A city of Galilee, founded by Herod Antipas, and namely by him in honor of the emperor Tiberius. A more ancient and greater city, perhaps Chinneroth, seems previously to have flourished and gone to ruin near the same site, on the south. Tiberias was situated on the western shore of the lake of Gennesareth, about two hours' ride from the place where the Jordan issues from the lake. In the vicinity of the city were hot springs, which were much celebrated. The lake is also sometimes, called from the city, the sea of Tiberias, Joh 6:1,23; 21:1. See SEA 4. After the destruction of Jerusalem, Tiberias was celebrated as the seat of a flourishing school of Jewish learning. The crusaders held it for a time, and erected a church, in which the Arabs have since housed their cattle. Modern Tubariyeh lies on a narrow undulating plain between the high table-land and the sea. It was half destroyed by an earthquake in 1837, and has a population of only twenty-five hundred souls, nearly one-third of whom are Jews. The walls are little more than heaps of ruins, the castle is much shattered, and the place has an aspect of extreme wretchedness and filth. As the Arabs say, "The king of the fleas holds his court at Tubariyeh." South of the town are numerous remains of the ancient city or cities extending for a mile and a half, nearly to the hot springs. The waters of these springs are nauseous and salt, and too hot for immediate use, 136 degrees to 144 degrees; but the baths are much resorted to for the cure of rheumatic diseases, etc.

a city, the modern Tubarich, on the western shore of the Sea of Tiberias. It is said to have been founded by Herod Antipas (A.D. 16), on the site of the ruins of an older city called Rakkath, and to have been thus named by him after the Emperor Tiberius. It is mentioned only three times in the history of our Lord (Joh 6:1,23; 21:1).

In 1837 about one-half of the inhabitants perished by an earthquake. The population of the city is now about six thousand, nearly the one-half being Jews. "We do not read that our Lord ever entered this city. The reason of this is probably to be found in the fact that it was practically a heathen city, though standing upon Jewish soil. Herod, its founder, had brought together the arts of Greece, the idolatry of Rome, and the gross lewdness of Asia. There were in it a theatre for the performance of comedies, a forum, a stadium, a palace roofed with gold in imitation of those in Italy, statues of the Roman gods, and busts of the deified emperors. He who was not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel might well hold himself aloof from such scenes as these" (Manning's Those Holy Fields).

After the fall of Jerusalem (A.D. 70), Tiberias became one of the chief residences of the Jews in Palestine. It was for more than three hundred years their metropolis. From about A.D. 150 the Sanhedrin settled here, and established rabbinical schools, which rose to great celebrity. Here the Jerusalem (or Palestinian) Talmud was compiled about the beginning of the fifth century. To this same rabbinical school also we are indebted for the Masora, a "body of traditions which transmitted the readings of the Hebrew text of the Old Testament, and preserved, by means of the vowel-system, the pronunciation of the Hebrew." In its original form, and in all manuscripts, the Hebrew is written without vowels; hence, when it ceased to be a spoken language, the importance of knowing what vowels to insert between the consonants. This is supplied by the Masora, and hence these vowels are called the "Masoretic vowel-points."

Illustration: Tiberias and the Sea of Galilee

Joh 6:1-23; 21:1. Josephus (Ant. 18, B.J. 2:9, section 1) says it was built by Herod Antipas, and named in honour of the emperor Tiberius. Capital of Galilee until the time of Herod Agrippa II, who transferred the seat of power again to Sepphoris. Antipas built in Tiberias a Roman stadium and palace adorned with images of animals which offended the Jews, as did also its site on an ancient burial ground. Now Tubarieh, a filthy wretched place. On the western shore toward the southern end of the sea of Galilee or Tiberias, as John alone calls the sea. John is the only New Testament writer who mentions Tiberias. His notice of its many "boats" (Joh 6:23) agrees with Josephus' account of its traffic. Tiberias stood on the strip of land, two miles long and a quarter of a mile broad, between the water and the steep hills which elsewhere come down to the water's edge. It occupied all the ground of the parallelogram, including Tubarieh at the northern end, and reaching toward the warm baths at the southern end (reckoned by Roman naturalists as one of the wonders of the world: Pliny, H. N. 5:15).

A few palms still are to be seen, but the oleander abounds. The people, numbering 3,000 or 4,000, mostly live by fishing as of old. A strong wall guards the land side, but it is open toward the sea. The Jews, constituting one-fourth of the population, have their quarter in the middle of the town near the lake. Our Lord avoided Tiberias on account of the cunning and unscrupulous character of Herod Antipas whose headquarters were there (Lu 13:32); Herod never saw Him until just before the crucifixion (Lu 23:8). Christ chose the plain of Gennesaret at the head of the lake, where the population was at once dense and Jewish; and, as being sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, kept away from Tiberias. After Jerusalem's overthrow Tiberias was spared by the Romans because the people favored rather than opposed the conquerors' arms.

