Where Jesus Grew Up: A Study of Lower Galilee

Hey all!  I thought I would start the new semester off by publishing a paper I wrote about the history, culture, and geography of the Lower Galilee region of Israel, the place where Jesus lived for about 30 years before he began his public ministry.  I left out the footnotes, but included a cited works section at the end if you are interested.  If you don’t feel like reading the entire thing, I can sum it up for you:

The region is quite conservative.  Many scholars- atheist, agnostic, and Christian alike seem to agree that the area Jesus grew up in was populated by people who were resistant to outside religion or spirituality.  This culture was in many ways linked to its secluded location up in the mountains off the main roadways.  Although they could see out over the valley of Armageddon where the main roadways were, they were not influenced by the foreign influences that traveled along them.  The body of research work I surveyed seems to agree – Whatever cultural influences that affected Jesus growing up, its certain that little to none were of a foreign nature.  He grew up in a very traditional Jewish world, one that remembered very clearly the stories of Elisha and Elijia, and the many Judges.  For a resident of Nazereth need only look out over the valley to see the very location of where a majority of the stories took place – where God acted on behalf of his people.

Enjoy!

Introduction

There are many attractions to a detailed study of the region of Lower Galilee.  Geographically, it is very unique— described as being a “shattered” region because of its many surface faults.  It has developed into an area with deep basins and sharp mountain ridges.  Its eastern area has seen extensive volcanic activity and earthquakes with a crater as evidence in the highland region near the Horns of Hattin that has resulted in a massive basalt rock layer.  In regards to its history, it is the home for major throughways for armies and trade down though the ages, from as early as the 4th millennium B.C to the present. Shortly after the Israelite conquest of the land of Canaan, it was a region shared by the tribes of Zebulan, Issachar, and Napthli.  It is believed by some to have been one of the most fertile regions in all of Israel.  It was in this area where Jesus grew up as a child, later worked as a contractor, and later still began his early ministry.  Modern scholars, both liberal and conservative, have taken a renewed interest in Lower Galilee to better understand how its geography, foreign influences, and politics might have shaped and affected Jesus’ teachings that lead to the formation of Christianity in its early years.  Also of interest to modern scholarship is the formulation of post-temple Judaism by these same influences by the rabbinical culture who survived in the aftermath of the Great Jewish Revolt and the later Bar-Kochbah rebellion.

Any one of these specific areas of study would be a sizable work by itself, but the purpose here is to provide the reader with an introductory treatment of them.  For such a small region, belonging to a population of hard working farmers, it is amazing to realize that the events that took place here have left their mark deep in the culture and spirituality of the Western world.

Size & Geography

The overall size of Lower Galilee is relatively small— according to topographical maps, it is approximately fifteen by fifteen miles.  Its northern border has traditionally been the Beth ha-Kerem Valley (meaning house of the vine) with Upper Galilee directly to the north.  The western border is the eastern edge of the Plain of Acco on the coast.  To the southwest, its boundary is the valley running north east of Mt. Carmel and the Jezreel valley to the south and southeast.  Its northeastern border is the Hula Valley, and to the east, the Sea of Galilee.

Depending on the sources sited on Lower Galilee’s geographic sub-regions, we find anywhere between two to four.  For our studies, we will select three: western, central, and eastern— each having distinctive features and boundaries that make them stand out from the others.

The western region is a continuation of the Judean Shephelah, similar in general altitude and underlying rock formation.  It consists of soft, round hills composed of Eocene limestone.  It is divided in half by the Nahal Zippori which receives its name from the town of Zippori in the central region where its source is located. This serves as the main drainage system for this southwestern region, as well as for a majority of the lower central region.  This area has historically been sparsely populated due to the presence of a hard pan of lime concentration which prevents the formation of soil and the occurrence of springs.  Because of this, serious attempts at agriculture were difficult except if done near the river bank of Nahal Zippori.  The region was mainly used by bedouin who took advantage of the rich grazing potential.  The largest expanse of oak forests in the country is still preserved here.

