IV. which lay next to, and fo bounded it all along the western CHA P. fide. The breadth of this lake or fea, Jofephus tells us, is forty furlongs, and the length an hundred: the water of it is fweet and potable, without any thing of morishness either in the taste or colour. It lies upon a gravel, and fo more conveniently to be drawn, and fofter than either a river or fountain water. And with all this it is fo cold, that the people of the place cannot warm it, by fetting it in the fun in the hottest season in the year. It has in it great variety of fish, which for taste and shape are not to be found any where else; and the river Jordan runs through the midft of it. Jofeph. War of the Jews, book iii. chap. xviii. L'Eftrange's edition. As to the name whereby this fea went in the times of the Old Testament, it was then without doubt called the fea of Chinnereth, Num. xxxiv. 11. or Cinnereth, Josh. xiii. 27. Of which more in the following paragraph. 9. Of the land reth. From the defcription of the lake of Gennefareth proceed we to describe the land of Gennefareth, which is mentioned Matt. of Gennefaxiv. 34. Mar. vi. 53. and which, as Jofephus exprefsly informs us, gave name to the adjoining lake, and is thus described by the said author in his third book of the Wars of the Jews, chap. xviii. L'Eftrange's edition. This lake takes its name from the country that surrounds it, which is fruitful and agreeable to admiration. As for fertility of the foil, no plant comes amifs to it; befides that it is improved by the skill and industry of the inhabitants to the highest degree; and, by a ftrange felicity of the climate, every thing profpers there; as nuts, palms, figs, and olive-trees, that flourish here in perfection, though they require a quite different temperature of air in the nature of them; which looks as if Providence took delight in this place to reconcile contradictions; and as if the very feasons themselves were in a competition which should be moft obliging. And the production of strange varieties of excellent fruit is not all neither; but the conferving of them fo long quick and found is another curiofity. Figs and grapes hold in season there ten months in the year, and other fruits the whole year about. And the place is not more famous I. PART for a delicious air, than it is for a cryftalline flowing fountain, called by the natives Capernaum, which fome take for a little gut of the Nile, because of a certain fish in it, that is no where elfe to be found but in Alexandria. The length of the country along the lake is thirty ftadia (or furlongs, i. e. near four miles), and the breadth twenty ftadia (or furlongs, i. e. about two miles and a half). Such a delicious country was the land of Gennefareth in the time of Jofephus, who lived in the fame age with our Saviour. And hence it is that some conjecture the word Gennefareth, or, as it is fometimes written, Gennefar, to be made up of the two words Gen and Sar; the former of which denotes in the Hebrew tongue a garden, the latter a prince, and fo both together denote the garden of a prince, or princely garden. Which name, though it be not improper to fo delightful and fruitful a country, as the land of Gennefareth was; yet however it is more likely that the name Gennefareth in the New Teftament was by degrees framed from that of Chinnereth or Cinnereth in the Old Teftament. For it is manifeft from Josh. xix. 35. that Cinnereth was then a fenced or principal city in the tribe of Naphtali; and it is further manifeft from 1 Kings xv. 20. that it gave name to an adjoining tract of ground; and it is ftill further manifeft from Num. xxxiv. 11. Deut. iii. 17. Josh. xii. 3. that the city of Cinnereth lay on the coast of the lake Gennefareth, and also gave name to the said lake; this being evidently the fame, as appears from the places already cited, that was in the times of Mofes and Joshua called the fea of Cinnereth. All these particulars laid together, it will, I fuppofe, appear more than probable that Gennefareth in the New Teftament is no other than a word moulded from Cinnereth in the Old Teftament. There is indeed this difference to be obferved between the times of the Old and New Teftament, namely, that whereas there was a confiderable city named Chinnereth, or Cinnereth, in the former times, there is no mention made of any city that went under the name of Gennefareth in the times of the New Teftament. But this But this may be very well accounted for, it being most IV. most highly probable, that the city Cinnereth was destroyed CHA P. by Benhadad King of Syria, at the time mentioned 1 Kings xv. 20. and that although upon its ruins afterwards arofe the city of Capernaum, fo called from the excellent fountain above mentioned out of Jofephus; yet the lake and adjacent tract of ground ftill retained the ancient name of Cinnereth, moulded by degrees or difference of dialect into Gennefareth. I fhall close