Training Ground

Just for your own knowledge I would not call the body of water known as the Sea of Galilee a sea. It's more like a very small lake. And the river Jordan is more like a creek. Now that I have that out of my system I can tell you why I want to go back.

In Isaiah 9:1 there is a phrase "Galilee of the Gentiles". Hey Isaiah, I thought this was Jewish land settled on by a handful of the tribes of Israel! After seeing the Galilee I see now that the history of this place is definitely a mix of Jew and Gentile cultures. Even in the Old Testament the Jews were not alone in claiming this area. Again for your own knowledge the region known as the Galilee is west of the "Sea" but does not historically stretch out to the coast. If you really must know where these borders are come see me when I get back in December and I'll show you this awesome map I've spent all semester with. Back to my main thought now. In the time of the Old Testament Egypt was still quite powerful, and before Joshua began his campaign throughout the land there was a Pharaoh known as Thutmose III. Like any good Pharaoh Thutmose had a superiority complex (some Pharaohs lacked this and were portrayed as feminine again another random detail I might elaborate on later). Thutmose was on a war path in Canaan and after capturing the coast he came to a crossroads. At the end of this crossroads sat Meggido, which was a key city to controlling the region now called the Galilee. There were three options to proceed from this crossroads for Thutmose and he chose the most direct, but also the narrowest. Tradition holds that Thutmose in all his glory was at the head of his army which was going single file through the Meggido pass. The Canaanites were guarding the other two valleys (which were more conducive to an advancing army) and were caught off guard when the Egyptians show up between them. The Canaanite lose Meggido after a 7 month siege (Thutmose's troops failed to take the city immediatly because there was plunder to be had right outside the walls). Meggido was like taking a thousand cities which is an exaggeration, but not by much. After this siege Thutmose moved a garrison in to Meggido and a few other key cities in the area. Already you can see the Galilee of the Gentiles being formed.

Its in the time of the New Testament thought that this idea of the Galilee of the Gentiles really takes off though. Here is a crash course on how it all played out from the time of Thutmose till the New Testament. Thutmose III places troops in key cities like Meggido and Beth-Shean. This is replaced with Hittite influence for a small period, and then the Assyrians show up (we talking about the time of Hezekiah now). Israel and then Judea go in to exile. The Jews return from Persia and soon the Greeks march under Alexander the Great's banner and come through the Galilee. After Alexander's death one of his prominent generals, Ptolemy takes control of the Galilee. Eventually Ptolemy's dynasty loses the Galilee and the rest of Israel to the Seleucid dynasty (another branch from Alexander's empire). Eventually the Jews unite and throw th Seleucids out and there the Hasmonean kingdom stands. Through a series of political intrigues involving Rome and Anipater (Herod the Great's father) the Hasmoneans lose their standing and Herod the Great takes the kingdom as his own with Roman backing. Herod founds new cities throughout the land of Israel and these have names like Caeserea in honor of his patrons. The cities also have a distinctly Grecco-Roman feel to them. Things like theaters, amphitheaters, Roman style villas, and temple to foreign gods begin to show up. Let's just say these were not kosher cities and they made a point not to be.

In the time of Jesus these Roman style cities had become mainstays in the current history and politic of the region of Galilee. Jesus himself grew up outside of one of these cities, but Nazereth was close enough for him to know what they were all about. Around the Sea of Galilee there were three prominent Roman style cities; Tiberius on the western shore, Bet-Seida to the north, and Hippus on the eastern shore. This is important to know if you are studying the Gospels, because the Sea of Galilee was one of the training grounds for the Disciples. These cities would have given the Disciples valuable experience in dealing with Gentiles especially Gentiles that are proud to be Gentiles. Somehow the Jews and Gentiles around this region lived together and the day to day interactions must have been really interesting. It is in this mixing of culture that Jesus begins his ministry and uses Cappernaum (another city of the Sea of Galilee) as a base of sorts. There is now mention of Jesus entering any Roman style city, but there is no need for it because we know that his name and actions would have been known in these places as well. The important thing to remember is that the Disciples were getting a taste of what evangelism would have to be in order to interact with people beyond this small body of water. Eventually most would find themselves around the Mediterranean interacting with other Gentiles and other Jews who lived beyond Israel. Their time around the Galilee of the Gentiles would prove invaluable in their living in faith wherever they were. Conservative fishermen became international evangelists. Just another miracle Jesus performed that is so quickly forgotten.