The location of the incident of the "Gadarene . A third city, Hippos, was similar in character to Gadara and Gerasa, and it may fit the biblical account even better. For if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which were done in you, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. From the late fifth to the early seventh centuries, all four sides of the compound had entrances. The heights of Naphtali, piled up in the North, seem to culminate only in the snowy summit of Great Hermon. If Gamala, far down the eastern shore of the sea, were in Galilee, a fortiori Bethsaida, a town which lay on the very edge of the Jordan, may be described as in Galilee.But Josephus makes it plain that Gamala, while added to his jurisdiction, was not in Galilee, but in Gaulonitis (BJ, II, xx, 6). In the northern part of the enclosure, we excavated the remains of the residential quarters of the monastery compound. It curves round from el-Mejdel in the South, to `Ain et-Tineh, or Khan Minyeh, in the North, a distance of over 3 miles, with an average breadth from the sea to the foot of the mountains of about a mile. "The advent of the railway has stirred afresh the pulses of life in the valley. Every effort has been made to accurately determine the rights status of works and their images. unique traits of plants, animals and humans. The triumphal arch to the South of the city is almost entire. Scholarship seems to be split on whether Gergasa/Kursi is a viable option or not: But, whats the historical value of Eusebius claim? Its Christian residents then abandoned it. Round the greater part of the lake there is a broad pebbly beach, with a sprinkling of small shells. Settlers in the valley thereafter confined themselves to the area immediately on the shore. , Flavius Josephus and Steve Mason, Flavius Josephus: Life of Josephus (Boston; Leiden: Brill, 2003), 47. 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. John, writing after 84 A.D., would hardly have 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 recalling the former familiar conditions. 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. GERASA, GERASENES ( , ). It was besieged by Baldwin II, in 1121 A.D. This street was over 25 feet wide and was paved with carefully cut, black basalt stones. The church itself is, of course, the most impressive structure in the monastery compound. There the Jordan, issuing from the sea, almost surrounds the mound on which are the ruins of Kerak, the Tarichea of Josephus Crossing the floor of the valley, past Semakh, which is now a station on the Haifa-Damascus railway, we find a similar strip of plain along the eastern shore. v. 37) describe Jesus' healing of the demoniac "Legion" and . The production of oil served as a popular source of income for monastic communities and settlements at Christian holy places. Jerash, ancient Gerasa Distance between North District and Capernaum (9,93 km.) Performance & security by Cloudflare. Although the site was severely damaged, life continued as before, but with a lower living standard. MATTHEW. As in the case of the other Bethsaida, no name has been recovered to guide us to the site. PLACE. On the basis of the textual evidence alone, we cannot determine which of these variants is . It should be noted, however, that the name is in origin radically different from Bethsaida. When it comes down to it we really have no idea where the event the narratives are based on took place. Many New Testament manuscripts refer to the "Country of the Gadarenes" or "Gerasenes" rather than the Gergesenes. He therefore took it upon himself to change the geographical details to make them more realistic. Thus Gamala, on the eastern shore, was within the jurisdiction of Josephus, who commanded in Galilee (BJ, II, xx, 4). The distance is about 19 miles from the river. There he meets a man seized with an unclean spirit (Mark) or with demons (Luke). Brill, 19942000), 204. , The name Gerasenes is to be associated with the modern city of Jerash, located in Transjordan, 22 miles N of Amman. John McRay, Gerasenes, ed. 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 air cleared, and the wide welter of foam-crested waves attested the fury of the blast. The gospels. The pretty wild ride that the Black Obelisk took from Nimrud, where it was found, to the British Museum, where its displayed to this day. It was taken by Antiochus the Great when in 218 B.C. 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. Decaplis, Ewing, "house of fish," Bethsaida, the name of two cities on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. On the Sea of Galilee there are frequent storms. In about ten minutes the wind fell as suddenly as it had risen. It was used to drive certain mills, and also to refresh the neighboring land. The lake and mountains are, in main outline, such as His eyes beheld. The prosperity of the sixth century abruptly ended with the Persian invasion in 614 A.D. 10, Library of the Historical Jesus Studies (London; New Delhi; New York; Sydney: Bloomsbury, 2013), 168. A person seated on this bench beholds, through the chapels small prayer hall, an excellent view of the enclosed rock on the terrace below, and, from there, of the monastery at the bottom of the hill and the Sea of Galilee beyond. Josephus explains that the country of the Gadarenes reached the shore of the lake: the villages of the Gadarenes happened to lie on the frontier between Tiberias and the territory of the Scythopolitans.4. It was on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, and must have been a locality where the steep edges of the Bashan plateau