What is the…
Sea of Tiberias

also known as: Sea of Galilee and of Gennesaret

In the Old Testament, this large freshwater lake is called the Sea of Chinnereth or Chinneroth.

In the New Testament, the Apostle John (John 21:1) is the only evangelist who uses this name for the lake. His doing so incidentally confirms the opinion that he wrote after the other evangelists, and at a period subsequent to the destruction of Jerusalem (70 AD).

Tiberias had by this time become an important city, having been spared by the Romans, and made the capital of the province when Jerusalem was destroyed. It thus naturally gave its name to the lake.

Modern Arabs call the lake Buḥayrat Ṭabarīyā (aka Bahr Tabariyeh, meaning Lake Tiberias).