Lake - International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

LAKE

lak (limne):

The word is used (Luke 5:1,2; 8:22,23,33) of the Lake of Gennesaret or Sea of Galilee, and (Revelation 19:20; 20:10,14,15; 21:8) of the "lake of fire and brimstone." Lakes are not abundant in Syria and Palestine. The Dead Sea, which might be called a lake, is in most places in English Versions of the Bible called the Salt Sea. It is called by the Arabs Bachr Lut, Sea of Lot. It is a question whether the Waters of Merom (Joshua 11:5,7) can be identified with the Chuleh, a marshy lake in the course of the Upper Jordan, North of the Sea of Galilee. East of Damascus on the edge of the desert there are saltish lakes in which the water of the rivers of Damascus (see 2 Kings 5:12) is gathered and evaporates. In the Lebanon West of Ba`albek is the small Lake Yammuneh, which is fed by copious springs, but whose water disappears in the latter part of the summer, being drained off by subterranean channels. The Lake of Kums on the Orontes is artificial, though ancient. On the lower Orontes is the Lake of Antioch.

Alfred Ely Day

Bibliography Information
Orr, James, M.A., D.D. General Editor. "Entry for 'LAKE'". "International Standard Bible Encyclopedia". 1915.