Martin 1

Kylie Martin
RELG 330
Professor Zaas
Term Paper
May 9, 2021
The Sea of Galilee

The Sea of Galilee is a very significant place in Jesus’ story told through the Bible
canonical Gospels. It is located in Israel and is one of the lowest-lying bodies of water in the
world, today it is sometimes referred to as Lake Tiberias in which the Jordan River flows into.1
The village of Capernaum remains is located at the northern tip of the Sea of Galilee. Many
Christians believe this town to be the center for Jesus’ activities, and the site for many of his
miracles, this brings a lot of tourists to these destinations.2 Such miracles as the feeding of the
thousands in the Gospel of Matthew chapter fourteen, and the healing of the paralytic man in
Matthew chapter nine. It is also very significant because this is where the Jordan River flows into
and Christians also believe this is where Jesus met John the Baptist and got baptized.

During the tour conducted by Ido, he spoke of all the Gospel stories that this location was
referenced in and put an image to these story’s settings. Such as Matthew chapter fourteen when
Jesus fed thousands, “And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves
and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave
them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people”.3 This story was predominately
shown throughout this tour, with mosaics and churches all across this location that represented
this miracle.

Ido showed the churches that are located in the area and referred to them as the holy
trinity. The most prominent of these churches is the Tabgha church that was rebuilt upon the
rubble of the church that stood during the biblical times and is referenced in the Gospels. This
church was the site of the feeding of the thousands and has an altar where the original rock that
many Christians believe Jesus laid the loaf during the feeding of the thousands. In front of the
rock and the altar is a beautiful mosaic of two fish and a basket which represent the fish and
bread used during this miracle, and shows the significance of this location. The Church of
Capernaum was a beautiful structure built of limestone from its surrounding hills and was
located in the old village of Capernaum. Christians believe this village to be where Jesus cured a
paralytic in the Gospel of Mark and performed many other miracles. This site became a place of

1
"Sea of Galilee." NASA.https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/147685/sea-of-galilee#
2
Mfa.gov.il, https://mfa.gov.il/mfa/israelexperience/history/pages/capernaum - city of jesus and its jewish
synagogue.aspx
3
Matt 14:19
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worship after Jesus’ death and still is today. The Beatitude monastery is another church that Ido
showed during the tour, it is located on the Mount of Beatitudes and gives a beautiful view of the
Sea of Galilee. These churches all have great significance in representing and remembering the
feeding of the thousands.4 Unfortunately, Ido spoke of when Jewish fanatics vandalized the Beit
Jimal Monastery through arson and graffiti because they did not like Christians and believed
Christianity to be a form of Paganism. This was the third time the church had been vandalized.
The Jerusalem Post called it “an action against the sacredness of the holy places and the faith of
people”.5 Thankfully, the Monastery was restored and still is a beautiful site today. These
churches are famous pilgrimage sites that are located near, and have a great view of the Sea of
Galilee, which made Ido refer to them as the holy trinity.

When shown the shoreline of the Sea of Galilee, Ido referenced the story told in John
twenty-one where after Jesus’ death and resurrection Jesus appears to his disciples who are
fishing and unable to catch anything. He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and
you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large
number of fish.6 It is said they caught 153 fish which is said to represent the 153 nations that
existed at this time. Ido explains that Jesus went on to have breakfast with Peter and John where
he appoints Peter to be the next Pope. Ido also talked about how the Sea has changed a lot over
the years, it is now a popular swimming spot, and the water levels have risen significantly, where
he showed a staircase that leads into the water that is almost completely submerged. These
locations shown throughout the are not only referenced in the Bible but also can be found in
many other historical texts.

The Anchor Bible Dictionary gives a lot of insight into the Sea of Galilee and the
surrounding areas. It references a lot of research as to the origin of the names, the geography, and
where the location was referenced in the Bible. The Sea of Galilee was referenced by many
different names throughout the Gospels. The Gospel of Luke uses a more general term calling it
the “lake of Gennersaret”, whereas the Gospels of Mark and Matthew never use the term lake but
call it the Sea or the Sea of Galilee, John also refers to it as the Sea of Galilee but also calls it the
Sea of Tiberias.7 Although, the Sea of Galilee is referred to differently by each Gospel author,
many scholars believe they have the same meaning and are referring to the same location due to
geography descriptions within each Gospel. The geography of the Sea of Galilee also made
people settle around it due to its perfect conditions for the fishing industry. The waters of the Sea
were unlike other Seas they were fresh and good temperatures with clear sandy beaches and was
well stocked with fish.8 The Sea of Galilee was a very heavily populated place due to the
4
Matt 14: 13-21
5
"Catholic Monastery near Jerusalem Vandalized for Third Time in 4 Years." The Jerusalem Post |
JPost.com.https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/catholic-monastery-vandalized-for-3rd-time-in-4-years-505739.
6
John 21: 6
7
Freyne, Sean, “GALILEE, Sea of”, Freedman, David Noel, The Anchor Bible Dictionary (New Haven: Yale
University Press, 1992) Vol. 2, Pp. 900-2
8
Freyne, Sean, “GALILEE, Sea of”, Freedman, David Noel, The Anchor Bible Dictionary (New Haven: Yale
University Press, 1992) Vol. 2, Pp. 900-3
 Martin 3

geography of this location because it was a very populated place, which allowed for many
churches to be built around the Sea.

