was sent away from his government, a secession was made from the sect of
the Pharisees, and a new sect arose, called the Galileans. Not long
after this time, Judea, which was a Roman province, was added, for civil
purposes, to Syria, over which Quirinus was governor. It happened, when
the tax was levied by Quirinus, that one Judas, of Galilee, otherwise
called Gaulonites, in company with Zaduk, a Sadducee, publicly taught,
that such taxation was repugnant to the law of Moses, according to which
the Jews, they maintained, had no king but God. The tumults which this
man excited were suppressed, Acts v, 37; but his disciples, who were
called Galileans, continued to propagate this doctrine, and,
farthermore, required of all proselytes that they should be circumcised.
It was in reference to this sect that the captious question was proposed
in Matt. xxii, 17, &c; namely, whether it was lawful to give tribute to
Cæsar. The Galileans, whom Pilate slew in the temple, Luke xiii, 1, 2,
appear to have been of this sect. By degrees, the Galileans swallowed up
almost all the other sects; and it is highly probable that the zealots,
particularly mentioned at the siege of Jerusalem, were of this faction.
GALILEE was one of the most extensive provinces into which the Holy Land
was divided. It exceeded Judea in extent, but probably varied in its
limits at different times. This province is divided by the rabbins into,
1. The Upper; 2. The Nether; and, 3. The Valley. Josephus divides it
into only Upper and Lower; and he says that the limits of Galilee were,
on the south, Samaria and Scythopolis, unto the flood of Jordan. Galilee
contained four tribes, Issachar, Zebulun, Naphtali, and Asher; a part,
also, of Dan, and part of Peræa, that is, beyond the river. Upper
Galilee abounded in mountains. Lower Galilee, which contained the tribes
of Zebulun and Asher, was sometimes called the Great Field, “the
champaign,” Deut. xi, 30. The Valley was adjacent to the sea of
Tiberias. Josephus describes Galilee as very populous, and containing
two hundred and four cities and towns. It was also very rich, and paid
two hundred talents in tribute. The natives were brave and good
soldiers; but they were seditious, and prone to insolence and rebellion.
In the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, the inhabitants of Galilee and Peræa
are scarcely mentioned, whether they were Jews returned from Babylon, or
a mixture of different nations. The language of these regions differed
considerably from that of Judea; as did various customs, in which each
followed its own mode. Our Lord so frequently visited Galilee, that he
was called a Galilean, Matt. xxvi, 69. The population of Galilee being
very great, he had many opportunities of doing good in this country;
and, being there out of the power of the priests at Jerusalem, he seems
to have preferred it as his abode. Nazareth and Capernaum were in this
division. From such a mixture of people, many provincialisms might be
expected. Hence, we find Peter detected by his language, probably by his
phraseology, as well as his pronunciation, Mark xiv, 70. Upper Galilee
had Mount Lebanon and the countries of Tyre and Sidon on the north; the
Mediterranean Sea on the west; Abilene, Ituræa, and the country of the
Decapolis, on the east; and Lower Galilee on the south. Its principal
city was Cæsarea Philippi. This part of Galilee, being less inhabited by
Jews, was thence called Galilee of the Nations, or of the Gentiles.
Lower Galilee had the upper division of the same country to the north;
the Mediterranean on the west; the sea of Galilee. or lake of
Gennesareth, on the east; and Samaria on the south. Its principal cities
were Tiberias, Chorazin, Bethsaida, Nazareth, Cana, Capernaum, Nain,
Cæsarea of Palestine, and Ptolemais. This district was of all others
most honoured with the presence of our Saviour. Here he was conceived;
here he was brought back by his mother and reputed father, after their
return from Egypt; here he lived with them till he was thirty years of
age; and, although after his entrance on his public ministry he
frequently visited the other provinces, it was here that he chiefly
resided. Here, also, he made his first appearance after his resurrection
to his Apostles, who were themselves natives of the same country, and
were thence called men of Galilee.
