Gerasa (Jerash) of the Decapolis
The best-preserved Roman city east of the Jordan, in the 'country of the Gerasenes'
Found 1928 — Yale University and the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem, directed by Carl H. Kraeling (1928–1934); later the Jordanian Department of Antiquities and the international Jerash Archaeological Project (1981–); Danish–German Northwest Quarter Project (2011–2016)
Where Jerash, Jerash governorate, 48 km north of Amman (Jordan)
Dates from 2nd century BCE – 749 CE earthquake · Hellenistic – Byzantine · Decapolis in the time of Yeshua
Now at In situ; finds in the Jerash Archaeological Museum and Jordan Museum, Amman
How Gerasa (Jerash) of the Decapolis was found
Ulrich Seetzen identified the ruins in 1806; Circassian settlers occupied them from 1878. Yale's campaigns cleared the Oval Plaza, the Temple of Artemis, the theatres and a dozen churches, publishing Gerasa, City of the Decapolis (1938). Since then Jordanian, French, Italian, Polish, Danish and German teams have worked on the hippodrome, the Temple of Zeus, the synagogue-church and the residential quarters. In 2018 restoration at the Eastern Baths turned up fourteen marble statues.
What it is
A walled city of some 85 hectares with a colonnaded cardo, the unique Oval Plaza, Hadrian's Arch (130 CE), two theatres, a hippodrome, the great sanctuaries of Zeus and Artemis, and over a dozen Byzantine churches — one built over a 4th–5th-century synagogue whose mosaic showed Noah's ark.
Why it matters for the Bible
Mark and Luke set the healing of the demon-possessed man 'in the country of the Gerasenes'. Jerash lies 50 km from the lake, so the story's setting is usually placed at Gadara or Gergesa (Kursi), and manuscripts differ; but Gerasa was the Decapolis city whose territory the name evokes, and the healed man 'proclaimed in the Decapolis' what Yeshua had done. The city's temples, theatres and later churches show the Greek world Yeshua's followers carried the gospel into, and the synagogue mosaic shows Jews living there before the church took the spot.
The Hebrew word: AY-ver ha-yar-DAYN
עֵבֶר הַיַּרְדֵּן
עֵבֶר הַיַּרְדֵּן is pronounced AY-ver ha-yar-DAYN and means 'beyond the Jordan' — Transjordan, the region of the Decapolis (Matthew 4:25) (Strong's H5676 + H3383).
Places
- Gerasa — גֶּרַשׂ (GEH-rash) — Semitic Garshu; Greek Gerasa; Arabic Jerash
- Decapolis — דֶּקַפּוֹלִיס (deh-ka-PO-lis) — Greek 'ten cities'
Events
Healing of the Gerasene demoniac · Crowds from the Decapolis follow Yeshua
Gerasa (Jerash) of the Decapolis in Scripture
Matthew 8:28 First mention of Gerasa in Scripture.
Mark 5:1 'The country of the Gerasenes' — the reading in most manuscripts of Mark; Gerasa is this city.
Luke 8:26-27 Luke's version of the same episode with the same place-name.
Questions people ask
What is Gerasa (Jerash) of the Decapolis?
A walled city of some 85 hectares with a colonnaded cardo, the unique Oval Plaza, Hadrian's Arch (130 CE), two theatres, a hippodrome, the great sanctuaries of Zeus and Artemis, and over a dozen Byzantine churches — one built over a 4th–5th-century synagogue whose mosaic showed Noah's ark.
When was Gerasa (Jerash) of the Decapolis discovered?
It was found in 1928 by Yale University and the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem, directed by Carl H. Kraeling (1928–1934); later the Jordanian Department of Antiquities and the international Jerash Archaeological Project (1981–); Danish–German Northwest Quarter Project (2011–2016), at Jerash, Jerash governorate, 48 km north of Amman.
Where is Gerasa (Jerash) of the Decapolis today?
In situ; finds in the Jerash Archaeological Museum and Jordan Museum, Amman.
Which Bible verses does Gerasa (Jerash) of the Decapolis relate to?
Matthew 8:28, Mark 5:1, Luke 8:26-27.
Is Gerasa (Jerash) of the Decapolis authentic?
The city and its excavation are undisputed. Whether Mark 5 refers to Gerasa, Gadara or Gergesa is a textual and geographical debate; Gerasa's distance from the lake makes it the least likely setting for the swine episode itself.
Related discoveries
- חֲזִירGadara (Umm Qais): The Country of the GadarenesA Decapolis city on a ridge above the Sea of Galilee, Matthew's setting for the swine miracle
- חֲזִירKursi (Gergesa)Byzantine monastery on the eastern shore marking the miracle of the swine
- נוּסPella of the Decapolis and the Flight of the Jerusalem ChurchThe Jordan valley city to which, Eusebius says, Yeshua's followers fled before 70 CE
- תֵּאַטְרוֹןTheater of CorinthRoman theater beside the Erastus pavement, seat of the city's public life
- קְהִלָּהCuretes Street and the Library of Celsus, EphesusThe marble city Paul walked — with a landmark built a generation after him
Sources
- Kraeling, C. H. (ed.), Gerasa, City of the Decapolis (1938)
- Wikipedia, 'Jerash'
- Danish–German Jerash Northwest Quarter Project