Christians: Please Explain

[Wyrd of Gawd]

---

[hide]


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.

---

You may be making assumptions based on the translation, that aren't inherent to the original language.  The Greek word "χώρα" can mean land, region, country, and even field.  It's basically describing an area.  The translations I looked at used "country".  The atlas I looked at, also shown Gergasa (just north of Hippo opposite Capernaum) as believed to be the site in which they landed (and is also cited by Origen as known in his day).  It does appear that this is a place where there are some variances in the manuscripts (in all three accounts) and even some other cities in the area being used. 

I don't think it's an issue; they are just using different references for the region. Wikipedia cites Gadara as the local center of power, whereas Matthew referred to Gerasa, the regional city of power.  Especially depending on who I was talking to, when talking about my past, I may mention Erie, Pittsburgh, or Meadville as a reference (Pennsylvania).  It just depends on how specific I was being, who my audience was, or what the focus was in my telling.

Why do we have to translate the Bible everytime we read it?