GALILEE, _Sea of_. This inland sea, or more properly lake, which derives
its several names, the lake of Tiberias, the sea of Galilee, and the
lake of Gennesareth, from the territory which forms its western and
south-western border, is computed to be between seventeen and eighteen
miles in length, and from five to six in breadth. The mountains on the
east come close to its shore, and the country on that side has not a
very agreeable aspect: on the west, it has the plain of Tiberias, the
high ground of the plain of Hutin, or Hottein, the plain of Gennesareth,
and the foot of those hills by which you ascend to the high mountain of
Saphet. To the north and south it has a plain country, or valley. There
is a current throughout the whole breadth of the lake, even to the
shore; and the passage of the Jordan through it is discernible by the
smoothness of the surface in that part. Various travellers have given
different accounts of its general aspect. According to Captain Mangles,
the land about it has no striking features, and the scenery is
altogether devoid of character. “It appeared,” he says, “to particular
disadvantage to us, after those beautiful lakes we had seen in
Switzerland; but it becomes a very interesting object when you consider
the frequent allusions to it in the Gospel narrative.” Dr. Clarke, on
the contrary, speaks of the uncommon grandeur of this memorable scenery.
“The lake of Gennesareth,” he says, “is surrounded by objects well
calculated to heighten the solemn impressions made by such
recollections, and affords one of the most striking prospects in the
Holy Land. Speaking of it comparatively, it may be described as longer
and finer than any of our Cumberland and Westmoreland lakes, although
perhaps inferior to Loch Lomond. It does not possess the vastness of the
lake of Geneva, although it much resembles it in certain points of view.
In picturesque beauty, it comes nearest to the lake of Locarno, in
Italy, although it is destitute of any thing similar to the islands by
which that majestic piece of water is adorned. It is inferior in
magnitude, and in the height of its surrounding mountains, to the Lake
Asphaltites.” Mr. Buckingham may perhaps be considered as having given
the most accurate account, and one which reconciles, in some degree, the
differing statements above cited, when, speaking of the lake as seen
from Tel Hoom, he says, that its appearance is grand, but that the
barren aspect of the mountains on each side, and the total absence of
wood, give a cast of dulness to the picture: this is increased to
melancholy by the dead calm of its waters, and the silence which reigns
throughout its whole extent, where not a boat or vessel of any kind is
to be found. The situation of the lake, lying, as it were, in a deep
basin between the hills which enclose it on all sides, excepting only
the narrow entrance and outlets of the Jordan at either end, protects
its waters from long-continued tempests: its surface is in general as
smooth as that of the Dead Sea. But the same local features render it
occasionally subject to whirlwinds, squalls, and sudden gusts from the
mountains, of short duration; especially when the strong current formed
by the Jordan is opposed by a wind of this description from the
south-east, sweeping from the mountains with the force of a hurricane,
it may easily be conceived that a boisterous sea must be instantly
raised, which the small vessels of the country would be unable to
resist. A storm of this description is plainly denoted by the language
of the evangelist, in recounting one of our Lord’s miracles: “There came
down a storm of wind on the lake, and they were filled with water, and
were in jeopardy. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of
the water; and they ceased, and there was a calm,” Luke viii, 23, 24.
There were fleets of some force on this lake during the wars of the Jews
with the Romans, and very bloody battles were fought between them.
Josephus gives a particular account of a naval engagement between the
Romans under Vespasian, and the Jews who had revolted during the
administration of Agrippa. Titus and Trajan were both present, and
Vespasian himself was on board the Roman fleet. The rebel force
consisted of an immense multitude, who, as fugitives after the capture
of Tarichæa by Titus, had sought refuge on the water. The vessels in
which the Romans defeated them were built for the occasion, and yet were
larger than the Jewish ships. The victory was followed by so terrible a
slaughter of the Jews, that nothing was to be seen, either on the lake
or its shores, but the blood and mangled corses of the slain; and the
air was infected by the number of dead bodies. Six thousand five hundred
persons are stated to have perished in this naval engagement, and in the
battle of Tarichæa, beside twelve hundred who were afterward massacred
in cold blood, by order of Vespasian, in the amphitheatre at Tiberias,
and a vast number who were given to Agrippa as slaves.
