GREEK · G1179
Δεκάπολις
Dekapolis — Decapolis
Δεκά-πολις, -εως, ὴ Decapolis, a region east of the Jordan containing ten cities: Mat.4:25, Mrk.5:20 7:31.† (AS)
3 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →BIBLE DICTIONARY + WORD STUDY
Decapolis
Original Hebrew / Aramaic / Greek connected to this term
How to read this: there is rarely one magic “true meaning” hidden behind an English word. A lexicon records a word’s semantic range. The intended meaning is narrowed by grammar, sentence, author, historical usage and context.
GREEK · G1086
Γερασηνός
Gerasēnos — Gerasene
Γεργασηνός, -ή, -όν, Gerasene, of Gerasa, not the G. of Decapolis, 30 m. S.E. of the Lake, but a Gerasa or Gergesa (perh. the mod. Kersa) on E. shore; as subst., pl. οἱ Γ., Mrk.5:1, Luk.8:26, 37 (Γεργεσηνῶν, RV, mg. 1; Γαδαρηνῶν, RV, mg. 2).† (AS)
3 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →Historical dictionary entry
Ten cities=deka, ten, and polis, a city, a district on the east and south-east of the Sea of Galilee containing “ten cities,” which were chiefly inhabited by Greeks. It included a portion of Bashan and Gilead, and is mentioned three times in the New Testament (Matt. 4:25; Mark 5:20; 7:31). These cities were Scythopolis, i.e., “city of the Scythians”, (ancient Bethshean, the only one of the ten cities on the west of Jordan), Hippos, Gadara, Pella (to which the Christians fled just before the destruction of Jerusalem), Philadelphia (ancient Rabbath-ammon), Gerasa, Dion, Canatha, Raphana, and Damascus. When the Romans conquered Syria (B.C. 65) they rebuilt, and endowed with certain privileges, these “ten cities,” and the province connected with them they called “Decapolis.”
Scripture references
Source: Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897). Historical dictionary wording reflects the scholarship and language of its era.