The central region of Lower Galilee is the most interesting in terms of geologic uniqueness.  It is considerably broken up by faults and cross-folding, and because of its extreme complexity it is given the description of being a “shattered” region.  It holds hills with high altitudes due to the presence of a rock dome which has long been broken down and eroded to form the Bet-Netofa and Turan valleys.  The mountain ranges in the north of this central region holds its highest peaks reaching elevations around 1962 feet above sea level (Mt. Kamon).  These elevations are unimpressive compared with the higher ones found a handful of miles to the north over the border into northern Galilee which has peaks nearing 4000 feet.  Besides the Bet Netofa and Turan valleys, we find other geologic basin formations.  The town of Nazareth is found in a Senonian chalk basin which lies in the highland region to the south at the edge of the Jezreel Valley.  Because of its softer porous rock, we find numerous natural springs most likely determined the town’s location here.  To the north, we find the Shaguar basin valley, a small valley just a couple miles north of the Bet Netofa valley.

Each of these main basin valleys is drained indirectly by a single river.  The Turon and Bet Netofa valleys are drained by the Nahal Iphtah-el, which starts in the Turon Valley, moves north though a thin valley at the edge of Mt. Turon, and then turns southwest and eventually merges with the Nahal Zippori that continues its windy course to the costal region of Acco.  Similarly, the Shaugar has draining problems with the Halazun river which runs along a serpentine riverbed in steep narrow valleys before it reaches the coast.  Because of inefficient drainage, these basins are usually swampy and waterlogged during the rainy season.  This causes any roads or towns to be located at the basin edges or up on the slopes of the surround hillsides.  However, these valleys are filled with rich alluvial soils due to erosion of the hills surrounding them making them very fertile for growing crops.  Overall, nearly thirty percent of the Lower Galilee region consists of these level basins which greatly contributes to its high output of grain crops.

This region is quite beautiful almost year round.  Flowers fill the hillsides and grain crops fill the basins when they are not waterlogged.  Vines and olives trees can be found all over the hillsides in great amounts.  The northern valleys are currently engaged in growing olive trees on a large scale.  Most of the highlands in this central region were at one time filled with forests of oaks and maple trees.
The final region to be discussed here is the eastern one.  Its topmost rock layer is composed of basalt originating from ancient volcanic activity.   The rock layer shows us how far the volcanic lava flowed from its center near the Horns of Hattin.  This flow extends up north of the Sea of Galilee into the bottom portion of the Hula valley portion of the Jordan Rift Valley.  It begins to cover a wide area initially, but tapers off towards the hills of Upper Galilee towards the latitude of the city of Hazor.  This entire area contains the largest expanse of basalt in Israel.  The hill and plateau portions of this region suffers from frequent drought and lack of irrigation, so dairy and limited grain production are done.  The only exception to this is the Javneel valley, which will be discussed shortly.

Overall, this region is geographically composed of four separate tilted blocks with steep ridges facing northeast but with gradual slopes sinking in elevation to the southwest.  The first of these block formations overlooks the Plain of Magdella and the Arbel Valley.  It is the location of Mt. Arbel.  The second formation is the range that overlooks the east side of the Sea of Galilee and runs down to a couple miles south of its bottom alongside the Jordan Rift Valley.  Its opposite, southwest facing side does not gradually descend due to the formation of the Javneel valley, and is instead a thin ridge.  The final two tilted block formations exist south and west of the Javneel valley, one faces the Javneel valley to the north and east, and the other is bordered to the north by the Nahal Tavor which drains into the Jordan River to the east.  This region, in particular is very rocky and hard to cultivate.

The Javneel valley is a unique sight.  Amidst the steep mountains completely surrounding it, this beautiful area flourishes with an intense amount of fruit and vegetable production.  It does not share the drainage problems of its fellow basins in the central region.  The Nahal Javneel, originating in the highlands southeast of the Horns of Hattin, runs thought the center of the valley to the southwest, through a connecting valley to the southeast that connects to the Rift Valley, and then drains into the Jordan.  It provides both a good water supply and efficient drainage system for the valley.

One final place of interest is Mt. Tabor in the south within the Jezreel valley.  Even though it sits on the valley plain, it is still considered by most to be inside the Lower Galilee region.  It is the second highest in elevation in the region reaching nearly 1929 feet, and is theorized to have been formed by a volcanic intrusion originating from inside the mountains nearby.

