CHINNERETH, also CHINNEROTH:
- 1. The sea marking the eastern boundary of the Israelitish possessions, whence the boundary proceeded by the River Jordan to the Dead Sea (Num. xxxiv. 11). It also marked the western boundary of the trans. Jordanic tribes (Deut. iii. 17). In later times the sea was called Gennesaret or lake of Galilee; the modern name is Baḥr Ṭabariyyah (Lake of Tiberias). It is about 13 miles in length and 8 miles wide, its greatestwidth being a little north of the center. It is 680 feet below sea-level. The Jordan flows into and passes out of it. The lake itself is filled with various kinds of fish, and even in ancient times provided a livelihood for many fishermen. At present the land round the lake is sterile, but, according to the description of Josephus, was at one time very fertile.
- 2. In Josh. xix. 35, Chinnereth is the name of a town which by Talmudic authority is identified with Gennesor (Neubauer, "G. T." p. 214). It is of considerable antiquity, as it occurs in a hieroglyphic inscription of Thothmes III. (W. Max Müller, "Asien und Europa," p. 84).
E. G. H. G. B. L.