drop close upon the brink of the lake. It is therefore significant that only the Fourth Gospel speaks of "Bethsaida of Galilee. Today they are the modern towns of Jerash and Umm Qais. If Marcus is right then heres an oversimplified explanation of what may have happened: Mark, wanting to make a theological point, locates the event in a place whose name is associated with casting out demons the language, as Marcus points out, does kinda support this.21 This strengthens the exorcism theme of the pericope seems legit. Reland (Pal, II, 806) notes certain extant coins of Gerasa, from which it is clear that in the 2nd century it was a center of the worship of Artemis. The lower part simply encloses a huge boulder, over 22 feet high. , Donald A. Hagner, Matthew 1-13, vol. From the beginning of our work, it was clear that we were excavating the remains of a large, walled settlement of a religious character, undoubtedly a monastery that included a well-built basilica of exceptional quality. So, Matthew is aware that on the face of it Marks account doesnt work. Fish:The sea contains many varieties of fish in great numbers. It is as if this chamber (which once had a tower) was built to protect or preserve the boulder. Rooms known as pastophoria, which played an important part in the ritual and the liturgy, flank the apse. Mark 1:16 Passing along by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. Capernaum is a Peru city located at the longitude of -77.488175 and latitude of -4.446235 . As Jesus began to get back into the boat, the delivered demoniac pleaded with Him that he might accompany Him. , Tags: General Description:The sea lies in the deep trough of the Jordan valley, almost due East of the Bay of Acre. The Old Testament names were "sea of Chinnereth" (yam-kinnereth: Numbers 34:11 Deuteronomy 3:17 Joshua 13:27; Joshua 19:35), and "sea of Chinneroth" (yam-kineroth: Joshua 12:3; compare 11:2; 1 Kings 15:20). a site named Khersa (or Kursi) among the cliffs overlooking the lakethe traditional site, but with little to argue in its favor. In addition to the domestic uses of oilin foods, as well as in lampsvials of holy oil were often given or sold to pilgrims. These demon-possessed pigs then run headlong into the lake and, presumably, drown. He could have followed Mark, but he chose to do something else.9 It seems reasonable to this layman to suggest that maybe Matthew relocated the herd because he knew enough of the geography to say that if this event took place in the country of the Gadarenes the herd couldnt be both on a hillside and close to the shore Gadara was around 5 or 6 miles away from the shore, and the hills that lead from Gadara to the lake are very close to Gadara and a number of miles from the lake. 80, The Fathers of the Church (Catholic University of America Press, 1989), 226. Four of the apostles, and these the chief, had been brought up as fishermen on the Sea of Galilee. This courtyard provided an impressive space to meet, talk and restperhaps on the low benches whose remains we found on the western side. Contradictions, The narrative in question is the healing of Legion. Here a shallow vale breaks northward, bounded on the West by Tell `Areimeh. These things, together with the frequent, and sometimes terribly destructive, earthquakes, sufficiently attest the volcanic character of the region. 33A, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1998), 226. Gerasa itself is probably represented by the ruins of Kurseh on the South side of Wady Semak, just where it opens on the seashore. distance from capernaum to gerasenes. Nearly opposite Tiberias is the stronghold of Chal`-at el Chocn, possibly the ancient Hippos, with the village of Fik, the ancient Aphek, on the height to the East. 2023 Biblical Historical Context. Map 4 - The Travels and Acts of Jesus in Year Three of His Ministry c AD29-30 : THIRD PREACHING TOUR OF GALILEE [1] Jesus travels from Capernaum to "his own native town" of Nazareth ( Mk 6:1) [2] In Nazareth, he is rejected for a second time (Mt 13:54; Mk 6:1) [3] He continues through Galilee (Mt 13:58; Mk 6:6) and sends out the twelve apostles to preach the Gospel (Mt 10:5; Mk 6:7; Lk 9:1) Average amount of gas with an average car when travelling from Capernaum, Israel to Jerusalem, Israel will be 7 gallons gallons . It is almost 20 miles from Amman (Philadelphia), and 22 from Fahil (Pella). South of el-Mejdel the mountains advance to the shore, and the path is cut in the face of the slope, bringing us to the hot spring, `Ain el-Fuliyeh, where is a little valley, with gardens and orange grove. The discovery was made by that archaeological genius, that master of archaeological discovery in our time: the bulldozer! Fertility:The walnut, the palm, the olive and the fig, which usually require diverse conditions, flourish together here. Distance between Tel Aviv and Capernaum (117,32 km.) (iv) The present writer is familiar with these waters in both storm and calm. If you travel with an airplane (which has average speed of 560 miles per hour) between Tyre to Capernaum, It takes 0.06 hours to arrive. Cloudflare Ray ID: 7a1615141b8e2bf0 Save in very settled conditions they will not venture far from the shore. fine for parking in handicap spot in ohio. This seems to be the fountain called "Capharnaum" by Josephus (BJ, III, x, 8). JOHN. The absence of any name resembling Bethsaida need not concern us.Were There Two Bethsaidas? Distance between Jerusalem and Capernaum (126,65 km.) Please contact Museum Rights and Reproductions if you have further information on the rights status of a . John 1:44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. Country