The Sanhedrin, after temporarily sojourning at Jamnia and Sepphoris, fixed its seat there in the second century. The Mishna was compiled in Tiberias by Rabbi Judah Haqodesh, A.D. 190. The Masorah body of traditions, which transmitted the Old Testament text readings and preserved the Hebrew pronunciation and interpretation, originated there. Jerusalem, Hebron, Safed, and Tiberias are the four holy places in which the Jews say if prayer without ceasing were not offered the world would fall into chaos. The Romans recognized the patriarch of Tiberias and empowered him to appoint his subordinate ministers who should visit all the distant colonies of Jews, and to receive contributions from the Jews of the whole Roman empire.

The colony round Tiberias flourished under the emperors Antoninus Plus, Alexander Severus, and Julian, in the second and third centuries. The patriarchate of Tiberias finally ceased in 414 A.D. (See SYNAGOGUE on the Roman character of the existing remains of synagogues in Palestine, due no doubt to the patronage of Antoninus Pius and Alexander Severus, the great builders and restorers of temples in Syria.) The eminent Maimonides laboured and was buried at Tiberias in 1204 A.D. The earthquake of 1837 shook the town mightily. A Jewish idea is that Messiah will emerge from the lake, proceed to Tiberias and Safed, then set His throne on the highest peak in Galilee.

A town built by Herod (a.d. 16

Tiberias, Tibe'rias Sea of.

See GALILEE, SEA OF.

Tiberias. Tibe'rias

City on the west of the Sea of Galilee: it was founded by Herod Antipas, and named after the emperor Tiberius. It became the capital of the province of Galilee, and in it were gathered the arts of Greece and the idolatry of Rome. Josephus states (Ant. xviii. 2, 3) that to build Tiberias many tombs had to be taken away, which made it ceremonially an unclean place, so that no Jews would live there except those who were compelled, and others who were bribed by the founder. In later days, however, along with Jerusalem, Hebron, and Safed, Tiberias was classed by the Jews as one of their four holy cities, renowned as seats of learning. We do not read of the Lord visiting the city. Joh 6:23. It is situate 32 47' N, 35 32' E.

Tibe'rias,

a city in the time of Christ, on the Sea of Galilee; first mentioned in the New Testament,

Joh 6:1,23; 21:1

and then by Josephus, who states that it was built by Herod Antipas, and was named by him in honor of the emperor Tiberius. Tiberias was the capital of Galilee from the time of its origin until the reign of Herod Agrippa II., who changed the seat of power back again to Sepphoris, where it had been before the founding of the new city. Many of the inhabitants were Greeks and Romans, and foreign customs prevailed there: to such an extent as to give offence to the stricter Jews. It is remarkable that the Gospels give us no information that the Saviour who spent so much of his public life in Galilee, ever visited Tiberias. The place is only mentioned in the New Testament in

Joh 6:23

History. --Tiberias has an interesting history apart from its strictly biblical associations. It bore a conspicuous part in the wars between the Jews and the Romans. The Sanhedrin, subsequent to the fall of Jerusalem, after a temporary sojourn at Jamnia and Sepphoris, became fixed there about the middle of the second century. Celebrated schools of Jewish learning flourished there through a succession of several centuries. The Mishna was compiled at this place by the great Rabbi Judah Hakkodesh, A.D. 190. The city has been possessed successively by Romans, Persians Arabs and Turks. It contains now, under the Turkish rule, a mixed population of Mohammedans, Jews and Christian, variously estimated at from two to four thousand. Present city. --The ancient name has survived in that of the modern Tubarieh, which occupies the original site. Near Tubarieh, about a mile farther south along the shore, are the celebrated warm baths, which the Roman naturalists reckoned among the greatest known curiosities of the world. Tiberias is described by Dr. Thomson as "a filthy place, fearfully hot in summer." It was nearly destroyed in 1837 by an earthquake, by which 800 persons lost their lives.

TIBERIAS, a city situated in a small plain, surrounded by mountains, on the western coast of the sea of Galilee, which, from this city, was also called the sea of Tiberias. Tiberias was erected by Herod Antipas, and so called in honour of Tiberius Caesar. He is supposed to have chosen, for the erection of his new city, a spot where before stood a more obscure place called Chenereth or Cinnereth, which also gave its name to the adjoining lake or sea.