The Mount of Beatitudes where the eight blessing stones from Matthew's Gospel are
located, also derives its name beatitude because it means a whole body of saying that are of the
same literary form.9 These blessing stones come from Matthew chapter five verses one to eleven,
where Jesus was giving a sermon on the mount. This can be found in the Gospels of Matthew
and Luke, they have three beatitudes in common (Matt 5:3=Luke 6:20b; Matt 5:4=Luke 6:21b;
Matt 5:6=Luke 6:21a). These beatitudes represent a brief outline of the Gospel proclamations.
These beatitudes proclaim salvation by eschatological reversal for those who are spiritually
dispossessed, including the poor, hungry, and those who mourn that are representing the range of
the needy.10 Many religious scholars believe that these shared beatitudes come from the shared Q
source, this belief that the Gospels of Matthew and Luke share sources comes from the four
source hypothesis. This hypothesis states that the sources are, the gospel of Mark, the Q source,
Matthews independent source, and Luke's independent source.

Another major church located near the Sea of Galilee, and the village of Capernaum is
the Tabgha which derives its name from the word Heptapegon, which means seven fountains.11
Research into the Village of Capernaum turned up evidence of three churhced built by the
Byzatines to honor three accounts in the Gospels:12 the multiplication of loaves and fishes,13 the
Sermon on the Mount,14 and the appearance of the resurrected Jesus.15 There are now churches
with mosaics that are believed to resemble and celebrate these important Gospel events. During
the time of the Gospels, the Tabgha is said to be built near the town of Capernaum because it is
called “the city of Jesus''.16 The Anchor Bible Dictionary also states that all the evidenced found
appears to verify that the events of the Gospels happened within the location of the restricted
area of the Heptapegon.17

Today the Sea of Galilee is a beautiful location that allows one to picture the stories that
have been told throughout their lives. It allows people to be grateful and see the beautiful spots
that Jesus once walked on and performed miracles in the surrounding areas. It is a beautiful place

9
Collins, F. Raymond, “BEATITUDES”, Freedman, David Noel, The Anchor Bible Dictionary (New Haven: Yale
University Press, 1992) Vol. 1, Pp. 630-1
10
Collins, F. Raymond, “BEATITUDES”, Freedman, David Noel, The Anchor Bible Dictionary (New Haven: Yale
University Press, 1992) Vol. 1, Pp. 630-5
11
Loffreda, Stanislao, “HEPTAPEGON”, Freedman, David Noel, The Anchor Bible Dictionary (New Haven: Yale
University Press, 1992) Vol. 3, Pp. 141-1
12
Loffreda, Stanislao, “HEPTAPEGON”, Freedman, David Noel, The Anchor Bible Dictionary (New Haven: Yale
University Press, 1992) Vol. 3, Pp. 141-1
13
Matt 14:13–21
14
Matt 5:1–11
15
John 21:1–24
16
Loffreda, Stanislao, “HEPTAPEGON”, Freedman, David Noel, The Anchor Bible Dictionary (New Haven: Yale
University Press, 1992) Vol. 3, Pp. 141-2
17
Loffreda, Stanislao, “HEPTAPEGON”, Freedman, David Noel, The Anchor Bible Dictionary (New Haven: Yale
University Press, 1992) Vol. 3, Pp. 141-3
 Martin 4

to take a vacation and attracts a lot of tourists, those who are and are not religious. On the Mount
of Beatitudes, there is a beautiful view of the Sea and overlooks the surrounding cities.
Throughout this location, there are beautiful mosaics that represent the feeding of the thousands
and many of the miracles that Jesus performed. There is a walkway where this mosaic is that has
the eight blessings that can be found in Matthew chapter five, verses three to twelve. There is
also an ancient Galilee boat that is at this location, which brings in a lot of tourism because it
represents the boats that Jesus may have been on himself when traveling this Sea. This is also a
major site because Jesus came from the Sea of Galilee to the Jordan River in one of these boats
to be baptized by John the baptist. “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water.
At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and
alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him, I am
well pleased’”.18 This account from the Gospel of Matthew is also represented by the famous
Arian Baptistry mosaic that is located on the ceiling of a church in Ravenna, Italy.

The Sea of Galilee is also a famous swimming spot for many people who want to bathe in
the famous Sea. Not only is it a very popular place to swim but it is also the main drinking
source for Israel. The Sea’s main source of water is the Jordan River but several springs run into
it. The Sea of Galilee’s water levels today is significantly higher than they would be in biblical
times. There are now palm trees in the water and the beaches have shrunk significantly as we
saw with the staircase Ido showed during his tour. The main city that is located in this area today
is the city of Tiberias. This is a very important city and popular with tourists because it holds
important pilgrimage sites, such as the Tomb of Maimonides and the Abulafia Synagogue, it also
is prominent in the fishing industry still to this day.

The Sea of Galilee is a very significant place when it comes to the Gospels. Each Gospel
references the Sea of Galilee by different names but it can be concluded that they are all
referencing the same location by the geographical features. Many significant events occurred at
these locations, the feeding of the thousands, the Sermon of the Mount, and the appearance of
Jesus resurrected to his disciples. The churches in these locations are designed to celebrate and
remember these miracles, the most prominent miracle that was referenced throughout this
location was the feeding of the thousands. Many churches have mosaics that depict this miracle
and there are even some throughout the grounds, as well as the rock that is believed the loaves
were placed in the Tabgha church. This location is considered holy through these miracles
depicted in the Gospels, as well as the baptism of Jesus that took place in the Jordan River,
where he met John the Baptist, which flows into the Sea of Galilee, making it a significant
pilgrimage site. During the tour Ido gave of the Sea of Galilee and the surrounding locations, it
became evident that the location today’s main purpose is to celebrate Jesus’ activities and the
miracles performed at these locations. Today it is a very popular pilgrimage site for people to
honor the life of Jesus and the sacrifice that was made for us. Today this site is a gorgeous place
to visit even for people who are not religious, it has some of the most amazing views and the Sea

18
Matt 3:16-17
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is a beautiful blue color. Most people that visit these locations want to be able to see and
experience the sites that are depicted in the Gospels to feel closer to God and to honor and
preserve these holy locations.