Galilee

gal ́i-lē (הגּליל, ha-gālīl, הגּלילה, hagelīlāh, literally, “the circuit” or “district”; ἡ Γαλιλαία, hē Galilaía):

Kedesh, the city of refuge, is described as lying in Galilee, in Mt. Naphtali (Joshua 20:7; compare Joshua 21:32). The name seems originally to have referred to the territory of Naphtali. Joshua’s victorious campaign in the north (Joshua 11), and, subsequently, the triumph of the northern tribes under Deborah and Barak (Judges 4 f) gave Israel supremacy; yet the tribe of Naphtali was not able to drive out all the former inhabitants of the land (Judges 1:33). In the time of Solomon the name applied to a much wider region, including the territory of Asher. In this land lay the cities given by Solomon to Hiram (1 Kings 9:11). Cabul here named must be identical with that of Joshua 19:27. The Asherites also failed to possess certain cities in their allotted portion, so that the heathen continued to dwell among them. To this state of things, probably, is due the name given in Isaiah 9:1 to this region, “Galilee of the nations,” i.e. a district occupied by a mixed population of Jews and heathen. It may also be referred to in Joshua 12:23, where possibly we should read “king of the nations of Galilee” (legālīl), instead of “Gilgal” (begilgāl). Yet it was within this territory that, according to 2 Samuel 20:18 (Septuagint) lay the two cities noted for their preservation of ancient Israelite religious customs in their purity—Abel-bethmaacah and Dan.

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Author: International Std. Bible Encyclopedia

Keywords: Galilee

Source: James Orr (editor), The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, 5 volume set.

Page indexed by: inWORD Bible Software.