteries and fine churches of the time of the crusades. There are also remains of Greek architecture in various places; but the most interesting buildings are the ancient synagogues, of which some eleven examples are now known. They are rectangular, with the door to the south, and two rows of columns forming aisles east and west. The architecture is a peculiar and debased imitation of classic style, attributed by architects to the 2nd century A.D. In Kefr Birʽīm there were remains of two synagogues, but early in the 20th century one of them was completely destroyed by a local stone-mason. At Irbid, above Tiberias, is another synagogue of rather different character. Traces of synagogues have also been found on Carmel, and at Tireh, west of Nazareth. It is curious to find the representation of various animals in relief on the lintels of these buildings. Hebrew inscriptions also occur, and the carved work of the cornices and capitals is rich though debased.
In the 12th century Galilee was the outpost of the Christian kingdom of Jerusalem, and its borders were strongly protected by fortresses, the magnificent remains of which still crown the most important strategical points. Toron (mod. Tibnīn) was built in 1104, the first fortress erected by the crusaders, and standing on the summit of the mountains of Upper Galilee. Beauvoir (Kaukab el-Hawa, built in 1182) stood on a precipice above Jordan south-west of the Sea of Galilee, and guarded the advance by the valley of Jezreel; and about the same time Château Neuf (Hunīn) was erected above the Hūleh lake. Belfort (esh Shukif), on the north bank of the Leontes, the finest and most important, dates somewhat earlier; and Montfort (Kalat el Kurn) stood on a narrow spur north-east of Acre, completing the chain of frontier fortresses. The town of Banias, with its castle, formed also a strong outpost against Damascus, and was the scene, in common with the other strongholds, of many desperate encounters between Moslems and Christians. Lower Galilee was the last remaining portion of the Holy Land held by the Christians. In 1250 the knights of the Teutonic order owned lands extending round Acre as far east as the Sea of Galilee, and including Ṣafed. These possessions were lost in 1291, on the fall of Acre.
The population of Galilee is mixed. In Lower Galilee the peasants are principally Moslem, with a sprinkling of Greek Christians round Nazareth, which is a Christian town. In Upper Galilee, however, there is a mixture of Jews and Maronites, Druses and Moslems (natives or Algerine settlers), while the slopes above the Jordan are inhabited by wandering Arabs. The Jews are engaged in trade, and the Christians, Druses and Moslems in agriculture; and the Arabs are an entirely pastoral people. (C. R. C.; R. A. S. M.)
GALILEE, an architectural term sometimes given to a porch or
chapel which formed the entrance to a church. This is the case
at Durham and Ely cathedrals, and in Lincoln cathedral the name
is sometimes given to the south-west porch. The name is said
to be derived from the scriptural expression “Galilee of the
Gentiles” (Matt. iv. 15). Galilees are supposed to have been
used sometimes as courts of law, but they probably served chiefly
for penitents not yet admitted to the body of the church. The
Galilee would also appear to have been the vestibule of an abbey
church where women were allowed to see the monks to whom they
were related, or from which they could hear divine service. The
foundation of what is considered to have been a Galilee exists at
the west end of Fountains Abbey. Sometimes also corpses were
placed there before interment.
GALILEE, SEA OF, a lake in Palestine consisting of an expansion of the Jordan, on the latitude of Mt. Carmel. It is 13 m. long, 8 m. broad, 64 sq. m. in area, 680 ft. below the level of the Mediterranean, and, according to Merrill and Barrois (who have corrected the excessive depth said to have been found by Lortet at the northern end), 150 ft. in maximum depth. It is pear-shaped, the narrow end pointing southward. In the Hebrew Scriptures it is called the Sea of Chinnereth or Chinneroth (probably derived from a town of the same name mentioned in Joshua xi. 2 and elsewhere; the etymology that connects it with כִּנּוֹר, “a harp,” is very doubtful.) In Josephus and the book of
