So where was it?

Day 54

OT Reading: Numbers 8-10

NT Reading: Mark 5:1-20

Today we read about the healing of the demoniac, but if you pay attention to details or have someone around who is constantly trying to find errors in the Bible, you may note that this miracle is sometimes reference as the area of the Gerasenes. It sometimes is listed as the area of the Gadarenes. And then it sometimes appears as the area of the Girgasenes. The question is, where did this actually happen? I mean, the exact same episode did not happen in three completely different places that all just happened to begin with a "g" did it?

The answer is actually rather simple, although it is a bit tricky to describe in writing. So let me pose these three scenarios:

1. Imagine that I'm traveling in California and a local asks me where I'm from. My answer would be Indiana which would likely be sufficient, and correct. In this case my address, or even my city would be irrelevant due to the individual's likely unfamiliarity with Indiana.

2. Imagine I'm traveling in northern Indiana and a local asks me where I'm from. The general answer of "Indiana" will not likely be helpful as most of us around are from Indiana. However if I say I live near Evansville, that answer will likely suffice. Based on the average Hoosier's familiarity with the state, that individual would understand that I live somewhere in the southwest portion of the state.

3. Imagine I'm traveling around town in my hometown of Jasper and a fellow Jasper resident asks me where I'm from. The answer "Indiana" would be almost ridiculous, and the reality is that I do not really live near Evansville. However if I said, "not too far from the hospital" that individual would likely have a sufficient answer based on his or her understanding of the area.

Now consider the three options of where in the world this healing actually took place, including the fact that these gospel writers would have been writing for different audiences.

* The tiny town of Girgesa was situated right along the shore of the Sea of Galilee. This is likely where the miracle took place (remember: the pigs ran into the water and drown). However due to its miniscule size, the town would not have been recognized by those in Rome, Athens or Corinth, and some readers in the day would have essentially had no idea where the events happened.

* A people known as the Geresenes inhabited an area to the east of the Jordan and Sea of Galilee with the town of Geresa as their capitol. Geresa, however, was nearly 30 miles southeast of the Sea of Galilee, thereby making it unlikely that Jesus landed and did the miracle there. However considering that the entire region was understood as an area in which the Geresenes lived, it would make sense how someone could say that is where things happened.

* A group of ten Roman cities in the area were known as the Decopolis (literally meaning "ten cities"). One of the prominent of those ten cities was Gadara. Gadara was some distance from the sea, about five miles, but large enough to be recognized by a Roman reader.

if your head is spinning from the "G" names, you're not alone. I'm sure I'm going to come back and realize that I called one of them by the wrong name. But regardless, I hope it makes sense how three different writers may refer to an event in three different places, and there be a reason why.