Difference between revisions of "Tiberias"

<p> <b> [[Tiberias]] </b> <b> ( </b> Τιβεριάς).—A city situated on the W. shore of the Sea of Galilee, founded by Herod Antipas, and named by him in honour of the [[Emperor]] Tiberius. The original inhabitants were foreigners, whom Herod either forced to reside in the new city or to whom he gave special inducements if they would. Our Lord, so far as is known, never visited Tiberias, it being His custom to avoid [[Gentile]] cities. The only reference to the city in the NT is &nbsp;John 6:23, in which it is stated that ‘there came boats from Tiberias unto the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks’ (cf. &nbsp;John 6:1; &nbsp;John 21:1). </p> <p> <b> 1. Location. </b> —The ancient city was situated directly on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, and therefore approximately 682 feet below the level of the Mediterranean, at the north end of a narrow rectangular plain about two miles long, which was bounded by a rather steep ridge of hills rising abruptly to the west. From the ruins still to be found in the vicinity it is probable that the ancient city extended considerably farther south of the modern town. [[Josephus]] ( <i> Ant. </i> xviii. ii. 3; cf. <i> BJ </i> iv. i. 3) says that there were ‘warm baths a little distance from it in a village called Emmaus’ (Hammath?). According to the [[Talmud]] (Jerus. [Note: Jerusalem.] <i> Megilla </i> , i. 1), the city was built upon the ancient site of [[Rakkath]] of Naphtali; and it is further stated ( <i> Sanhed </i> . 12 <i> a </i> ) that in the 4th cent. the [[Jews]] had actually dropped the name Tiberias and reverted to the ancient name Rakkath. On the other hand, in the Bab. [Note: Babylonian.] Talmud, Tiberias is sometimes identified with Rakkath, sometimes with Hammath, and sometimes with [[Chinnereth]] (cf. &nbsp;Joshua 19:35). [[Jerome]] ( <i> Onom </i> . 112. 28 ff.) identifies it with Chinnereth. </p> <p> <b> 2. History. </b> —Herod [[Antipas]] is supposed to have completed the building of Tiberias about a.d. 22. [[Ancient]] sepulchres were removed to make room for the new foundations, and accordingly the Jews regarded the new city as legally unclean (cf. &nbsp;Numbers 19:11 ff.). Nevertheless the town grew with great rapidity, and, before the downfall of [[Jerusalem]] had become one of the chief cities of Palestine. Herod had made it the capital of Galilee, removing the seat of government from Sepphoris, the former capital. The city was fortified by Josephus when commander-in-chief of [[Galilee]] ( <i> c. </i> [Note: circa, about.] a.d. 66). During the struggle of the Jews with Rome, its inhabitants remained loyal to the national cause. When, however, [[Vespasian]] appeared before its walls with three legions, the citizens yielded without resistance. Vespasian restored it to Herod [[Agrippa]] II., who stripped it of its political prestige by transferring the capital again to Sepphoris. When Agrippa died (a.d. 100), it fell directly under Roman rule. [[Shortly]] after the destruction of Jerusalem (a.d. 70), Tiberias became the chief seat of the Jews and of [[Jewish]] learning. According to Epiphanius, it was not long before the city was inhabited exclusively by Jews. In the 2nd cent. the Sanhedrin, which had been shifted from Jerusalem to [[Jamnia]] and then to Sepphoris, was established at Tiberias under the presidency of the celebrated Rabbi Judah the Holy. </p> <p> <b> 3. [[Present]] condition. </b> —The modern town is called by the Arabs <i> Tâbarîyeh </i> . Traces still remain of the ancient city along the Lake, especially to the south of the present town. Heaps of stones, columns of grey granite, foundations of buildings, and of a thick wall which extended almost to the famous baths, all confirm the supposition that the ancient city extended at one time farther south. The present town is defended on the land side by a wall furnished with towers. There are the ruins of a once imposing castle at the N.W. corner. But castle, walls, and houses were seriously damaged by the earthquakes of 30th Oct. 1759 and of 1st Jan. 1837. Among the famous tombs of Tiberias are those of Maimonides, and Rabbis ‘Akiba and Jochanan. To-day Tiberias has a population of approximately 4000 souls, of whom about two-thirds are Jews and the other third Mohammedans and [[Christians]] of different sects. The [[Protestants]] have a well-equipped hospital, and are doing a good religious work under the United Free Church of Scotland. The Jews occupy a squalid quarter in the middle of the town, adjacent to the Lake. The city as a whole is ‘a picture of disgusting filth and frightful wretchedness.’ Of late, however, the place is improving somewhat, having become the seat of a Turkish <i> kaimakan </i> , or governor. </p> <p> Tiberias is hot and fever-haunted. The breezes from the [[Mediterranean]] are prevented from striking the city by the hills which bound the plain on the west. The winters are mild, snow being very rarely known. The Lake furnishes the only supply of water. The view from the city embraces the whole extent of the Sea of Galilee except the S.W. extremity. Schürer speaks of Tiberias as ‘the most beautiful spot in Galilee,’ which, however, is an exaggeration. At present it is one of the four sacred cities of the Jews in Palestine, the others being Jerusalem, Hebron, and Safed. The study of the Talmud still flourishes in Tiberias. </p> <p> Literature.—Robinson, <i> BRP </i> [Note: RP Biblical Researches in Palestine.] iii. 254 ff.; Baedeker-Socin, <i> Pal. </i> [Note: Palestine, Palestinian.] 286 ff.; Guérin, <i> Galilée </i> , i. 250 ff.; Neubauer, <i> Géog. du Talm. </i> [Note: Talmud.] 208 ff.; Merrill, art. ‘Tiberias’ in Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible: Buhl, <i> GAP </i> [Note: AP Geographic des alten Palästina.] 226 f.; Reland, <i> Pal. </i> [Note: Palestine, Palestinian.] ii. 1036; G. A. Smith, <i> HGHL </i> [Note: GHL [[Historical]] Geog. of [[Holy]] Land.] 447 ff.; Burckhardt, <i> Travels </i> , 320 ff.; Murray, <i> Syria-Pal. </i> [Note: Palestine, Palestinian.] 251; Schürer, <i> HJP </i> [Note: JP History of the Jewish People.] II. i. 143 ff.; Wilson, <i> Lands of the Bible </i> , ii. 116 ff.; Ritter, <i> Geog. of Pal. </i> [Note: Palestine, Palestinian.] ii. 256 ff.; art. ‘Tiberias’ in <i> EBi </i> [Note: Bi Encyclopaedia Biblica.] iv. </p> <p> [[George]] L. Robinson. </p>

<p> [[Tiberias]] (''Tî-Bç'Ri-As'' ). A town in Galilee, on the western shore of the sea of Tiberias. &nbsp;John 6:1; &nbsp;John 6:23. Our Lord never visited it. He was often in the immediate neighborhood; but we never read of his entering Tiberias. It was the seat for centuries of a famous academy, and to the present day it is one of the four holy cities. Near to Tiberias are the celebrated hot baths of Hammam. The present city contains about 2000 inhabitants. </p>

<p> ''''' tı̄ ''''' - ''''' bē´ri ''''' - ''''' as ''''' ( Τιβεριάς , <i> ''''' Tiberiás ''''' </i> , &nbsp; John 6:23 ): About the middle of the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, the mountains fall back from the coast, and leave a roughly crescent-shaped plain, about 2 miles in length. The modern city of Tiberias ( <i> '''''Ṭabarı̄yeh''''' </i> ) stands at the northern extremity, where the ground begins to rise; and the [[Hot]] [[Baths]] ( <i> '''''Hammath''''' </i> ) at the south end. On the southern part of this plain Herod Antipas built a city (circa 26 AD), calling it "Tiberias" in honor of the emperor who had befriended him. In clearing the ground and digging foundations certain tombs were disturbed ( <i> Ant. </i> , Xviii ii, 3). It may have been the graveyard of old Hammath. The palace, the famous "Golden House," was built on the top of a rocky hill which rises on the West to a height of some 500 ft. The ruin is known today as <i> '''''Ḳasr''''' </i> <i> '''''bint''''' </i> <i> '''''el''''' </i> - <i> '''''Melek''''' </i> , "Palace of the King's Daughter" The strong walls of the city can be traced in almost their entire length on the landward side. Parts are also to be seen along the shore, with towers at intervals which guarded against attack by sea. The ruins cover a considerable area. There is nothing above ground older than Herod's city. Only excavation can show whether or not the Talmud is fight in saying that Tiberias was