Editing Sea of Galilee (section)

===Hellenistic and Roman periods===
The Sea of Galilee lies on the ancient [[Via Maris]], which linked [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]] with the northern empires. The [[Ancient Greece|Greeks]], [[Hasmonean dynasty|Hasmoneans]], and [[Roman Empire|Romans]] founded flourishing towns and settlements on the lake including [[Hippos (Golan Heights)|Hippos]] and [[Tiberias]]. Contemporary Roman–Jewish historian [[Flavius Josephus]] was so impressed by the area that he wrote, "One may call this place the ambition of Nature"; he also reports a thriving fishing industry at this time, with 230 boats regularly working in the lake. Archaeologists discovered one such boat, nicknamed the [[Sea of Galilee Boat|Jesus Boat]], in 1986.<ref>Rabinovich, Abraham (1999). "'Jesus Boat' Causes Ripples". ''Jerusalem Post''.</ref>[[File:Brooklyn Museum - Christ Appears on the Shore of Lake Tiberias (Apparition du Christ sur les bords du lac de Tibériade) - James Tissot.jpg|thumb|''Jesus appears on the shore of Lake Tiberias'' by James Tissot]]

[[File:Petri Fischzug Raffael.jpg|thumb|Jesus and the [[miraculous catch of fish]], in the Sea of Galilee, by [[Raphael]]]]
In the New Testament, much of the [[ministry of Jesus]] occurs on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. In those days, there was a continuous ribbon development of settlements and villages around the lake and plenty of trade and ferrying by boat. The [[Synoptic Gospels]] of [[Mark 1]]:14–20), [[Matthew 4]]:18–22), and [[Luke 5]]:1–11) describe how Jesus recruited four of his [[Apostles in the New Testament|apostles]] from the shores of the Kinneret: the fishermen [[Saint Peter|Simon]] and his brother [[Andrew the Apostle|Andrew]] and the brothers [[John the Apostle|John]] and [[James the Great|James]]. One of Jesus' famous teaching episodes, the [[Sermon on the Mount]], is supposed to have been given on a hill overlooking the Kinneret. Many of his miracles are also said to have occurred here including [[Jesus walking on water|his walking on water]], [[calming the storm]], the disciples and the [[miraculous catch of fish]], and his [[feeding the multitude|feeding five thousand people]] (in [[Tabgha]]). In John's Gospel the sea provides the setting for Jesus' third [[Resurrection of Jesus#Biblical accounts|post-resurrection appearance]] to his disciples ([[John 21]]).

In 135 CE, [[Bar Kokhba's revolt]] was put down which was part of the [[Jewish–Roman wars]]. The Romans responded by banning all Jews from [[Jerusalem]]. The center of Jewish culture and learning shifted to the region of Galilee and the Kinneret, particularly Tiberias. It was in this region that the [[Jerusalem Talmud]] was compiled.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chong |first=Timothy Kh |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1147863761 |title=Strategies In Church Discipline From 1 Corinthians : a Chinese Perspective. |date=2016 |publisher=Westbow Press |isbn=978-1-5127-5049-2 |oclc=1147863761}}</ref>