Christians: Please Explain

[Aractus]

I've asked this question before. I never seem to get an honest and straightforward answer. This is a map showing part of first century Palestine.

In Mark 5:1-20/Luke 8:26-39/Matt 8:28-34, Jesus comes across a man possessed by a Legion of daemons, he casts them out into a herd of pigs, and then somehow makes the pigs stampede into the Sea of Galilee to be drowned. A great tale of how Jesus saved a man possessed by evil. But there's a big problem with this story!

Mark 5:1: They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes.
Luke 8:26: They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee.
Matt 8:28a: When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes


The problem is that the location is wrong. Mark and Luke both clearly say the location is Gerasa. Gerasa is a full 50km away from the Sea, and that's in a direct line, and that's longer than a marathon. Matthew seems to be aware that Mark got it wrong, and so changed the city to Gadara. It would have taken the pigs hours and hours to stampede into the Sea, and I doubt very much that a pig could physically sustain that kind of pace for that length of time. Dogs might be able to do it, but pigs are nowhere near as athletic. Do you really think pigs could run a marathon? If pigs could fly perhaps...

Once you look at it on a map the problem is obvious. It's not as obvious if you just read it in your study-Bible notes as it offers up (seemingly) possible explanations. It's true the Bible doesn't specify the city itself, which does make it possible that the even takes place in Hippus (or perhaps south of Hippus somewhere along the Sea) - at least in Matthew. But Luke and Mark tells us it takes place in the region of Gerasa - and by region it probably means something like a 5-10km radius around the city. Since Gerasa and Gadara are both major cities there is no way they shared a "region", especially north of Gadara.

[Minimalist]

That's an interesting map for another reason.



It manages to ignore the major towns, like Sephoris and Tiberias but includes insignificant shitholes like Capernaum and "Nazareth" which cannot be conclusively shown to have existed in the early first century AD.

Further, both Gedara and Gerasa were Greek towns in a region known as the Decapolis - a loose conglomeration of Hellenistic towns under the aegis of the Roman Governor of Syria but your question is still valid as in Matthew 15...

King James Bible

But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Verse 24

so what was "jesus" doing there?  Was he lost?

[vorlon13]

Why, it don't smell like one of them thar 'miracles' to you ??

Jesus can move seas, and cliffs, and cities and pigs around easy enough, just twitch the nose, snap the fingers, and it's done.


That wasn't so hard now, was it ??

[dyresand]

Min remember back then jesus didn't have google maps or gps

[Aractus]

Nazareth isn't important in the NT aside from the Nativity, which we sceptics throw out wholesale anyway. But, just because it hasn't been shown conclusively to have existed in the early first century to be a birthplace for Jesus doesn't mean it's been shown not to have existed at that time either.

[Minimalist]

Either something existed or not.  There is no half-measure there.

Stephen Pfann is a reputable xtian scholar and in 1997 he excavated under the auspices of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

http://www.uhl.ac/en/projects/nazareth-village-project/

A survey of the area was conducted in February 1997 by CSEC’s archaeological staff. Four seasons of excavation, licensed by the Israel Antiquities Authority and under the joint direction of Ross Voss and S. Pfann, have been carried out by CSEC, with the help of students and local volunteers. These excavations have confirmed the land to be a complete Roman Period terrace farm with a winepress, watchtowers, olive crushing stones, irrigation systems, and an ancient quarry, and have illuminated previously unknown aspects of terrace farming in the Galilee.

One farm does not a town make. 

There is so much more to the issue, though.  The whole question of just how "jewish" was Galilee in the first century needs to be factored in.  Judging by the actions of the good citizens of Sephoris and Tiberias when Josephus tried to secure those very important positions during the Great Revolt, the answer is "not very."  Sephoris slammed the gates in his face and admitted the troops of the Tribune, Placidius, as a garrison against the jewish rebels.  Not very patriotic of them... if they were Jews.  But what if they weren't?

[Catholic_Lady]

That's a good question, Aractus. I'm not well versed on the bible (as is unfortunately typical for Catholics), but I'm curious to know the answer to this as well. I'm going to message Drich and see if he can answer this for us.

[Minimalist]

The bible is not a geography text.

[Minimalist]

http://vridar.org/2010/08/06/mark-failed...e-student/

Mark: failed geography, but great bible student

Much has been said about Mark’s poor knowledge of the geography of Palestine. A classic case is his bizarre itinerary for Jesus leaving Tyre to go north, then south-east, then back east again, to reach is final destination. On the map here, locate Tyre, run your finger north to Sidon, than let it wander to the right and downwards till it reaches Decapolis, then zero up to the “lake” of Galilee.
That is the route that the Gospel of Mark says Jesus took in order to get from Tyre to the “sea of Galilee”.
Jesus’ travel agent must have been offering a super-bargain or Mark had little real knowledge of the geography of the area, or . . . . and there IS a very simple explanation, I think.

[vorlon13]

Jesus was still better at directions than Moses . . .