GALL, ראש, something excessively bitter, and supposed to be poisonous,
Deut. xxix, 18; xxxii, 32; Psalm lxix, 21; Jer. viii, 14; ix, 15; xxiii,
15; Lam. iii, 19; Hosea x, 4; Amos vi, 12. It is evident, from the
first-mentioned place, that some herb or plant is meant of a malignant
or nauseous kind. It is joined with wormwood, and, in the margin of our
Bibles, explained to be “a very poisonful herb.” In Psalm lxix, 21,
which is justly considered as a prophecy of our Saviour’s sufferings, it
is said, “They gave me ראש to eat”; which the LXX have rendered χολὴν,
_gall_. And, accordingly, it is recorded in the history, “They gave him
vinegar to drink, mingled with gall,” ὄξος μετὰ χολῆς, Matt. xxvii, 34.
But, in the parallel passage, it is said to be, ἐσμυρνισμένον οἶνον,
“wine mingled with myrrh,” Mark xv, 23, a very bitter ingredient. From
whence it is probable that χολὴ, and perhaps ראש, may be used as a
general name for whatever is exceedingly bitter; and, consequently,
where the sense requires it, may be put specially for any bitter herb or
plant, the infusion of which may be called מי־ראש.
GALLIO was the name of the brother of Seneca, the philosopher. He was at
first named Marcus Annæus Novatus; but, being adopted by Lucius Junius
Gallio, he took the name of his adoptive father. The Emperor Claudius
made him proconsul of Achaia. He was of a mild and agreeable temper. To
him his brother Seneca dedicated his books, “Of Anger.” He shared in the
fortunes of his brothers, as well when out of favour as in their
prosperity at court. At length, Nero put him, as well as them, to death.
The Jews were enraged at St. Paul for converting many Gentiles, and
dragged him to the tribunal of Gallio, who, as proconsul, generally
resided at Corinth, Acts xviii, 12, 13. They accused him of teaching
“men to worship God contrary to the law.” St. Paul being about to speak,
Gallio told the Jews, that if the matter in question were a breach of
justice, or an action of a criminal nature, he should think himself
obliged to hear them; but, as the dispute was only concerning their law,
he would not determine such differences, nor judge them. Sosthenes, the
chief ruler of the synagogue, was beaten by the Greeks before Gallio’s
seat of justice; but this governor did not concern himself about it. His
abstaining from interfering in a religious controversy did credit to his
prudence; nevertheless, his name has oddly passed into a reproachful
proverb; and a man regardless of all piety is called “a Gallio,” and is
said “Gallio-like to care for none of these things.” Little did this
Roman anticipate that his name would be so immortalized.
GAMALIEL, a celebrated rabbi, and doctor of the Jewish law, under whose
tuition the great Apostle of the Gentiles was brought up, Acts xxii, 3.
Barnabas and Stephen are also supposed to have been among the number of
his pupils. Soon after the day of pentecost, when the Jewish sanhedrim
began to be alarmed at the progress the Gospel was making in Jerusalem,
and consequently wished to put to death the Apostles, in the hope of
checking its farther progress, they were apprehended and brought before
the national council, of which Gamaliel seems to have been a leading
member. It is very probable that many zealots among them would have
despatched the affair in a very summary manner, but their impetuosity
was checked by the cool and prudent advice of Gamaliel; for, having
requested the Apostles to withdraw for a while, he represented to the
sanhedrim that, if the Apostles were no better than impostors, their
fallacy would quickly be discovered; but on the other hand, if what they
were engaged in was from God, it was vain for them to attempt to
frustrate it, since it was the height of folly to contend with the
Almighty. The assembly saw the wisdom of his counsel, and very prudently
changed the sentence, upon which they were originally bent against the
Apostles’ lives, into that of corporal punishment.
2. It may here also be remarked, that the sanhedrim could not themselves
believe that tale which they had diligently circulated among the people,
that the disciples had stolen away the body of Jesus, and then pretended
that he had arisen from the dead. If the Jewish council had thought
this, it would have been very absurd in Gamaliel to exhort them to wait
to see whether “the counsel and work” was of God, that is, whether the
Apostles related a fact when they preached the resurrection, and
grounded the divine authority of their religion upon that fact.