Climate

The Lower Galilee region has a normal Mediterranean climate.  It follows the same pattern of rainfall as most other sections in Israel, but gets about 20-25 inches per year during its rainy season.  This along with its many springs abundant in basin formations, the region is very well watered and abundantly fertile.  However, the lower east and western regions are not fertile, resulting in the central region being home to a majority of the region’s population.

Key Roads and Towns

Having laid out a background of the region’s geography and climate, we are now prepared to discuss Lower Galilee’s network of villages and roads.  Since the interior of Lower Galilee is filled with east-west valleys, it is natural to assume that the region is an excellent source for lines of communication between the Jordan Rift valley and the coastal plain.  This is mostly true except for the unfortunate reality that each valley never completely connects.  All roads making use of these valleys will eventually encounter mountains making it more difficult to traverse.  Regardless, this region provides the best east-west travel in all the country because of its level basins and many options for alternative routes. Due to the winter flooding of the basin valleys, it is not be surprising to find that all towns and roads stay to the edges or up on the hillsides of this region.  With these two factors in mind, we will begin to explore the major roadways and towns that have been found.

From the earliest times in history, we find that Lower Galilee was home to a portion of the great International Highway that connected the empires of the Fertile Crescent— Egypt in the southwest and Syria and Mesopotamia in the northeast.  It held the most direct and least mountainous connection between the Plain of Chinnereth on the west side of the Sea of Galilee near the town of Rakkath (later consumed by the town of Tiberias during Roman occupation) and the Jezreel Valley.  Once it entered the valley floor, this road navigated between Mt. Tabor to the north and Mt. Moreh to the south before turning to the southwest, passing close by the towns of Kishion and Nain in the Valley of Chesulloth.

While the main route of the International Highway that connected Mesopotamia left Megiddo or Jokenum and crossed the Jezreel Valley between Mt. Tabor and Mt. Moreh, an alternate route existed.  This alternate was known as the Megiddo-Hannathon-Acco road.  Its position at Hannathon provided the traveler with an alternative route to the coast from the Jezreel Valley.  It also provided another route to reach Mesopotamia from Egypt and southern Israel by traveling east to the Horns of Hattin and connecting with the main route of the International Highway again near the Sea of Galilee.

Besides the International Highway and its alternate routes, there are three other notable lateral and local roads in this region.  The first of these was an important roadway connecting the Transjordan towns with the coast for the purpose of international trade and shipping called the Acco–Hannathon–Javneel Valley Road.  Until recent times, it was known by the name Darb el-Hawarnah, meaning “The Way of the Hauranites.”  The important towns that grew up along this route within the Lower Galilee region were Hannathon, Rimmon, Horns of Hattin (Adami?), Jabneel, T. Yin’am and T. Ubeidaya near the Jordan River.  This route was mentioned in Papyrus Anastasi I by the Egyptian scribe Hori during the reign of Ramses II.  According to Saarisalo, some of the villages mentioned that were not located near the fertile valleys sprung up in response to a commercial opportunity for business with passing caravans, merchants, and other travelers, a common reason for a town’s location in the ancient world.   Another historical source that mentions this route is in one of the Amarna tablets (EA 8).  The king of Babylon writes that his caravan was attacked by the kings of Acco and Shim’on near Hannathon.  His caravan must have been using this route.

The second important local road in this region was the Acco–Beth-Hakkerem Valley–Hazor Road.  The majority of this road exists in the Beth-Hakkerem valley that makes up a convenient pass to the Jordan Rift Valley, but it ends six miles before reaching it.  At this point, the terrain becomes mountainous and broken, created by the Ammud wadi system making a direct eastern approach impossible.  The traveler instead must navigate to the north into the Upper Galilean region to Sefet before they can once again descend into the Jordan Rift Valley to connect with the International Highway.  A later dated road has been found that takes a southern route eventually leading to the Plain of Chinnereth.

A final route system that deserves mentioning is one that became more prominent during the Roman-Byzantine period.  Zippori (Sepphoris) and Nazereth in the lower regions became popular because of Rabbinical interest and occupation of the former and Crusader and Christian interest of the latter.  These towns were built up and existing roads were upgraded and connected to the nearby larger villages of Hannathon and Shim’on.  In the process, a new route system became popular that replaced the stop of Hannathon with Zippori as a central town in its passage – Acco–Zippori–Tiberias and Zippori–Shim’on–Megiddo.

