of "the sea of Tiberias," and "the sea of Galilee," as well as "the lake of Gennesaret,"
is formed like one or two other smaller ones north of it, by a widening of the
Jordan, which flows in at the northern end, and passing through the middle, goes out
at the southern end. On the western side, it was bounded by Galilee proper, and on
the east was the lower division of that portion of Iturea, which was called Gaulanitis
by the Greeks and Romans, from the ancient city of Golan, (Deut. iv. 43; Josh.
xx. 8, &c.) which stood within its limits. Pliny (book I. chap. 15,) well describes the
situation and character of the lake. "Where the shape of the valley first allows it,
the Jordan pours itself into a lake which is most commonly called Genesara, sixteen
(Roman) miles long, and six broad. It is surrounded by pleasant towns; on the east,
it has Julias (Bethsaida) and Hippus; on the south, Tarichea, by which name some
call the lake also; on the west, Tiberias with its warm springs." Josephus also gives
a very clear and ample description. (Jewish War, book 3, chap. 9, sect. 7.) "Lake
Gennesar takes its name from the country adjoining it. It is forty furlongs (about
five or six miles) in width, and one hundred and forty (seventeen or eighteen miles)
in length; yet the water is sweet, and very desirable to drink; for it has its fountain
clear from swampy thickness, and is therefore quite pure, being bounded on all sides
by a beach, and a sandy shore. It is moreover of a pleasant temperature to drink, being
warmer than that of a river or a spring, on the one hand, but colder than that which
stands always expanded over a lake. In coldness, indeed, it is not inferior to snow,
when it has been exposed to the air all night, as is the custom with the people of that
region. In it there are some kinds of fish, different both in appearance and taste from
those in other places. The Jordan cuts through the middle of it." He then gives a description
of the course of the Jordan, ending with the remark quoted in the former note,
that it enters the lake at the city of Julias. He then describes, in glowing terms, the
richness and beauty of the country around, from which the lake takes its name,—a
description too long to be given here; but the studious reader may find it in section
eighth of the book and chapter above referred to. The Rabbinical writers too, often
refer to the pre-eminent beauty and fertility of this delightful region, as is shown in
several passages quoted by Lightfoot in his Centuria Chorographica, cap. 79. The
derivation of the name there given from the Rabbins, is (
Hebrew characters), ginne sarim, "the
gardens of the princes." Thence the name genne-sar. They say it was within the
lands of the tribe of Naphtali; it must therefore have been on the western side of
the lake, which appears also from the fact that it was near Tiberias, as we are told
on the same authority. It is not mentioned in the Old Testament under this name,
but the Rabbins assure us that the place called Cinnereth, in Joshua xx. 35; Chinneroth
in xi. 2, is the same; and this lake is mentioned in xiii. 27, under the name of
"the sea of Chinnereth,"—"the sea of Chinneroth," in xii. 3, &c.
The best description of the scenery, and present aspect of the lake, which I can find, is the following from Conder's Modern Traveler, Vol. 1. (Palestine) a work made up with great care from the observations of a great number of intelligent travelers.
"The mountains on the east of Lake Tiberias, come close to its shore, and the country on that side has not a very agreeable aspect; on the west, it has the plain of Tiberias, the high ground of the plain of Hutin, or Hottein, the plain of Gennesaret, and the foot of those hills by which you ascend to the high mountain of Saphet. To the north and south it has a plain country, or valley. There is a current throughout the whole breadth of the lake, even to the shore; and the passage of the Jordan through it, is discernible by the smoothness of the surface in that part. Various travelers have given a very different account of its general aspect. According to Captain Mangles, the land about it has no striking features, and the scenery is altogether devoid of character. "It appeared," he says, "to particular disadvantage to us, after those beautiful lakes we had seen in Switzerland; but it becomes a very interesting object, when you consider the frequent allusions to it in the gospel narrative." Dr. Clarke, on the contrary, speaks of the uncommon grandeur of this memorable scenery. "The lake of Gennesaret," he says, "is surrounded by objects well calculated to highten the solemn impression," made by such recollections, and "affords one of the most striking prospects in the Holy Land. Speaking of it comparatively, it may be described as longer and finer than any of our Cumberland and Westmoreland lakes, although perhaps inferior to Loch Lomond. It does not possess the vastness of the Lake of Geneva, although it much resembles it in certain points of view. In picturesque beauty, it comes nearest to the Lake of Locarno, in Italy, although it is destitute of any thing similar to the islands by which that majestic piece of water is adorned. It is inferior in magnitude, and in the hight of its surrounding moun-
