West of this village opens the tremendous gorge, Wady el Chamam, with the famous robbers' fastnesses in its precipitous sides, and the ruins of Arbela on its southern lip. Many are the ruins of great and splendid cities on slope and height of which almost nothing is known today. Farther North, Wady el-`Amud brings down much water in the rainy season. A city in Transjordania, situated about thirty-five m. SE of the S end of the Sea of Galilee, one of the cities of the Decapolis; the inhabitants of the city. Such storms are fairly frequent, and as they are attended with danger to small craft, the boatmen are constantly on the alert. Gerasa, one of the cities of Decapolis and the capital of the country of the Gerasenes, lay around 37 miles/60 kilometres away from the Sea of Galilee in what is today the city of Jerash in Jordan.3 The country of the Gerasenes did not reach the Sea of Galilee (an important point that well get to in a bit). ", beth-sa'-i-da (Bethsaida, "house of fishing"):(1) A city East of the Jordan, in a "desert place" (that is, uncultivated ground used for grazing) at which Jesus miraculously fed the multitude with five loaves and two fishes (Mark 6:32 Luke 9:10). Some would identify the place with RAMOTH-GILEAD, which see.The site is now occupied by a colony of Circassians, and there is reason to fear that, unless something is done to preserve them, many valuable remains of antiquity will perish.W. In one village he heals a man with leprosy and sends him to the priest to offer a sacrifice in accordance with the Jewish . distance from capernaum to gerasenes. Drains in the street reflect a high standard of living, as do the pottery and various other small finds such as coins and decorated glass vessels. Jesus is in Capernaum, he gets on a boat, sails across the Sea of Galilee, ends up in a storm, and calms the water. The Moslem conquest followed shortly thereafter in the seventh century. Storms:The position of the lake makes it liable to sudden storms, the cool air from the uplands rushing down the gorges with great violence and tossing the waters in tumultuous billows. , Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 716. This writer extols the productiveness of the plain. Smooth plaster covered the rock walls of the apse. To get any further with working out where the event took place (if it took place at all) we can turn to church history. A relatively large tell, no doubt the urban center of the area, stands about 300 yards from the monastery discovered by the bulldozer. "(iv) There could hardly have been two Bethsaidas so close together.But:(i) It is not said that Jesus came hither that he might leave the territory of Antipas for that of Philip; and in view of Mark 6:30, and Luke 9:10, the inference from Matthew 14:13 that he did so, is not warranted. The presence of a copious spring of sweet water makes it probable that the site has been occupied from olden time; but no trace remains of any ancient city. John 12:21 These, therefore, came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, "Sir, we want to see Jesus. Geographically its certainly a better fit than Gerasa or Gadara. Gergasa, it has been suggested12, is a transliteration of Kursi, located half way up the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. (iii) The East coast of the sea was definitely attached to Galilee in A.D. 84, and Ptolemy (circa 140) places Julius in Galilee. Even if Judas were born in Gamala, and so might properly be called a Gaulonite, he may, like others, have come to be known as belonging to the province in which his active life was spent. Seen from the mountains the broad sheet appears a beautiful blue; so that, in the season of greenery, it is no exaggeration to describe it as a sapphire in a setting of emerald. The narrow ridge on which the ruins lie runs out toward the Jordan from the uplands of Gilead, with the deep gorge of Wady Yarmuk-Hieromax-on the North, and Wady el `Arab on the South. So at least that part of the story adds up the pigs could have run into the lake from Gadaras territory. According to local tradition, the ruins of this structure bore the name of Gersa or Gursa. The walls of the structure are more than 3 feet thick. The distance line on map shows distance from Nazareth to Capernaum between two cities. Decaplis, After all its not far off 300 years after the events. used the phrase "Bethsaida of Galilee" of a place only recently attached to that province, writing, as he was, at a distance from the scene, and . , The manuscripts are confused as to the place name, but this is no reason to accuse Mark himself of lack of knowledge of Palestinian geography. R. Alan Cole, Mark: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. Tiberias: 32.795858: 35.530975: Capernaum: 32.88033: 35.573307: Distance: 