Galileans A people group that inhabited the northernmost portion of Palestine—stretching north to south from Syria to Samaria, and west to east from the Mediterranean Sea to the Sea of Galilee—at the time of the Roman Empire (Strange, “Galilee,” 391). The region as it stood in the Roman era may be divided into three sections:

1. Upper Galilee;

2. the middle Beth Netofah Valley;

3. Lower Galilee.

The name “Galilee” comes from the Hebrew word for “territory” or “circuit” (גָּלִיל, galil).

The diverse and active political history of Galilee complicates attempts to trace its inhabitants’ line of descent. Even biblical traditions differ, at times calling the inhabitants Gentiles (Isa 9:1), other times simultaneously dubbing them both foreigners and Israelites (Ezek 47:21–23; 1 Maccabees 5:1–15). They may have descended from northern Israelites, Assyrian colonists, peasants from other countries who were relocated by Assyria, Judaeans from the south, or some combination of these groups (Strange, “Galilee,” 392).