Galilee

North of the plain of Esdraelon, the upland ranges begin again. They stretch away northwards, gradually rising as they come nearer to the high mountains of Lebanon. They rise in a series of steps, with scarp edges facing generally south or south-east. The lower steps in the 'staircase' were and are fertile basin lands, seperated from each other by the barren limestone edges. In the time of Jesus, these basins were known for their grain, fruit and olives. They formed a prosperous, well-populated area. But the higher steps rise to a bleak and windswept upland. This is isolated and infertile, and lacks the forest of the higher mountain slopes further north.

This whole area forms the region of Galilee, sometimes divided into Upper and Lower Galilee. The southern and eastern edges of the region are clearly drawn, but to the north, it merges into the mountains. In the past this northern boundary area was always the part of 'theland' where foreign influences were strongest. The Israelites seldom really had it under control. And the great trade routes which passed across it brought in many strangers.

This was the region where Jesus spent His childhood years. It was a busy area, full of coming and going, with a very mixed community. Along its trade routes it was in touch with the outside world and aware of non-Jewish ideas. It lived off its fertile farmlands and its lake fisheries. And it was far more alert to the realities of life in the Roman Empire than the aloof Jews of Jerusalem - who despised their northern cousins as country bumpkins and because they were racially mixed (much like Jews today).

Central highlands
The Plain of Esdraelon
Galilee
The coastal plain
The 'Shephelah' or Piedmont
The Jordan Valley
The land east of the Jordan (Transjordan)

Structures of the Land Climate of the Land Vegetation of the Land Resources of the Land Regions of the Land