Bartholomew the Englishman

On the Dead Sea

Introduction by Juris Lidaka

Bartholomew says: "The Sea of Genesareth, as it is written in the same place (i.e. Isidore book 13), is a very large lake in Judaea, which spans 160 stades in length, and it also spreads 60 stades in width, with a breeze on its rippling waters, not from the winds, but which it creates for itself, for which reason it is also called Genesareth as its Greek name; because as if it makes the wind for itself, the lake is indeed stirred by numerous blowing winds through its wide area, and for this reason its draught is purer and sweeter, and more pleasant to drink. Thus far Isidore. Truly, on account of its size it is often mentioned in the gospel, not because it is a sea, but rather because it is a great overflow of the Jordan river, as the gloss on John, chapter 6, says. It is however the habit of the Hebrews to call all such large bodies of water seas, and therefore it is often called by the name of 'sea.'"

Original Latin