The ancient boundaries of Galilee are indistinct, however the Jewish-Roman historian Flavius Josephus defined them in the first century - Accho (also spelled Acre and Acco) and Mount Carmel on the west, Samaria in the south, Jordan Valley and the Sea of Galilee in the east, and a line roughly corresponding to the modern Israel-Lebanon border in the north. The area measures roughly 50 miles (80 kilometers) north to south, and 30 miles (48 kilometers) east to west.

Galilee was composed of two sections: Upper and Lower Galilee. The dividing line ran approximately from Akko in the west, to the north end of the Sea of Galilee in the east. Upper Galilee has much more pronounced elevations which are divided by narrow gorges, while Lower Galilee's topography has a series of lower hills. Nazareth is located in Lower Galilee, adjacent to the Plain of Esdraelon and Valley of Jezreel. Armageddon is located just across the valley from Nazareth.