What was Iliesis of Tiberias ( אילסיס דטיבריה ) and where was it?

A New Solution to an Old Geographic-Linguistic Riddle

Abstract

The geographic name Iliesis of Tiberias ( אילסיס דטיבריה ) is mentioned six times in Jewish Palestinian Aramaic sources from the Byzantine period, namely, Jerusalem Talmud (a. k. a. Talmud Yerushalmi, or Palestinian Talmud) and in a few aggadic midrashim. It is a compound of an unknown Greek term, and the attributive “of Tiberias,” conjoined by the genitive Aramaic particle ־ ד. Since the Middle Ages, ample attempts have been made to identify the Greek source word, subsequently leading to various solutions. On the basis of a refined analysis of the contexts in which the toponym appears, and an indepth linguistic consideration, a new solution is suggested for the identification of the Greek term and for the nature and location of the site near Tiberias, outside of the city.