built on the site of Rakkath and Chinnereth (Neubauer, <i> Geog. du Talmud </i> , 208). The Jews were shy of settling in a city built over an old cemetery; and Herod had trouble in finding occupants for it. A strange company it was that he ultimately gathered of the "poorer people," foreigners, and others "not quite freemen"; and these were drawn by the prospect of good houses and land which he freely promised them. With its stadium, its palace "with figures of living things" and its senate, it may be properly described as a Greek city, although it also contained a <i> '''''proseuchḗ''''' </i> , or place of prayer, for the Jews ( <i> BJ </i> , II, xxi, 6; <i> Vita </i> , Xii , 54, etc.). This accounts for it figuring so little in the Gospels. In his anxiety to win the favor of the Jews, Herod built for them "the finest synagogue in Galilee"; but many years were to elapse before it should become a really Jewish city. </p> <p> Superseding Sepphoris, Tiberias was the capital of Galilee under Agrippa I and the Roman procurators. It surrendered to Vespasian, and was given by [[Nero]] to Agrippa II, [[Sepphoris]] again becoming the capital. During the Jewish war its inhabitants were mainly Jewish, somewhat turbulent and difficult to manage. In 100 AD, at Agrippa's death, the Romans assumed direct control. After the fall of Jerusalem, the Sanhedrin retreated to Galilee, first to Sepphoris, and then to Tiberias. Here, some time before 220 AD, under supervision of the famous Rabbi Jehuda <i> ''''' ha ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' Nāsı̄' ''''' </i> , "Judah the Prince," or, as he is also called <i> ''''' ha ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' ḳādhōsh ''''' </i> , "the Holy," the civil and ritual laws, decrees, customs, etc., held to be of binding obligation, handed down by tradition, but not having Scriptural authority, were codified and written down, under the title of "Mishna." Here also later was compiled the Jerusalem Talmud ( <i> ''''' Yerūshalmı̄ ''''' </i> ), as distinguished from that compiled in [[Babylon]] ( <i> ''''' Babhlı̄ ''''' </i> ). The city thus became a great center of Jewish learning. Maimonides' tomb is shown near the town, and that of Aqiba on the slope of the mountain, where it is said 24,000 of his disciples are buried with him. </p> <p> In [[Christian]] times Tiberias was the seat of a bishop. It fell to the [[Moslems]] in 637. It changed hands several times as between the Crusaders and the Saracens. It was finally taken by the Moslems in 1247. </p> <p> The enclosing walls of the modern city, and the castle, now swiftly going to ruin, were built by [[Tancred]] and repaired by Daher <i> ''''' el ''''' </i> -'Omar in 1730. There are over 5,000 inhabitants, mostly Jews, in whose hands mainly is the trade of the place. The fishing in the lake, in which some 20 boats are occupied, is carried on by Moslems and Christians. Tiberias is the chief inhabited place on the lake, to which as in ancient days it gives its name, <i> ''''' Baḥr ''''' </i> <i> ''''' Ṭabarı̄yeh ''''' </i> , "Sea of Tiberias" (&nbsp; John 6:1; &nbsp;John 21:1 ). It is the market town for a wide district. The opening of the Haifa-Damascus Railway has quickened the pulse of life considerably. A steamer and motor boat ply between the town and the station at <i> '''''Semach''''' </i> , bringing the place into easy touch with the outside world. The water of the lake is largely used for all purposes, although there are cisterns for rain water under some of the houses. </p> <p> After a residence of over five years in the city, the present writer can say that it does not deserve the evil reputation which casual travelers have given it. In matters of cleanliness and health it stands comparison very well with other oriental towns. Sometimes, in east wind; it is very hot, thermometer registering over 114 [[Degrees]] Fahrenheit in the shade. The worst time is just at the beginning of the rainy season, when the impurities that have gathered in the drought of summer are washed into the sea, contaminating the water. </p> <p> The United Free Church of [[Scotland]] has here a well-equipped mission to the Jews. </p>