the description of the land and lake of Gennefareth with obferving, that as the Jewish hiftorian Jofephus attributes the extraordinary fertility of the land of Gennefareth to the peculiar providence of God, as if he took more delight in this fpot of ground than others; so it was a common saying of the Jews in reference to the lake of Gennefareth, that God loved that fea more than all the other feas. And indeed it does fo far hold good, that this sea above all others was frequently honoured with the divine prefence of our bleffed Lord and Saviour JESUS CHRIST, after that he came and dwelt at Capernaum, within the land, and upon the lake of Gennesareth, and that not only before, but also after, his refurrection, John xxi. I. IO. Our Lord lile, and is parts. Now though our Lord had made choice of Capernaum to be his dwelling-place, whence it is called his own city, Matt. vifits other ix. I; yet he frequently vifited the other parts of Galilee, parts of Ga. (and fometimes alfo the country beyond Jordan, and the fea reforted to of Galilee) teaching in their fynagogues, and healing all man- from all ner of diseases; fo that his fame went throughout all the adjoining parts of Syria, and there followed after him great multitudes of people from all parts of the Holy Land, from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerufalem, and from Judea, and from beyond Jordan, Matt. iv. 13, 23, 24, 25. II. Our Lord to celebrate But when the season for celebrating the paffover was come again, JESUS went up again to Jerufalem, to celebrate the goes up to fame. And at this paffover he wrought a great miracle by Jerufalem curing an impotent man, who had been unable to walk for the fecond eight and thirty years. Our Saviour met with the man at the pool in Jerufalem, called Bethesda. This pool had adjoining to it a building confifting of five porches, in which were laid paffover, aftifm and en ter his bap trance upon h.s public a great ministry. I. A. D. 31. PART a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. For an Angel went down at a certain feafon into the pool, and troubled or ftirred about the Of the pool water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water of Bethesda. stepped in, was made whole of whatever disease he had, John v. 1, 2, &c. This is the account given by the Evangelist St. John, of the virtue appertaining to this pool. And Tertullian notes that the virtue of this pool ceafed, upon the Jews perfevering in their infidelity, and rejecting our Saviour. Mr. Maundrel tells us, that he went to take a view of that which they now call the pool of Bethesda; and that it is one hundred and twenty paces long, and forty broad, and at least eight deep, but void of water. At its west end it difcovers fome old arches now dammed up. These fome will have to be the five porches in which fat that multitude of lame, halt, and blind (John v. 3.); but the mischief is, inftead of five, there are but three of them. This pool is contiguous on one fide to (what is now called) St. Stephen's gate, and on the other to the area of the Temple. CHAP. CHAP. V. Of our Saviour's Journeyings from the fecond Paffover after A. D. his Baptifm and Entrance upon his public Ministry, to the 31 and 32. third Paffiver. THE paffover holy-days being over, our Lord returns into I. Our Lord Galilee. Galilee; and when it was known, great multitudes re- returns int forted unto him from all quarters, Mark iii. 7, 8. Some time after he withdrew into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer; and when it was day, he called unto him his difciples, and of them he chofe twelve, whom he named Apostles, or Messengers, he ordaining them to this fpecial end, that he might send them forth to preach, Luke vi. 12, 13. Mark iii. 14. Not long after this JESUS feeing the multitudes that followed him, went up with them into a mountain, and fitting down, preached to them that divine fermon recorded in of Beati This fermon beginning with beatitudes, or bleffings, the mountain, on which it is generally supposed to be preached, is from hence called the mountain of Beatitudes, lying north of The mount the fea of Galilee, and not far from Capernaum; and in all probability it was the fame mountain, whither our Saviour retired, and where he spent all the night in prayer, before his election and ordination of the twelve Apostles. tudes. 2.. Of Nain or Our Lord having ended his fermon, came down from the mount or little hill (for it is but a small rifing), and entered into Naim. Capernaum, where he cured the centurion's fervant, Matt. viii. 1, 2, &c. Luke vii. 1, 2, &c. The day after our Lord went into a city called Naim, where he raised to life the widow's fon that was dead, and then carrying to his grave. The city Naim is fituated in Galilee, not many leagues from mount Tabor, of which hereafter. Some time after this our Lord entering into a discourse with ༢. Of Chorathe zin. |