People of Galilee. As a group, the Jews of Galilee differed from those of Judea. According to the testimony of rabbis of ancient times, the Galileans valued reputation, whereas the Judeans placed greater emphasis on money than on a good name. The Galileans generally were not such sticklers for tradition as were the Judeans. In the Talmud (Megillah 75a), the former are, in fact, charged with neglecting tradition. In this regard it may be noted that Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem, not from Galilee, were the ones who took issue with the failure of Jesus’ disciples to observe the traditional washing of hands.​—Mr 7:1, 5.

Since the Sanhedrin and the temple were in Jerusalem, doubtless a greater concentration of teachers of the Law was to be found there; hence the Jewish proverb: “Go north [to Galilee] for riches, go south [to Judea] for wisdom.” But this does not mean that the Galileans were steeped in ignorance. Throughout the cities and villages of Galilee there were teachers of the Law as well as synagogues. The latter were, in effect, educational centers. (Lu 5:17) However, the chief priests and Pharisees at Jerusalem evidently considered themselves superior to the common Galileans and viewed them as ignorant of the Law. For example, when Nicodemus spoke up in defense of Jesus Christ, the Pharisees retorted: “You are not also out of Galilee, are you? Search and see that no prophet is to be raised up out of Galilee.” (Joh 7:45-52) Thus they ignored the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy concerning Messiah’s preaching.​—Isa 9:1, 2; Mt 4:13-17.

Some ascribe the distinct Galilean accent to foreign influence. It is not at all unusual that the Galileans were easily recognized by their speech (Mt 26:73), especially since the region of Samaria separated Galilee from Judea. Even today, in many parts of the earth, people are readily identified by their regional accent. Also, among the tribes of Israel pronunciation differences existed centuries previously. A striking example of this is the inability of the Ephraimites in Jephthah’s day to pronounce the password “Shibboleth” correctly.​—Jg 12:5, 6.

Although the synoptic Gospels tell mainly of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee, the Son of God did not ignore Judea, as some have wrongly concluded. It is noteworthy that the initial interest the Galileans showed in Jesus was aroused by what they saw him do in Jerusalem. (Joh 4:45) However, probably more space is devoted to Jesus’ activity in Galilee because the Galileans responded more readily than did the Judeans. This is confirmed by the fact that the first disciples to receive God’s holy spirit were Galileans, some 120 in number. (Ac 1:15; 2:1-7) The control and influence of the Jewish religious leaders must not have been as strong among the Galileans as among the Judeans. (Compare Lu 11:52; Joh 7:47-52; 12:42, 43.) Some suggest that the crowd that clamored for Jesus’ death was mainly composed of Judeans (Mt 27:20-23), whereas those who had previously hailed Jesus as king were perhaps primarily Galileans. (Mt 21:6-11) The presence of many Galileans and other non-Judeans during the Passover period may also have contributed to the fear of the leaders of Jerusalem to seize Jesus in broad daylight ‘lest an uproar occur.’​—Mt 26:3-5.