Lives of the apostles of Jesus ChristBacon, David Francis
Religion
Lives of the apostles of Jesus Christ
Bacon, David Francis
Apostles
been on the western side of the lake, which appears also from
the fact that it was near Tiberias, as we are told on the
same authority. It is not mentioned in the Old Testament under
this name, but the Rabbins assure us that the place called
_Cinnereth_, in Joshua xx. 35; Chinneroth in xi. 2, is the same;
and this lake is mentioned in xiii. 27, under the name of “the
sea of Chinnereth,”――“the sea of Chinneroth,” in xii. 3, &c.
The best description of the scenery, and present aspect of the
lake, which I can find, is the following from Conder’s Modern
Traveler, Vol. 1. (Palestine) a work made up with great care
from the observations of a great number of intelligent travelers.
“The mountains on the east of Lake Tiberias, 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
Gennesaret, 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 travelers have given a very
different account 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
Gennesaret,’ he says, ‘is surrounded by objects well calculated
to highten the solemn impression,’ 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 hight 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 different 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
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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