Gamaliel’s advice was wholly based upon the admission, that an
extraordinary, and to them an inexplicable, event had happened.
GAMES. Games and combats were instituted by the ancients in honour of
their gods; and were celebrated with that view by the most polished and
enlightened nations of antiquity. The most renowned heroes, legislators,
and statesmen, did not think it unbecoming their character and dignity,
to mingle with the combatants, or contend in the race; they even
reckoned it glorious to share in the exercises, and meritorious to carry
away the prize. The victors were crowned with a wreath of laurel in
presence of their country; they were celebrated in the rapturous
effusions of their poets; they were admired, and almost adored, by the
innumerable multitudes which flocked to the games, from every part of
Greece, and many of the adjacent countries. They returned to their own
homes in a triumphal chariot, and made their entrance into their native
city, not through the gates which admitted the vulgar throng, but
through a breach in the walls, which were broken down to give them
admission; and at the same time to express the persuasion of their
fellow citizens, that walls are of small use to a city defended by men
of such tried courage and ability. Hence the surprising ardour which
animated all the states of Greece to imitate the ancient heroes, and
encircle their brows with wreaths, which rendered them still more the
objects of admiration or envy to succeeding times, than the victories
they had gained, or the laws they had enacted.
2. But the institutors of those games and combats had higher and nobler
objects in view than veneration for the mighty dead, or the
gratification of ambition or vanity; it was their design to prepare the
youth for the profession of arms; to confirm their health; to improve
their strength, their vigour, and activity; to inure them to fatigue;
and to render them intrepid in close fight, where, in the infancy of the
art of war, muscular force commonly decided the victory. This statement
accounts for the striking allusions which the Apostle Paul makes in his
epistles to these celebrated exercises. Such references were calculated
to touch the heart of a Greek, and of every one familiarly acquainted
with them, in the liveliest manner, as well as to place before the eye
of his mind the most glowing and correct images of spiritual and divine
things. No passages in the nervous and eloquent epistles from the pen of
St. Paul, have been more admired by the critics and expositors of all
times, than those into which some allusion to these agonistic exercises
is introduced; and, perhaps, none are calculated to leave a deeper
impression on the Christian’s mind, or excite a stronger and more
salutary influence on his actions. Certain persons were appointed to
take care that all things were done according to custom, to decide
controversies that happened among the antagonists, and to adjudge the
prize to the victor. Some eminent writers are of opinion that Christ is
called the “Author and Finisher of faith,” in allusion to these judges.
Those who were designed for the profession of _athletæ_, or combatants,
frequented from their earliest years the academies maintained for that
purpose at the public expense. In these places they were exercised under
the direction of different masters, who employed the most effectual
methods to inure their bodies for the fatigues of the public games, and
to form them for the combats. The regimen to which they submitted was
very hard and severe. At first, they had no other nourishment than dried
figs, nuts, soft cheese, and a gross heavy sort of bread called μάζα;
they were absolutely forbidden the use of wine, and enjoined continence.
When they proposed to contend in the Olympian games, they were obliged
to repair to the public gymnasium at Elis, ten months before the
solemnity, where they prepared themselves by continual exercises. No man
that had omitted to present himself at the appointed time, was allowed
to be a candidate for the prizes; nor were the accustomed rewards of
victory given to such persons, if by any means they insinuated
themselves, and overcame their antagonists; nor would any apology,
though seemingly ever so reasonable, serve to excuse their absence. No
person that was himself a notorious criminal, or nearly related to one,
was permitted to contend. Farther, to prevent underhand dealings, if any
person was convicted of bribing his adversary, a severe fine was laid
upon him; nor was this alone thought a sufficient guard against unfair
contracts, and unjust practices, but the contenders were obliged to
swear they had spent ten whole months in preparatory exercises; and,
beside all this, they, their fathers, and their brethren, took a solemn
oath, that they would not, by any sinister or unlawful means, endeavour
to stop the fair and just proceedings of the games.
