Genesaret (Gr. Guenn’sarét, perhaps “prince’s garden”). 1. Land (Mat 14:34; Mar 6:53), a fertile plain on the northwestern shore of Lake Gennesaret or Galilee. Josephus describes it as about 5.5 km long and 3.5 km wide (30 x 20 stadia), rich in walnut, palm, fig, olive and grapevines. This plain, which is around Capernaum, later received the Arabic name of el-Ghuweir. Bib.: FJ-GJ iii.10.8. 487 2. Lake (Luk 5:1), another name for the Sea of Galilee,* See Cineret. Genesis, Book of. First book of the Pentateuch. The title in the Hebrew Bibles is Berê’shîth, “In the beginning”, the initial word of the book. “Genesis”, which means “birth” or “origin”, was assigned to it by the translators of the LXX for its content. I. Author. From ancient times Jewish and Christian scholars persistently attributed it to Moses. But in the mid-18th century AD, higher criticism began its attack on the authenticity of the Scriptures as divine revelation and reliable ancient history, and consequently advanced the view that Genesis was a collection of documents, written in various languages. times by different authors, which were later combined in their present form by one or more editors. This assumption was based on the conjecture that the use of different names for God in the various sections-‘EIôhîm, “God”, and Yahweh, “Jehovah” or “Lord”-was an indication that there were different authors, and that the authorship of a given passage could be determined from the name they used. However, a careful study of ancient versions, such as the LXX and, more recently, the Dead Sea Scrolls, conclusively revealed that ancient Hebrew scholars used these names interchangeably, thus making the imaginary distinction they drew critics has no validity. On the other hand, although the book was branded as myth and legend, a series of remarkable archaeological discoveries, made in the last century, definitively demonstrated the historicity of passage after passage in doubt. Among these we can mention those that refer to the Hittites ( Hittites ) and the Philistines, and to the use of iron and camels in the patriarchal age. The section of the book dealing with Egypt shows a remarkable familiarity with that country, its language, and its customs. The successive accounts are, in every sense, exact – from what is known today of the patriarchal era -, according to the evidence obtained from archaeological discoveries. II. Theme. The book was written in order to enlighten the Hebrew people of their high destiny and to preserve, for all future generations, a reliable account of the sacred history prior to its writing, specifically as it related to the way in which God treats the Jews. who are loyal to him. It contains the only authentic and reliable account of creation, the history of the antediluvian world and the flood. Account of the origin of man, of the entrance of sin, of the promise of salvation, and of the first stages of history that prepared the way for the later fulfillment of that promise. In short, it contains the record of sacred history from the 1st day of the creation week to the death of Joseph in Egypt. III. Sketch. The book is divided into 4 main logical sections: 1. From the creation to the flood, and the population of the earth after the flood (Gen 1:1-11:26). 2. The patriarchs Abraham and Isaac (11:27-26:35). 3. The patriarch Jacob (chs 27-36). 4. Joseph (chs 37-50). IV. Contents. Chapters 1 and 2 describe the creation of this planet and its transformation from the state it was in, “messy and empty” (1:2), to its perfect adaptation to be the home of human beings. Very particular attention is paid to the establishment of the 1st, home and the observance of the 1st Sabbath. Ch 3 describes the fall of man, points out the results of it and presents the 1st promise of salvation. Chapters 4 and 5 recount the murder of Abel and the story of Adam’s descendants during the pre-fluid period. Chapters 6-9 are an account of the destruction of the antediluvian world by a flood and of the means that God uses to conserve human and animal life, as well as a brief account of the experience of Noah and his sons after that cataclysm. universal. Chapters 10 and 11 record how Adam’s descendants populated the earth. In the 2nd division of the book the central character is Abraham. God calls the patriarch and his descendants to be his chosen representatives on earth, and guides them to the land of Canaan (Gen 11:27-12:9). After many years of wandering, with his vicissitudes, Abraham receives his promised son, Isaac, who is the heir to the covenant promises (12:10-25:18). Regarding Isaac, a relative silence is kept, as a character much less strong than his illustrious father (25: 19-26: 35). His main function seems to be that of a link between Abraham and Jacob. The 3rd section recounts how Jacob receives the birthright by trickery, so he must flee to Haran, where he raises a large family and accumulates considerable wealth (Gen_27-30). He eventually returns to Canaan and wanders from place to place as circumstances require (chs 31-35). Ch 36 lists Esau’s descendants. The 4th division is about José, his main character in the last 14 chapters of the book. In chapter 37 he explains how Joseph arrives in Egypt, and chapters 39 and 40 tell of his first experiences in that country. Chs 41-47 tell of the famine in Canaan and the circumstances by which Jacob and his children emigrate to Egypt and settle there. Chapters 48 and 49 record the blessings that the patriarch Jacob pronounces on his children, and chapter 50 recounts his death and that of Joseph (see CBA 1: 213-218).
