Τιβεριάς

From the study of John 6:1

Range of meaning

The name of a city, and of the lake once that name was transferred to it.

Against the English

BSB and NIV mark the name as an explanation with '(that is, …)'. KJV supplies '[the sea]'. YLT keeps the bare stacked name, which is closest to the Greek.

Used elsewhere in the period

Josephus, Antiquities 18.36–38: Herod Antipas built Tiberias around 18–20 CE, named it after Emperor Tiberius, and built part of it over graves, so observant Jews thought it ritually unclean. John 21:1 calls it 'the sea of Tiberias.' Later Greek writers (e.g. Pausanias 5.7.4) and rabbinic texts (yam shel Teveryah) show this name became standard.

From the study of John 6:23

Range of meaning

A proper name: the city Herod Antipas founded on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee around AD 18–20 and named after the reigning emperor Tiberius. It was Antipas's capital in Galilee. Later in the first century the lake itself also came to be called "the Sea of Tiberias" (John 6:1; 21:1).

Against the English

Every English version simply transliterates it. Nothing is lost in translation, but most readers do not know what kind of city this was.

Used elsewhere in the period

Josephus (Antiquities 18.36–38) says Antipas built the city partly over old tombs. Because of that, observant Jews considered it ritually unclean (Numbers 19:16), and Antipas had to settle it with a mixed and partly forced population. Josephus also describes it as a major town during the Jewish revolt (Life). Later rabbinic tradition records that the city was ritually purified in the second century, after which it became a centre of Jewish learning.