Galilee, a diverse region in the northern part of the land of the Gospels, was the focal point of most of Jesus' ministry. The region is separated from the hills of Samaria by the vast Esdraelon (Jezreel) Valley, a geological basin which serves not only as the agricultural breadbasket of the entire area but also as a wide-open corridor channeling international traffic between West and East, between the lands of the Mediterranean and those of Transjordan. Jesus' boyhood home of Nazareth was located high on a limestone ridge overlooking the Jezreel Valley from the north; no doubt the valley's rich and storied history helped to shape his messianic awareness.
The limestone hills of Galilee are high and rugged in the north (over 600 meters, hence the term "Upper Galilee"), and lower in the south ("Lower Galilee"). Upper Galilee resembles the higher parts of the hill country of Judea in many respects, particularly in its agricultural base and general isolation from the larger world around, although Upper Galilee is wetter and more productive.
Lower Galilee is characterized by a series of parallel hilly ridges separated by broad fertile valleys, and it is here that most of the population of first-century Galilee lived. The relatively low terrain of Lower Galilee makes for fairly easy travel throughout, and serves to pull the region together as a self-contained unit while at the same time linking it to its neighbors. Nestled amidst basalt hills to the east lies the jeweled Sea of Galilee, the only freshwater lake of any consequence on the entire eastern Mediterranean seaboard and the primary natural resource of all of Galilee.