Archaeology

Not much intense archaeological activity has occurred in the Lower Galilee region until the early 1980s, and the towns that have been excavated, such as Bet She’arim, Japhia, Nazereth, and Zippori (Sepphoris), mainly date from the Roman-Byzantine period.  However, frequent site surveys have been conducted.  Pottery that has been found at these sights and others reveal older settlement during the Chalcolithic, Canaanite (Early, Middle, and Late Bronze Ages) and Iron Age periods.  No site dated in the time frame of these earlier ages has been excavated extensively at this time.  Out of all sites surveyed, Hannathon is the largest in Lower Galilee and contains the most complete historical record, spanning the Chalcolithic to the Ottoman ages.

History

With the previous geological overview and an understanding of the region’s location in terms of human settlement and lines of communication, the stage has been set to introduce a brief historical overview.
The earliest settlements found by archaeological surveys date back to the Chalcolithic period (4th Millennium B.C.). Out of these, the towns of Sho’im east of Nazereth, Hannathon in the Beth-Netophah Valley,  Ein Yibque’a in the western lowlands, Hurbat Akin in the southwest region near the banks of the Tavor river, and Ein Hadda, also in the Nahal Tabor region of the southeast all have evidence of pottery belonging to this period.

Canaanite Period

The earliest mention of settlements of this region in written records have been found in the Egyptian Later Execration texts that were inscribed on figurines dating to the end of the nineteenth century B.C., during the Canaanite Middle Bronze Age.  These records contained lists and curses of the Pharoah’s potential enemies.  The city of Shim’on is mentioned.  The people living in the land at this time were probably Amorites, a nomadic people group who had migrated from the north and eventually formed settlements.  They expanded south as well as west, putting an end to the Sumerian and Akkadian kingdoms in Mesopotamia.  At least within written records, their main areas of occupation in regard to the Lower Galilean region were in cities slightly beyond its borders, such as Hazor, and Megeddo.

The later Hyskos Period (Egyptain for “foreign kings”) saw extensive building of these two towns, especially at Hazor, which according to archaeology and other ancient documents, points to it being a capitol city.  This may be why it is referred to in the Bible during the Israelite conquest as being the head of the northern kingdoms (Joshua 11:10).  The next mention of this region is in city lists of the conquest of Thutmose III during the Late Bronze Age.  The Lower Galilean towns mentioned are Shim’on, Adamim (near the Horns of Hattin?), Shemesh-edom, and Chinnereth.   Shemesh-adam (near the Horns of Hattin?) is the first place mentioned again in a campaign by Thutmose III’s son, Amen-hotep II.  The later dated El-Amarna letters, which were written in Akkadian cuneiform, mention two towns in Lower Galilee— Hannathon and Shimon.  Aharoni appears to contradict himself in light of the apparent existence of Hannathon from these texts when he later says that the interior parts of Lower and Upper Galilee were “forested and unoccupied during the Bronze Age.”

Israelite Period

There appears to be a strong connection of the conquering group called the ‘Apiru mentioned repeatedly in the El-Amarna letters and the Hebrews of the Israelite invasion.  For example, these letters mention an invasion of this conquering people group of Galilean region by a letter by the King of Tyre describing the fall of Hazor to the ‘Apiru (EA, 148).   Repeatedly throughout his overview of the Israelite conquest, we find Aharoni making connections between the events in Joshua and events described in the El-Amarna letters even though he leans towards a belief in most cases that they are similar events from two separate times periods.  However, he goes so far as to suggest that the tribe of Asher actually came during the El Amarna period while the other tribes came during the Iron Age period a century or more later.  The reason for this is based on the fact that its name has been found in inscriptions describing Seti I’s campaigns.

The next notable historic account regarding the Lower Galilean region is Joshua’s conquest of northern Canaan in Joshua 11.  One of the kings the Israelite army fought against was from Shim’on, located in the southwestern corner of the region.  The location of the final battle at “The Waters of Meron) is debated.  Aharoni suggests it is located in Upper Galilee.  However, Gal argues based on new evidence that the waters of Merom are located at a rich spring at the base of the Horns of Hattin located on the International Highway, an ideal place to stage an army for battle and provide better ground for chariot warfare.  Another vanquished king of this region might be found in the defeated kings list of Joshua 12.  It is suggested that due to the ordering of kings from towns in the south to the north, the king of Goyim in Gilgal mentioned in verse 23a may actually be the “King of the Goyim (or people) of Galilee.”

