Sea of Galilee

214 m below sea level

In the Bible

Crossing the lake, Jesus slept in the stern during a storm and calmed the wind and the waves. Another night He came to the disciples walking on the sea, and Peter stepped out of the boat.

Mark 4:35–41When that evening came, He said to His disciples, “Let us cross to the other side.” After they had dismissed the crowd, they took Jesus with them, since He was already in the boat. And there were other boats with Him. Soon a violent windstorm came up, and the waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was being swamped. But Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion. So they woke Him and said, “Teacher, don’t You care that we are perishing?” Then Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and the sea. “Silence!” He commanded. “Be still!” And the wind died down, and it was perfectly calm. “Why are you so afraid?” He asked. “Do you still have no faith?” Overwhelmed with fear, they asked one another, “Who is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”

Matt 14:25–29During the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went out to them, walking on the sea. When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost!” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus spoke up at once: “Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.” “Lord, if it is You,” Peter replied, “command me to come to You on the water.” “Come,” said Jesus. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water, and came toward Jesus.

Here today

A freshwater lake more than 200 metres below sea level; boats sail from Tiberias and Ginosar, where a fishing boat of Jesus' time, found in 1986, is shown.

Through the eyes of old pilgrims

In the starlight, Galilee has no boundaries but the broad compass of the heavens, and is a theatre meet for great events; meet for the birth of a religion able to save a world; and meet for the stately Figure appointed to stand upon its stage and proclaim its high decrees.Mark Twain, The Innocents Abroad, 1869

The sea of Tiberias can be walked all around, like a lake, and its water is very sweet … it is 50 versts long and 20 across. There are very many fish in it, and there is one fish there, wonderful and marvelous … in form it is like a small carp; and I myself ate that fish many times while in the town.Abbot Daniel, 1106–1108 · our translation

This place in the Bible

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Land outlines: Natural Earth (public domain).