Gadara

Biblical Text

In the Korean Revised Version (New Revised Edition), "Gadara" appears in Matthew 8:28. When Jesus arrived in the "country of the Gadarenes" on the other side of the Sea of Galilee, two demon-possessed men came out from among the tombs to meet him. When Jesus cast out the demons, they entered a herd of swine, and the herd rushed down a steep slope into the water and perished. This event is discussed in detail in the article Healing of the Gerasene Demoniac.

Geography and History

Gadara was a city in the highlands southeast of the Sea of Galilee, south of the Yarmouk River. It is known as one of the cities of the Decapolis (meaning "ten cities"), a group of cities shaped by Hellenistic culture; the name Decapolis also appears in Mark 5:20. Its site is generally identified with modern Umm Qais in northern Jordan. The city is also known as the hometown of Greek writers and philosophers such as Menippus, Meleager, and Philodemus.

Most of its inhabitants appear to have been Gentiles. The large herd of swine in the narrative can be read as reflecting the character of the region, since under Jewish law swine were unclean animals (Leviticus 11:7).

Differences in Place Names among the Gospels

The Gospels give different place names for the same event.

• Matthew 8:28 calls it the "country of the Gadarenes."
• Mark 5:1 and Luke 8:26 call it the "country of the Gerasenes."
• The Greek manuscripts also vary, with readings such as Gadara, Gerasa, and Gergesa. For example, the King James Version reads "Gergesenes" in Matthew and "Gadarenes" in Mark and Luke.

Gerasa is identified with modern Jerash in Jordan, which lies several dozen kilometers from the Sea of Galilee. Gadara, too, lies just over 10 km from the lake, and some have noted that this is difficult to reconcile with the scene of the swine rushing into the lake. The third-century church father Origen is said to have proposed Gergesa, on the lakeshore, because of this difficulty. Others identify the site with Kursi on the eastern shore of the lake.

Interpretation and Issues

The word "country" in the text may refer not to the city itself but to the broader territory belonging to it. For this reason, many scholars hold that Gadara and Gerasa were both broad designations for the area and do not contradict each other. Others hold that the place name was altered in the course of manuscript transmission. In either case, scholars differ on the exact location of the event.

Matthew records two demon-possessed men, while Mark and Luke record one. This difference is frequently discussed as an example of the Synoptic Problem. The biblical text says nothing further about the city of Gadara itself; what is known of the city therefore comes from historical sources outside the Bible.

In the Korean Church

In Korean church preaching, the name "Gerasa" from Mark and Luke is more widely used. "Gadara" is used mainly when preaching on the text of Matthew.