Not long after this incident, the tribe of Zebulun inherited most of Lower Galilee as described in Joshua 19:10-16.  Bar differs in his boundary lines to the west and east from previous scholarship He proposes that Rimmon, which marked the eastern border, was actually the spring in the region of the Horns of Hattin.  For the northwestern boundary corner, he proposes the mouth of the Yiphtah’el valley where it opens up into the Acco plain pointing towards Tel Keisan.  This would make for a larger territory than previously assumed, but Gal argues that it seems more plausible because it follows more natural boundary lines.

Foreign Occupation Period (Assyrian – Greek)

The next notable event in Galilean history is the Assyrian conquest of the land mentioned in 2nd Kings 15:29.  According to more recent scholarship, the entire population was not deported by Tiglath-pileser.  Drawing on documentation from Assyrian annals, we find that based on the numbers, as many as 625 or 650 deportees from each major Lower Galilean town would have most likely been military or royal officers (ANET 283).  However, the vast majority of the population—regular farmers, would have continued to stay.  Horsley argues further that since Syria had periodically invaded and controlled parts of northern Galilee and other regions, it may have been their administrators that were deported rather than the Israelites.  He mentions that the region of Samaria was probably the only place were the the Assyrians deported most of the pollution and then repopulated it with other conquered people.  This displaced people group of non-Jews drove a cultural and geographic wedge between Galilee and its religious center of Judea ever afterwards.  Galilee remained traditionally and religiously tied to Jerusalem, but the Samaritan region, now inhabited by a displaced people group composed of mainly non-Jews,  became cultic. Galileans rejected the Samaritan temple as a place to worship by evidence of pilgrimages and tithes to Jerusalem. For the next 400 years, very little changed except switches in foreign governing empires from Assyrian to Babylonian to Persian.

During the period of the conquest of Alexander the Great and the spread of Greek culture, it appears that the effects of hellenization on the people of Galilee had mostly to do with land ownership and administrators put in place for tax collection purposes.  There was no forced hellenization like what took place in Judea during the later periods that involved foreign religious practices.  Greek philosophy would have been very unlikely to make any impact on the farmers of this region—religious syncretism would have been more likely, but as was have already noted, this appeared to not have happened.  So in summary, it appears that the inhabitants of Lower Galilee, while surrounded by foreign culture, failed to be seduced by it and continued to be conservative in their adherence to traditional Judaism.  This was the religious culture and environment that Jesus was eventually raised in.  It was not one bombarded with radical Greek philosophy, but rather one of conservative religion adhered to by the hard working people of the land.

New Testament Period Events & Culture

Finally we reach this region’s most important events— those of Jesus’ early ministry and his time there growing up in the town of Nazareth.  We find that Jesus was rejected with an attempt by the townspeople to throw him off a cliff nearby at his own hometown as he begin his ministry (Luke 4:14-31). We are told of his first miracle that occurred at Cana in John 2:1-11; 4:43-54.  Scholars are not certain if the location was at Tel Qana in the northern edge of the Beth Netophah valley or at Kefar Kamma, a town a few miles away from Nazareth.

Baily reflects on this region and its choice by God as the place Jesus would connect with the world.  Its secluded geography resulted in a tendency of its people to insulate themselves from foreign thinking and culture, making it both independent and conservative.  This was the place God chose to grow up and spend a good portion of his time ministering in.  This was the region that he chose many of his disciples and his closest friends who would later become the first apostles and leaders of the early church.

After the death of Jesus, other notable occurrences in the land of Israel and in Galilee in particular occurred.  The most notable was the great revolt in the summer of 66 A.D.  It appears that although there were frequent outbreaks of violence from numerous causes in this region, it mainfested itself in partially organized banditry and was aimed at the ruling class elite rather than Romans in general.  Josephus was sent from Jerusalem to assert control and regain stability in this region, but he utterly failed to do so.  This was not just a local occurrence, but occurred thoughout Israel and seemed to be a general indication of intense popular unrest and anger towards corrupt religious and political leadership coupled with economic hardships.  Roman retribution of this revolt occurred a year later in the summer of 67 A.D.  It was lead by Vespasian and was as Horsley put it “swift and devastating.”  The entire campaign in Galilee lasted until November, and resulted in a considerable percentage of the population being killed or taken away as slaves.  Numerous towns and villages were destroyed as well.