of the Gerasenes:The town itself is not named in Scripture, and is referred to only in the expression, "country of the Gerasenes" (Mark 5:1 Luke 8:26, 37; see Westcott and Hort, The New Testament in Greek, Appendix, 11). it is a happy contention of the seasons, as if each of them claimed this country; for it not only nourishes different sorts of autumnal fruit beyond men's expectation, but preserves them a great while." These differences caused copyists of the gospels to perform no end of monkey-business with the sentence there are 3 variants for each of the synoptic gospels.2 Were looking at a genuine problem that was recognised very early. This is just five miles from Capernaum, where Jesus had previously been, so it makes sense. Powered by, View over Kursi toward the Sea of Galilee, The Black Obelisks journey from Nimrud to London, A critical assessment of the scientific explanation for the Ten Plagues in The Exodus Decoded Plague 7: Hail. Luke 9:10 The apostles, when they had returned, told him what things they had done. Tyre: 33.2721571: 35.203278: Capernaum: 32.88033: 35.573307: Distance: 55.56 km: 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. Country of the Gadarenes: This city is not named in Scripture, but the territory belonging to it is spoken of as chora ton Gadarenon, "country of the Gadarenes" (Matthew 8:28).In the parallel passages (Mark 5:1 Luke 8:26, 37) we read: chora ton Gerasenon "country of the Gerasenes."There is no good reason, however, to question the accuracy of the text in either case. (d) In support of the single-city theory it is further argued that(i) Jesus withdrew to Bethsaida as being in the jurisdiction of Philip, when he heard of the murder of John by Antipas, and would not have sought again the territories of the latter so soon after leaving them. Bacon, 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. John 12:21 These, therefore, came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, "Sir, we want to see Jesus. Josephus gives Pella as the northern boundary of Peraea (BJ, III, iii, 3). 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). At eT-Tabgha in the North, at `Ain el Fuliyeh, South of el-Mejdel, and on the shore, about 2 miles South of modern Tiberias, there are strong hot springs. , 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. , James R. Edwards, The Gospel according to Mark, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos, 2002), 154. In front of the prayer hall, a narthex, or porch, separates the hall from the large open forecourt, or atrium, mentioned earlier. 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. Northward the plain widens into the marshy breadths of el-BaTeichah, and once more we reach the Jordan, flowing smoothly through the fiat lands to the sea.3. Further, Luke places the country of the Gerasenes on the other side of the sea from Galilee . David Noel Freedman, The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 991. 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. Sites such as Capernaum, the center of Jesus mission before he left for Jerusalem; Bethsaida, the birthplace of the apostles Andrew, Peter and Philip; Magdala, the home of Mary Magdalene; Tabga, where the miracle of the multiplication of loaves and fishes occurred; and the Sea of Galilee itselfall are places that to the Christian recall events connected with Jesus life, the miracles he performed and the sacred words he uttered. From this disaster it appears soon to have recovered, and the period of its greatest prosperity lay, probably, in the 2nd and 3nd centuries of our era. Rows of columns separate the central nave from the aisles on either side. Description:Modern Jerash lies on both banks of Wady Jerash, about 6 miles from its confluence with Wady ez-Zerqa (the Jabbok). They include several splendid temples, theaters, basilica, palaces and baths, with hippodrome and naumachia. A friend recently asked about the geographical problem of Mark 5 so I thought Id write up some thoughts on the topic. With these, however, the Gerasenes dealt mercifully, letting such as wished go free, and escorting them to the border (BJ, II, xviii, 1, 5). Superior buildings are rising outside the ancient walls. (Ant., XV, vii, 3; BJ, I, xx, 3). The at some distance is a bit fluffy in the english it could mean anywhere from not far to miles away. Identification and Description:Umm Cheis answers the description given of Gadara by ancient writers. The southern city, therefore, should be understood as "the capital of Peraea" in BJ, IV; vii, 3.Gadara was a member of the DECAPOLIS (which see).W. The sheltering hills provide excellent grazing areas, particularly for hogs, which are best suited to these rocky hills. The soil is deep, rich loam, of amazing fertility. About 2 miles farther West are the hot springs of eT-Tabgha. Gerasa and Gadara are accounted for in historical accounts (by writers such as Pliny the Elder and Josephus) and by archaeological research. The soil is deep, rich loam, of amazing fertility. The modern town stands at the northern corner of the plain; while at the southern end are the famous hot baths, the ancient Hammath. [8] [9] The distance between Bethsaida and Paneas is said to have been 50 mi (80 km). Capernaum area. Conclusion: we just dont know where this event is supposed to have taken place. This is doubtless to be identified with the village of Bethsaida in Lower Gaulonitis which the Tetrarch Philip raised to the rank of a city, and called Julias, in honor of Julia, the daughter of Augustus. 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