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Gergesa

Geography of JordanHebrew Bible regionsNew Testament placesSea of Galilee
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Gergesa, also Gergasa (Γέργεσα 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. Today, it is identified with El-Koursi or Kursi. It is mentioned in some ancient manuscripts of the Gospel of Matthew as the place where the Miracle of the Swine took place, a miracle performed by Jesus who drove demons out of a[matthew 8:28 says 2 men (not one), messianic translation,Jewish bible;kda] possessed man and into a herd of pigs. 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). The "Gerasa" reading is problematic, because Gerasa is neither near a sea nor does it border Galilee.Some are of the opinion that Gergesa was the country of the ancient Girgashites; but it is more probable that 'Gergesenes' was introduced by Origen upon mere conjecture; as before him most copies seem to have read 'Gadarenes', agreeable to the parallel passages and the ancient Syriac version. In any event, the "country of the Gergesenes/Gadarenes/Gerasenes" in the New Testament Gospels refers to some location on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. The name is derived from either a lakeside village, Gergesa, the next larger city, Gadara, or the best-known city in the region, Gerasa. It is likely that the "Gerasa" reading is erroneous and a copyist error for "Gergesa," since only the latter place is bordering a lake while Gerasa is very far away from a lake.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Gergesa (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Gergesa
7899, Golan Regional Council

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

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N 32.8 ° E 35.7 °
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7899
Golan Regional Council
North District, Israel
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