Following the re-conquest of Galilee, it came under direct Roman rule as part of the overall province of Judeah.  This marked a period where Rome was phasing out local client-rulers, and it is believed that the economic pressures were lifted off the peasant population because of this.  In other words, the middleman had been removed.

Following the Bar Kokhba Revolt, it appears that the rabbinic school, surviving mostly in Pharisaic forms, moved from the area of Yavneh to Lower Galilee and at first settled on its western borders at Usha, Shefar ‘am, and Beth She’arim.  Later on, they moved their base of operations to more the prominent cities of Sepphorus and Tibirus.   It appears that the majority of the rabbinical teachings were largely ignored by the vast majority of Galilee’s inhabitants because most of their regulations over and above the mosaic law were only possible for a middle class urbanite to follow.  It was during this time that the Jewish Mishnah was complied by the Tannaim scribal tradition under the leadership of Judah the Prince, although its inception begin before the fall of Jerusalem by Rabbi Akiba. Rabbinic academies were established around this time as well.  This time period of early Rabbanic influence in Galilee fell approximately in the middle of the talmudic period, which was marked by a strong movement to establish a standardized text of the Hebrew Bible.  This standardization seems to have solidified along with meticulous rules for its reproduction during the rabbinical establishment in Galilee around 100 A.D.

Regardless of the region’s heavy involvement in the religions of Christianity and post-temple Pharisaic Judaism, there seems to be no activity or interest by the general population for either.  Horley concludes with his overview of the history of Galilee that “the continuing independence of the Galileans was rooted in their continuing cultivation of popular Israelite traditions such as Mosaic covenantal ideals of justice and stories of resistance such as the Song of Deborah and the narratives of Elijah and Elisha.”

Works Cited

• Aharoni, Yohanan. The Land of the Bible: A Historical Geography. 2nd Edition; Translated by A.F. Rainy; Philadelpha: Westminster Press, 1979.
• Baly, Denis. The Geography of the Bible. New York: Harper & Row, 1957.
• Barag, Dan. “Japhia.”  Pages 659-60 in vol.2 of The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land. Edited by Ephraim Stern. 4 vols.  New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993.
• Dorsey, David A. The Roads and Highways of Ancient Israel.  Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991.
• ________ “The Inheritance of the Tribe of Zebulun: Joshua 19:10-16.”  Masters Thesis,  Northeastern Bible College, 1971.
• Efrat, Elisha and Efraim Orni.  Georgraphy of Israel. 3rd Edition. Jerusalem: Jerusalem University Press, 1971.
• Freyne, Seán. Galilee From Alexander the Great to Hadrian 323 BCE to 135 CE: A Study of Second Temple Judaism.  Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1980.
• Gal, Zvi. Lower Galilee During The Iron Age. Translated by Marcia R. Josephy; Vol. 8 of The American Schools of Oriental Research Dissertation Series; Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 1992.
• Horsley, Richard. Galilee: History, Politics, People. Valley Forge, Trinity Press International, 1995.
• Karmon, Yehuda. Israel: A Regional Geography. London: John Wiley & Sons Ltd., 1971.
• Smith, George Adam. The Geography Of the Holy Land: Especially in Relation to the History Of Israel and of the Early Church. London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1894. Repr., Whitefish: Kessinger Publishing, 2007.
• Tzaferis, Vassilios and Bellarmino Bagatti, “Nazareth.” Pages 1103-06 in vol.3 of The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land.  Edited by Ephraim Stern. 4 vols.  New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993.
• Wegner, Paul D. The Journey from Texts to Translations: The Origin and Development of the Bible.  Grand Rapids: Baker Publishing Group, 1999.
• Weiss, Zeev.  “Sepphoris.” Pages 1324-28 in vol.4 of The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land. Edited by Ephraim Stern. 4 vols.  New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993.