Revision #14247
Tiberias
Localized for English-speaking readers
Status: approved
Changes from the previous English revision
= ## In the Bible
=
- In the New Testament, Tiberias appears three times, all in the Gospel of John.
+ In the New Testament, Tiberias is mentioned three times, all in the Gospel of John.
=
= - **John 6:1**: The phrase "over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias" introduces the setting of the feeding of the five thousand.
- - **John 6:23**: The text records that boats from Tiberias came "nigh unto the place where they did eat bread." This verse refers to Tiberias as a city.
+ - **John 6:23**: The text records that boats "from Tiberias" came "nigh unto the place where they did eat bread." Here Tiberias is referred to as a city.
= - **John 21:1**: The risen Jesus appears to His disciples at "the sea of Tiberias." The passage that follows describes the great catch of fish and the conversation in which Jesus tells Peter, "Feed my sheep" (John 21:15–17).
=
…
= ## Background
=
- Tiberias is generally understood to have been founded around AD 20 by Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee. Its name comes from Tiberius, the Roman emperor of the time (mentioned in Luke 3:1). Antipas made the city the center of his rule over Galilee. The Jewish historian Josephus records that the city was built on the site of a cemetery and reports that, for this reason, Jews who observed the ritual purity laws of the Mosaic Law were reluctant to live there.
+ Tiberias is generally understood to have been founded around AD 20 by Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee. The city was named after Tiberius, the Roman emperor of the time (Luke 3:1). Antipas made it the center of his rule over Galilee. The Jewish historian Josephus records that the city was built on the site of a cemetery, and he reports that for this reason Jews who observed the purity regulations of the Law were reluctant to settle there.
=
= The city's name soon came to be applied to the lake as well. The Old Testament calls the same body of water the sea of Chinnereth (Numbers 34:11), and Luke calls it the lake of Gennesaret (Luke 5:1).
=
- After the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, Tiberias became a center of Jewish learning. In the early medieval period, scholars there systematized the vowel-pointing system of the Hebrew Bible, which became the basis of today's Masoretic Text. The modern Israeli city of Tiberias stands on the same site.
+ After the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, Tiberias became a center of Jewish learning. In the early medieval period, scholars there systematized the vowel-pointing system of the Hebrew Bible, which became the basis of today's Masoretic Text. The modern Israeli city of Tiberias occupies the same site.
=
= ## Interpretation and Issues
=
- - **Why only John uses the name**: The other Gospels speak only of the "sea of Galilee." One view holds that John added the name familiar throughout the Roman world of the time for the sake of readers outside Palestine. Another view holds that its use indicates the Gospel was written at a time when the name had come into wide use.
- - **Jesus' absence from Tiberias**: It is commonly said that Jesus deliberately avoided the city because of Herod Antipas or because of the impurity of the cemetery site. Since the text gives no reason, however, this explanation remains a matter of inference.
- - **The location in John 21**: Pilgrimage tradition places the site where the risen Jesus appeared to His disciples in the area of Tabgha, north of Tiberias. This location rests on tradition; the text does not identify a specific spot.
+ - **Why only John uses the name**: The other Gospels speak only of the "sea of Galilee." One view holds that John added the name then familiar in the Roman world for the benefit of readers outside Palestine. Another holds that the usage shows the Gospel was written at a time when the name had come into wide use.
+ - **Jesus' absence from Tiberias**: It is often said that Jesus deliberately avoided the city because of Herod Antipas or because of the ritual impurity of the cemetery site. Since the text gives no reason, however, this explanation remains an inference.
+ - **The location in John 21**: Pilgrimage tradition commemorates the site where the risen Jesus appeared to His disciples in the area of Tabgha, north of Tiberias. This identification rests on tradition; the text does not specify a particular spot.
=
- ## In the Korean Church
+ ## In Korean Churches
=
- In the Korean church, the name "Tiberias" is used mainly in sermons on John 21, in the phrase "the shore of Tiberias." The passage is frequently preached as the scene in which Jesus restores Peter after his failure. On pilgrimages to Israel, Tiberias is often included in itineraries as a base for touring the Galilee region.
+ In Korean churches, the name Tiberias is used chiefly in sermons on John 21, in the phrase "the shore of Tiberias." The passage is frequently preached as the scene in which Jesus restores Peter after his failure. On pilgrimages to Israel organized from Korea, Tiberias is commonly included in itineraries as a base for touring the Galilee region.
Tiberias was a city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, founded by Herod Antipas and named after the Roman emperor Tiberius. In the New Testament it appears only in the Gospel of John, which also refers to the Sea of Galilee as the "sea of Tiberias."
Tiberias was a city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, founded by Herod Antipas and named after the Roman emperor Tiberius. In the New Testament it appears only in the Gospel of John, which also calls the Sea of Galilee the "sea of Tiberias."
Full revision
Tiberias was a city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, founded by Herod Antipas and named after the Roman emperor Tiberius. In the New Testament it appears only in the Gospel of John, which also calls the Sea of Galilee the "sea of Tiberias."
In the Bible
In the New Testament, Tiberias is mentioned three times, all in the Gospel of John.
- John 6:1: The phrase "over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias" introduces the setting of the feeding of the five thousand.
- John 6:23: The text records that boats "from Tiberias" came "nigh unto the place where they did eat bread." Here Tiberias is referred to as a city.
- John 21:1: The risen Jesus appears to His disciples at "the sea of Tiberias." The passage that follows describes the great catch of fish and the conversation in which Jesus tells Peter, "Feed my sheep" (John 21:15–17).
The Gospels contain no record of Jesus entering the city of Tiberias.
Background
Tiberias is generally understood to have been founded around AD 20 by Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee. The city was named after Tiberius, the Roman emperor of the time (Luke 3:1). Antipas made it the center of his rule over Galilee. The Jewish historian Josephus records that the city was built on the site of a cemetery, and he reports that for this reason Jews who observed the purity regulations of the Law were reluctant to settle there.
The city's name soon came to be applied to the lake as well. The Old Testament calls the same body of water the sea of Chinnereth (Numbers 34:11), and Luke calls it the lake of Gennesaret (Luke 5:1).
After the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, Tiberias became a center of Jewish learning. In the early medieval period, scholars there systematized the vowel-pointing system of the Hebrew Bible, which became the basis of today's Masoretic Text. The modern Israeli city of Tiberias occupies the same site.
Interpretation and Issues
- Why only John uses the name: The other Gospels speak only of the "sea of Galilee." One view holds that John added the name then familiar in the Roman world for the benefit of readers outside Palestine. Another holds that the usage shows the Gospel was written at a time when the name had come into wide use.
- Jesus' absence from Tiberias: It is often said that Jesus deliberately avoided the city because of Herod Antipas or because of the ritual impurity of the cemetery site. Since the text gives no reason, however, this explanation remains an inference.
- The location in John 21: Pilgrimage tradition commemorates the site where the risen Jesus appeared to His disciples in the area of Tabgha, north of Tiberias. This identification rests on tradition; the text does not specify a particular spot.
In Korean Churches
In Korean churches, the name Tiberias is used chiefly in sermons on John 21, in the phrase "the shore of Tiberias." The passage is frequently preached as the scene in which Jesus restores Peter after his failure. On pilgrimages to Israel organized from Korea, Tiberias is commonly included in itineraries as a base for touring the Galilee region.