3. The spiritual contest, in which all true Christians aim at obtaining
a heavenly crown, has its rules also, devised and enacted by infinite
wisdom and goodness, which require implicit and exact submission, which
yield neither to times nor circumstances, but maintain their supreme
authority, from age to age, uninterrupted and unimpaired. The combatant
who violates these rules forfeits the prize, and is driven from the
field with indelible disgrace, and consigned to everlasting wo. Hence
the great Apostle of the Gentiles exhorts his son Timothy strictly to
observe the precepts of the Gospel, without which, he can no more hope
to obtain the approbation of God, and the possession of the heavenly
crown, than a combatant in the public games of Greece, who disregarded
the established rules, could hope to receive from the hands of his judge
the promised reward: “And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he
not crowned except he strive lawfully,” 2 Tim. ii, 5, or according to
the established laws of the games. Like the Grecian combatants, the
Christian must “abstain from fleshly lusts,” and “walk in all the
statutes and commandments of the Lord, blameless.” Such was St. Paul;
and in this manner he endeavoured to act: “But I keep under my body, and
bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached
to others, I myself should be a cast-away,” 1 Cor. ix, 27. The latter
part of this verse Doddridge renders, “lest after having served as a
herald I should be disapproved;” and says in a note, “I thought it of
importance to retain the primitive sense of these gymnastic
expressions.” It is well known to those who are at all acquainted with
the original, that the word used means to discharge the office of a
herald, whose business it was to proclaim the conditions of the games,
and display the prizes, to awaken the emulation and resolution of those
who were to contend in them. But the Apostle intimates, that there was
this peculiar circumstance attending the Christian contest, that the
person who proclaimed its laws and rewards to others, was also to engage
in it himself; and that there would be a peculiar infamy and misery in
his miscarrying. Ἀδόκιμος, which we render _cast-away_, signifies one
who is disapproved by the judge of the games, as not having fairly
deserved the prize: he therefore loses it; even the prize of eternal
life. The rule which the Apostle applies to himself he extends in
another passage to all the members of the Christian church: “Those who
strive for the mastery are temperate in all things; now they do it to
obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible.” Tertullian uses
the same thought to encourage the martyrs. He urges constancy upon them,
from what the hopes of victory made the _athletæ_ endure; and repeats
the severe and painful exercises they were obliged to undergo, the
continual anguish and constraint in which they passed the best years of
their lives, and the voluntary privation which they imposed on
themselves, of all that was most grateful to their appetites and
passions.
4. The _athletæ_ took care to disencumber their bodies of every article
of clothing which could in any manner hinder or incommode them. In the
race, they were anxious to carry as little weight as possible, and
uniformly stripped themselves of all such clothes as, by their weight,
length, or otherwise, might entangle or retard them in the course. The
Christian also must “lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so
easily beset” him, Heb. xii, 1. In the exercise of faith and
self-denial, he must “cast off the works of darkness,” lay aside all
malice and guile, hypocrisies, and envyings, and evil speakings,
inordinate affections, and worldly cares, and whatever else might
obstruct his holy profession, damp his spirits, and hinder his progress
in the paths of righteousness.
5. The foot race seems to have been placed in the first rank of public
games, and cultivated with a care and industry proportioned to the
estimation in which it was held. The Olympic games generally opened with
races, and were celebrated at first with no other exercise. The lists or
course where the _athletæ_ exercised themselves in running, was at first
but one stadium in length, or about six hundred feet; and from this
measure it took its name, and was called the _stadium_, whatever might
be its extent. This, in the language of St. Paul, speaking of the
Christian’s course, was “the race which was set before them,” determined
by public authority, and carefully measured. On each side of the stadium
and its extremity, ran an ascent or kind of terrace, covered with seats
and benches, upon which the spectators were seated, an innumerable
multitude collected from all parts of Greece, to which the Apostle thus
alludes in his figurative description of the Christian life: “Seeing we
are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside
every weight,” Heb. xii, 1.