Descriptive Geography and Brief Historical Sketch of Palestine
By Rabbi Joseph Schwarz, 1850
The Mountains of Galilee.
Having thus described the Lebanon, situated at the northern limits of Palestine, we must now notice the other more southerly mountains of the Holy Land.
In the same manner as the Hermon (Djebl Sheich) gradually expands in a chain of lower hills to the southeast, forming there the Djebl Heish; it also extends to the southwest through means of the mountains of Upper Galilee, anciently the mountains of Naphtali, and both these chains enclose the plain of the Lake Semechonitis (Waters of Merom). On the northwest portion of this lake commence the mountains of Safed, which are a part of the southern portion of the Djebl Sheich. From the Bridge of Jacob's Sons, which spans the Jordan, there extends a plain about 4 English miles in length, and at its termination begin the mountains of Naphtali, the summit of which, called Djebl Zafed, is reached by a gradual ascent of 4 English miles in length. Djebl Sheich is thence visible in a northeast direction, and the sea of Chinnereth to the south. The descent of this mount to the south is also very gradual, and after a walk of 8 English miles, the traveller reaches the city of Safed. On the road to Mount Tabor, about 15 English miles in length, there are constantly in view, in the plain, ranges of mountains in the distance. Northwest of Safed, towards Tyre, there is a hilly country 30 miles in extent, which is very productive. On the west side of Safed, on a clear day, the Mediterranean Sea, near Akko, is distinctly visible. In the direction of Zippori (Sephoris), the country is an unproductive range of hills; whereas, in the immediate neighbourhood of the just-named city, there is a very fruitful plain, anciently called the plain of Zebulun. (See Megillah, fol. 6a.)* From the city of Nazareth to Tiberias, is a mountainous country; and the descent to Lake Chinnereth is by a steep road over the hills, of only 2½ miles, and from Nazareth southward to the valley of Jezreel it is 2 miles in length.
The Land of Galilee,
(1 Kings 9:11,)
Is an elevated plain, which gradually descends westward to the level of the sea, near Akko (St. Jean D'Acre), southward to the plain of Jezreel, but terminates abruptly at the east in the level of Lake Chinnereth and the plain of the Jordan. This country is divided into
Upper and Lower Galilee.†
The former comprises, in a word, the whole mountains of Naphtali, the Djebl Zafed to the mountainous district of Shaghar (see the foregoing note to Zedad to the name כרכה דבר סניגורא), consequently from the northwest point of Lake Chinnereth to the Mediterranean Sea near Tyre. Lower Galilee, however, comprises the mountain range of Zippori, the present Sefuri, the Mount Tabor, and the Little Hermon (Djebl Duhu), and the mountains of Gilboa, consequently the whole district, from the Jordan near Beth Shean, to Mount Carmel, and it forms the northeastern boundary, or edge, of the valley of Jezreel.
In Upper Galilee, therefore, are situated the mountains of Naphtali, called Djebl Zafed, and in Lower Galilee, opposite Tiberias, near the village of Chittin, is the high mount, Kurn Chittin, which is, the Summit of Chittin. This mount is celebrated in history; for it was here that a great battle was fought on the 4th of July, 4947 (1187), between Saladin, King of Egypt, and the Christians, when Guy (Guidon) of Lusignan, was taken prisoner by the Mussulman king, who afterwards captured Jerusalem from the Christians, and put an end to their kingdom in Palestine. Five English miles from this mount is the one famous in the history of the prophetess Deborah (Judges 4:6), to wit:
The Mount Tabor.
This handsome mount, situated in the land of Issachar, and called by the Arabs Djebl Tur, commands a view of the most agreeable district of the whole country, and is near 3000 feet high.* On its summit, which is 1¼ English miles in circumference, was formerly a city of the same name, as will be made evident by a reference to Joshua 19:22, and which was a fortified place even as late as the times of Josephus, when, however, it was destroyed by Titus. The Empress Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great, had a monastery built on this mount; and to this day the ruins of this structure, consisting of the walls, are still existing, and on the western portion there is yet a large archway, in which the gate was. On the side of Tabor there is a forest of oak trees, in which many wild boars are found. The Turks built a fortress on this mount in the time of Innocent the Third.