Decapolis
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The man delivered from the legion proclaims in the Decapolis what Jesus had done.
The Decapolis was a league of Greek-style cities, most of them east of the Jordan: Damascus, Philadelphia, Scythopolis, Gadara and others. Into this Gentile, Greek-speaking world Jesus crossed the lake, and from it crowds came to hear him.
The league of ten Greek cities east of the Jordan where crowds heard Jesus and the healed man bore witness.
- Decapolis
The Decapolis shows how mixed the world around the lake was: Jewish villages on the west shore, Greek cities on the east. The Gospels' crossings of the lake are crossings between cultures.
- Mark 5:20 The man delivered from the legion proclaims in the Decapolis what Jesus had done.
- Matthew 4:25 Crowds follow Jesus from the Decapolis
- Mark 7:31 Jesus passes through the Decapolis on his way back to the lake
What we know
Certain
- The Gospels name the Decapolis as a region of cities, and its leading cities are securely identified.
Disputed
- The exact list of ten cities varies between ancient writers.