10.19 km: The Merneptah Steles discovery, transcription, and what it shows us about annihilation in the biblical text. The warm water from copious springs runs into a little bay of the sea in which fishes congregate in great numbers. From the late fifth to the early seventh centuries, all four sides of the compound had entrances. Cana: 32.744999: 35.339758: Capernaum: 32.88033: 35.573307: Distance: 26.51 km: LUKE. On the upper terrace of the hill is the structures second element: a small chapel paved with a colorful mosaic floor. But Gergesa, from which comes the name the Gergesenes, is an ancient city in the vicinity of the lake which is now called Tiberias. The Moslems who took over were not sensitive to the religious importance of the site. The distance is about 19 miles from the river. These variations caused little concern to the early Christian fathers who, in the late third century (as we know from literary sources), fixed the site of the miracle on the northeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, at the mouth of Wadi Samak, also known as the Valley of Kursi (KOOR-see). Today, it is identified with El-Koursi or Kursi. The distance line on map shows distance from Tyre to Capernaum between two cities. All scripture quoted from The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), If you want to get into the detail see Bruce Manning Metzger, United Bible Societies, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, Second Edition a Companion Volume to the United Bible Societies Greek New Testament (4th Rev. A party in the city surrendered it to Vespasian, who placed a garrison there (BJ, IV, vii, 3). (BJ, I, iv, 8). iv.12; St. Mark i.14; St. Luke iv.14, 15; St. John iv.43-54.) You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Commentary on the Gospel according to John Books 1-10, Ed. The location of the incident of the "Gadarene . The soil is deep, rich loam, of amazing fertility. The natives use it for all purposes, esteeming it light and pleasant. Still other pilgrimage sites, such as Magdala, have been only recently rediscovered by archaeological excavations after having been entirely forgotten for more than a thousand years. 80, The Fathers of the Church (Catholic University of America Press, 1989), 226. As this is too far from the sea for a fishing village, Schumacher (The Jaulan, 246) suggests that el-`Araj, "a large, completely destroyed site close to the lake," connected in ancient times with et-Tell "by the beautiful roads still visible," may have been the fishing village, and et-Tell the princely residence. But from their mute testimony we gather that the lake in the valley which is now so quiet was once the center of a busy and prosperous population. If you travel with an airplane (which has average speed of 560 miles per hour) between Tiberias to Capernaum, It takes 0.01 hours to arrive. If the boat was taken from any point in el-BaTeichah towards et-Tell, no east wind would have distressed the rowers, protected as that part is by the mountains. (ii) Medieval works of travel notice only one Bethsaida. , Joel Marcus, Mark 18: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, vol. The NT references ( Mark 5:1; Luke 8:26; cf. According to Luke, the demoniac wears no clothes and lives among the tombs. (iii) Mark says that the boat started to go unto the other side to Bethsaida, while John, gives the direction "over the sea unto Capernaum" (Mark 6:17). In the small bay nearby, we can still see the remains of a well-constructed harbor used both for sea travel and by the fishing industry during the Roman period (first to fifth centuries A.D.). The agreement of these two favors the strict interpretation. Mention is made of the strength of the site and the mighty masonry of its walls. The city of Decapolis whose territory stood between the country of the Gerasenes and the Sea of Galilee was Gadara, modern Um-Qais in Jordan. It is probably represented by the modern Jedur, not far from es-Salt (Buhl, Buhl, Geographic des alten Palastina, 255; Guthe). (NOTE.-The Textus Receptus of the New Testament reading. According to Luke 3:23, Jesus was about thirty years old (quite old in those days) when he began his ministry. He deals with a remaining issue by locating the herd some distance away rather than on the hillside next to the lake. gad'-a-ra (Gadara):1. We may assume that the cities named in the Gospels were mainly Jewish. (Ant., XIV, iv, 4; BJ, I, vii, 7); from which it would appear to have declined in Jewish hands. Want of precision on topographical points, therefore, need not surprise us. Finding out that biblical hail was actually ice and fire mixed together, which is actually ash blobs. Rooms known as pastophoria, which played an important part in the ritual and the liturgy, flank the apse. One of