Source: Evangelical Bible Dictionary
name of a plain northwest of the lake of the same name, which extends parallel to the lake for about five kilometers and has a width of two kilometers. In ancient times and in the time of Jesus, it was a very fertile region with a high number of inhabitants and several cities, a meeting point for the trade routes of Asia Minor and a fishing center. Currently, there is only the city of Tiberias, on the western shore of the lake, founded by Herod Antipas, in the year 19, in honor of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. Lake G., 207 meters below the level of the Mediterranean, is 23 km long, has a maximum width of 13 km and an area of 166 km2. Its fresh, cold and crystalline waters, through which the Jordan River flows to the south, are rich in fish species, crustaceans and birds. In the OT it is called the Kinneret Sea, Nm 34, 11; Dt 3, 17; Joshua 13, 27; Kinerot, in Josh 12, 3; Genesar, in 1 M 11, 67. In the NT, it is also called the Sea of Galilee, Mt 4, 18; and Lake Tiberias, by the city of the same name mentioned above, Jn 6, 1.
Much of Jesus’ public life was spent in this region and on the lake, where he performed many miracles. On the shores of the lake he called his first disciples, Simon Peter and Andrew, who were fishermen, Mt 4, 18-22; Mark 1, 16-20; Lk 5, 1-11. He calmed the storm, Mt 8, 23-27; Mark 4, 35-41; Lk 8, 22-25; he raised the daughter of Jairus, one of the leaders of the synagogue, Mk 5, 21-43; Lk 8, 40-56; he did the multiplication of the loaves, Mt 14, 13-21; 15, 32-39; Mark 6, 30-44; 8, 1-10; Lk 9, 10-17; Jn 6, 1-13; Jesus walked on the waters of the sea, Mt 14, 22-25; Mark 6, 45-52; he healed many in the land of G., Mt 14, 34-36; Mark 6, 53-56; 7, 31-37; after the resurrection, Jesus appeared to his disciples on the shores of Lake Tiberias, Jn 21.
Digital Bible Dictionary, Grupo C Service & Design Ltda., Colombia, 2003
Source: Digital Bible Dictionary
1. A plain that extends about 5 km. along the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, the only easily arable land beside the Sea of Galilee (Mat 14:34; Mar 6:53).
2. the lake of Gennesaret (Luk 5:1), elsewhere in Luke simply the lake; the same as the sea of Galilee (Mat 4:18; Mat 15:29; Mar 1:16; Mar 7:31; Joh 6:1) or in the OT sea Quinéret (Num 34:11; Jos 12:3) .
Source: Hispanic World Bible Dictionary
Lake Gennesaret bears different names in the Bible. In the OT it is called several times the Kinneret Sea, a name from which the Greek of Gennesaret was evidently formed; the bridge was formed by the late-Jewish designation of “waters of Gennesar” (1Ma 11:67) and the appellation “lake of Gennesar,” current at the time of Jesus. In the NT it is called simply “Sea of Galilee” and also “Sea (Lake) of Tiberias” (Joh 6:1). Kinneret’s name could derive from the fact that it is shaped like a harp (kinnor), if the ancient name of Tiberias or some other place did not give the lake its name.
Topographic data: maximum length: 21 km; maximum width: 12 km; with an average width of 8 km; surface: 170 km2; average depth: 42 m; maximum: 48 m; level: 212 m below the level of the Mediterranean. The lake is probably the remains of a large inland lake that filled the gigantic fault line that crosses the territory of Syria and Palestine from north to south.
On both banks, longitudinally, the mountains rise near the lake, leaving only room on the west for a road and some small towns, with the only exception being Tiberias, in the center of the western bank; to the east some inlets do open up, but in general the mountain, which reaches up to 500 m in altitude, falls abruptly to the very shore of the lake.
To the north there is a plain with some cities: Capernaum, Bethsaida, and beyond it, Hermon rises in the distance.
The lake is rich in fish, so it had a certain importance for food, and not only in the time of Jesus.
Due to its position below sea level, the average annual temperature in the lake’s caldera is 25° C, reaching 40° in the shade in summer. The northwestern plain (Kinneret plain) is a fertile marshy land and today, with the colonization work of the Israelis (fig trees, palm trees, and other fruit trees), little by little it is recovering the luxuriant appearance with which we imagine it. in the time of Jesus. The temperature barely varies from day to night, so you can spend the night in the open air, as did the crowds that followed Jesus for three days (Mar 8:2).
The storms on the lake are recalled twice by the NT when referring to signs of Jesus. They are storms, which, especially in the months of March to July, can break out so quickly that boatmen and fishermen are surprised. The two miracles of Jesus in the lake are counted as miracles at night; the calm storm is a sign in the afternoon. Those stormy periods were all the more distressing when the winds rarely blow at night. The most dangerous time for thunderstorms is midday. It is above all the west and northwest winds coming from Hermon that cause the…