Gal’ilee, (Γαλιλαία, often in the N.T. and Apocrypha, as well as Josephus), the rendering also in a few passages (Joshua 20:7; 21:32; 1 Kings 9:11;
1 Chronicles 6:76; Isaiah 9:1) of the Heb. גָּלַיל, galil’ (fem. גּלַילָה, gelilah’, 2 Kings 15:29), which prop. signifies a circle (e.g., a ring, Esther 1:6; Song of Solomon 5:14), or circuit of country, i.e., one of the little circular plains among the hills of northern Palestine, such as is now seen near edesh. SEE TOPOGRAPHICAL TERMS. As a special locality, it is first mentioned by Joshesa, who describes Kedesh as “is Galilee in Mount Naphtahi” (20:7). Its limited extent is indicated in 2 Kings 15:29, where the historian, detailing the conquests of Tiglath-pileser, states that “he took Ijon, and Abel-Beth-Maachah, and Janaoh, and Kedesh and Hazor and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtalai.” Galilee, therefore, did not extend beyond the bounds of Naphtali; and a comparison with other passages shows that it embraced only the northern section of that tribe, or at least that the name was at first confined to that district (Joshua 20:7; 21:32; Josepheus, Ant. 5:1, 18). The region thus lay on the summit of a broad mountain ridge. Here were situated the towns which Solomon offered to Hiram as payment for his services in procuring timber and stones for the Temple. Hiram, however, whose great want was grain for his island city, and who doubtless expected a portion of some of the rich plains of central Palestine, could not conceal his disappointment when he saw the mountain towns and their rugged environs, and declined them as useless (1 Kings 9:11, and 2 Chronicles 8:2). SEE CABUL. At this period, Galilee, though within the allotted territory of Naphtali, does not appear to have been occupied by the Israelites. It was only after Hiram had declined the towns that Solomon rebuilt and colonized them (2 Chronicles l.c.). Hazor, the great stronghold and capital of the northern Canaanites, lay within or near Galilee; and, though Joshua had captured and burned it (Joshua 11), yet during the rule of the judges it was possessed by a king, Jabin, whose general, Sisera, dwelt in the neighboring Harosheth of the Gentiles (Judges 4). The presence of these powerful and war-like tribes, and the natural strength of the country, sufficiently account for the continued occupation of the old Gentile inhabitants. David subdued, but did not expel them. Solomon, as has been seen, took some of their towns; but they remained among these rugged mountains in such numbers that in the time of Insaiah the district was definitely known by the name of “Galilee of the Gentiles” (גּלַיל הִגּוֹיַם, Isaiah 9:1: in Matthew 4:15, Γαλιλαία τῶν ἐθνῶν in Macc. 5:15, Γαλιλαία ἀλλοφύλων). It is probable that the strangers increased in number, and became during the captivity the great body of the inhabitants; extending themselves also over the surrounding comsntry, they gave to their new territories the old name, until at length Galilee became one of the largest provinces of Palestine. In the time of the Maccabees, Galilee contained only a few Jews living in the midst of a large heathen population (1 Maccabees 5:20-23); Strabo states that in his day it was chiefly inhabited by Syrians, Phoenicians, and Arabs (16, page 760); and Josephus says Greeks also dwelt in its cities (Life, 12). The name also Occurs in Tobit 1:2; Judith 11:8, etc.
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Author: McClintock and Strong Cyclopedia
Keywords: Galilee
Bible reference(s): 1 Chronicles 6:76, 1 Kings 9:11, 1 Maccabees 5:20, 2 Chronicles 8:2, 2 Kings 15:29, Acts 1:11, Acts 2:7, Acts 9:31, Deuteronomy 33:18, Esther 1:6, Genesis 49:14, Isaiah 9:1, John 1:46, John 2:1, John 6:1, John 7:52, Joshua 19:12, Joshua 20:7, Joshua 21:32, Judith 11:8, Luke 1:26, Luke 17:11, Luke 8:26, Mark 14:70, Matthew 13:47, Matthew 26:73, Matthew 4:15, Matthew 6:28, Matthew 9:1, Song of Solomon 5:14, Tobit 1:2
Source: John McClintock and James Strong, Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature.
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