the great Roman roads ran eastward to Der`ah; and an aqueduct has been traced to the pool of el Khab, about 20 miles to the North of Der`ah. The remains of the monastery can be visited in the Kursi National Park. Demonology, Distance between Jerusalem and Capernaum (126,65 km.) Its just one of those things. The heights of Naphtali, piled up in the North, seem to culminate only in the snowy summit of Great Hermon. (iii) If the 4th Gospel was not written until well into the 2nd century, then the apostle was not the author; but this is a very precarious assumption. All three Synoptic Gospels mention this miracle, Matthew writes about two possessed men instead of just one, and only some manuscripts of his Gospel name the location as Gergesa, while the other copies, as well as all versions of Luke and Mark, mention either Gadara or Gerasa (see Mark 5:1-20, Luke 8:26-39, Matthew 8:28-34). JOHN. It continued to be a great and important city, and was long the seat of a bishop (Reland, Palestine, 776). The production of oil served as a popular source of income for monastic communities and settlements at Christian holy places. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. The names of many ancient places have been lost, and others have strayed from their original localities. The substitution of sin for cad is easy: but the insertion of the guttural `ain is impossible. There are some ruins now on this spot still known by the very slight corruption of Kerzha. The abundance of fish at each place furnished a good reason for the recurrence of the name.W. David Noel Freedman, The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 991. The sultan of Damascus is said to have fortified it; but there is nothing to show that the Moslems occupied it for any length of time. (In Matthew, the story tells of two demoniacs.) The land is almost entirely cleared, and it rewards the toil of the husbandman with all its ancient generosity.W. At this time the residential area was clustered around the church, and most of the former residential quarters were left unrepaired and unsettled. Ewing. Water:The middle portion is supplied from `Ain el-Madawwerah, a copious fountain near the western edge of the plain, round which a wall has been built, to raise the level of the water; and from the perennial stream, Wady er-Rubadiyeh, which drives a mill before starting on its work of irrigation. Twitter. Next, we reach the mouth of Wady Semak, in which lie the ruins of Kurseh, probably representing the ancient Gerasa. There is scarcely any doubt that the scene of the miracle on the poor demoniac, and of the subsequent possession of the swine, must be looked for on this spot. But (i) this involved a passage from a point on the West to a point on the South shore, "crossing over" two considerable bays; whereas if the boat started from any point in el-BaTeichah, to which we seem to be limited by the "much grass," and by the definition of the district as belonging to Bethsaida, to sail to et-Tell, it was a matter of coasting not more than a couple of miles, with no bay to cross. Tyre: 33.2721571: 35.203278: Capernaum: 32.88033: 35.573307: Distance: 55.56 km: , James R. Edwards, The Gospel according to Mark, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos, 2002), 154. fine for parking in handicap spot in ohio. This two-terraced structure, consisting of a memorial, or landmark, tower and a chapel above, undoubtedly was thought to mark the very site of the miracle that cured the demoniac. In a few moments the air was thick with mist, through which one could hear the roar of the tortured waters. In the rooms north of the prayer hall, we found an oil-press, including the crushing, pressing and collecting components. "One may call this place the ambition of nature;. In the parallel passages (Mark 5:1 Luke 8:26, 37) we read: chora ton Gerasenon "country of the Gerasenes." The place is not mentioned till later times. The city of Gadara is represented today by the ruins of Umm Qeis on the heights south of el-Chummeh-the hot springs in the Yarmuk valley-about 6 miles Southeast of the Sea of Galilee. It should be noted, however, that the name is in origin radically different from Bethsaida. Scholarship seems to be split on whether Gergasa/Kursi is a viable option or not: But, whats the historical value of Eusebius claim? Today they are the modern towns of Jerash and Umm Qais. The greatest breadth is in the North, from el-Mejdel to the mouth of Wady Semak being rather over 7 miles. Here the mountains recede from the shore, leaving a crescent-shaped plain, largely covered with the ruins of the ancient city. This is a difficulty for Marks account the pigs would have had to trot many miles from the country of the Gerasenes before they even reached the hillside that overlooks the lake, never mind actually get to the lake itself. Around 150 years later Origen comes along, and, knowing that Matthews attempted fix isnt watertight, relocates the event to Gergasa based on what is probably an ancient tradition. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. Ewing. The ruins of the town are not considerable; but there are remains of a strong wall which must have surrounded the place. The healing of Legion is narrated in all three synoptic gospels; they all begin by describing where the event took place: Matthew 8:28 When he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demoniacs coming out of the tombs met him.1, Mark 5:1 They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes., Luke 8:26 Then they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee.. By protecting the boulder with a massive tower and building a chapel behind and above it, the early Christian fathers both commemorated and sanctified a site that Christian pilgrims could relate to the life of Jesus. Brill, 19942000), 204. On the shore, fully 2 miles from the Jordan, are the ruins of Tell Chum. To one descending from Mt. Gergesa, also Gergasa ( in Byzantine greek) or the Country of the Gergesenes, is a place on the eastern ( Golan Heights) side of the Sea of Galilee located at some distance to the ancient Decapolis cities of Gadara and Gerasa. Mark 7:31 Again he departed from the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and came to the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the region of Decapolis. The soil is deep, rich loam, of amazing fertility. Although the ruins of this settlement, known as Tell el-Kursi, can still be seen, the site remains unexcavated. Most of the mosaic motifs at Kursi are typical of the Byzantine period. Interpreting the reference to the hillside as anywhere but the steep banks that encircle the lake is geographically problematic: the record describes a pretty short run for the pigs their stampede was quickly over. Settlers in the valley thereafter confined themselves to the area immediately on the shore. With these, however, the Gerasenes dealt mercifully, letting such as wished go free, and escorting them to the border (BJ, II, xviii, 1, 5). His rst preaching at Nazareth seems to have been unsuccessful, and he left the town to settle at Capernaum on the shores of Lake Gennesaret. The chapel has an apse constructed within a natural rock shelter. 33A, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1998), 226. This is true even today. Mark 8:22 He came to Bethsaida. Many New Testament manuscripts refer to the "Country of the Gadarenes" or "Gerasenes" rather than the Gergesenes. They brought a blind man to him, and begged him to touch him. Unfortunately, the most severe damage to the mosaics occurred in the nave. Occasionally, however, tempests break over the lake, in which a boat could hardly live. 1. gad'-a-ra (Gadara): 1. This has therefore always been a favorite haunt of fishermen. As a result of excavations by the Israel Department of Antiquities and Museums, however, it is becoming quite clear that the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee also played an important role in early Christian pilgrimages. Cultivation was confined to the Southwest part; and the rest furnished grazing ground for a tribe of nomads. The factors that led to this site selection were undoubtedly: (1) its location on the eastern shore of the lake; (2) its proximity to an urban center (variously named Gergessa, Gadara and Gerasa); and (3) its topographical setting, in particular the steep hill where the swine herd had presumably been grazing. Naturally the temperature in the valley is higher than that of the uplands; and here wheat and barley are harvested about a month earlier. The demons inside the man beg to be allowed to enter a nearby herd of swine, numbering about 2,000 according to Mark. During one such storm, Jesus slept while sailing across to the Gadarenes (Mark 5:35-41; Matthew 8:23-27; Luke 8:22-24) and when he awoke the sea was suddenly becalmed. The fruits of Gennesaret had such high repute among the rabbis that they were not allowed in Jerusalem at the time of the feasts, lest any might be tempted to come merely for their enjoyment (Neubauer, Geog. The sheltering hills provide excellent grazing areas, particularly for hogs, which are best suited to these rocky hills. 6.211. No trace of the name Bethsaida has been found in the district; but any one of the sites named would meet the requirements.To this neighborhood Jesus retired by boat with His disciples to rest awhile. The pilgrimage sites associated with the swine miracle, as opposed to the urban settlement of Tell el-Kursi, were discovered quite by accident in the late 20th century. 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