Bible Encyclopedia: Decapolis

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International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

DECAPOLIS

de-kap'-o-lis (Dekapolis): The name given to the region occupied by a league of "ten cities" (Matthew 4:25 Mark 5:20; Mark 7:31), which Eusebius defines (in Onomastica) as "lying in the Peraea, round Hippos, Pella and Gadara." Such combinations of Greek cities arose as Rome assumed dominion in the East, to promote their common interests in trade and commerce, and for mutual protection against the peoples surrounding them.

This particular league seems to have been constituted about the time of Pompey's campaign in Syria, 65 B.C., by which several cities in Decapolis dated their eras. They were independent of the local tetrarchy, and answerable directly to the governor of Syria. They enjoyed the rights of association and asylum; they struck their own coinage, paid imperial taxes and were liable to military service (Ant., XIV, iv, 4; BJ, I, vii, 7; II, xviii, 3; III, ix, 7; Vita, 65, 74). Of the ten cities, Scythopolis, the ancient Bethshean, alone, the capital of the league, was on the West side of Jordan. The names given by Pliny (NH, v.18) are Scythopolis (Beisan), Hippos (Susiyeh), Gadara (Umm Qeis), Pella (Fahil), Philadelphia (`Amman), Gerasa (Jerash), Dion (Adun?), Canatha (Qanawat), Damascus and Raphana. The last named is not identified, and Dion is uncertain. Other cities joined the league, and Ptolemy, who omits Raphans, gives a list of 18. The Greek inhabitants were never on good terms with the Jews; and the herd of swine (Mark 5:11) indicates contempt for what was probably regarded as Jewish prejudice. The ruins still seen at Gadara, but especially at Kanawat (see KENATH) and Jerash, of temples, theaters and other public buildings, attest the splendor of these cities in their day.

W. Ewing

Greek

1179. Dekapolis -- Decapolis, a region East of the Jordan
... Decapolis, a region East of the Jordan. Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration:
Dekapolis Phonetic Spelling: (dek-ap'-ol-is) Short Definition: Decapolis ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1179.htm - 6k

1046. Gadarenos -- of Gadara, Gadarene
... nos') Short Definition: Gadarene, belonging to Gadara Definition: Gadarene, belonging
to Gadara (an important Hellenized town, one of the Decapolis, and south ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1046.htm - 6k

Library

Christ's Curate in Decapolis
... Christ's Curate In Decapolis. A Sermon ... And he departed, and began to publish in
Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel. ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 38 1892/christs curate in decapolis.htm

The True Sign
... "Again He went out from the borders of Tyre, and came through Sidon unto the Sea
of Galilee, through the midst of the borders of Decapolis." Mark 7:31, RV. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/white/the desire of ages/chapter 44 the true sign.htm

The Story of the Baptist, from his Last Testimony to Jesus to his ...
... we should pass from the possessions of Herod to those of the Tetrarch Philip, or
else come upon the territory of the Ten Cities,' or Decapolis, a kind of ...
/.../the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter xxviii the story of.htm

Jesus Makes a Preaching Tour through Galilee.
... doubt, intensified the erroneous notion of his disciples that the kingdom of Jesus
was to be one of worldly grandeur] from Galilee and Decapolis [Decapolis is ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/xxxiii jesus makes a preaching.htm

The Feeding of the Four Thousand - to Dalmanutha - the Sign from ...
... [3590] But now at the second provision for the four thousand, with which His Decapolis
Ministry closed, the guests were not strictly Jews, but semi-Gentile ...
/.../the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter xxxvi the feeding of.htm

And Now I am Come to this Part of My Narration...
... governor of Galilee by the community of Jerusalem, both thou and all the people
of Tiberias had not only taken up arms, but had made war with Decapolis of Syria ...
/.../josephus/the life of flavius josephus/section 65 and now i.htm

A Group of Miracles among a Semi-Heathen Population
... Thence He continued through the midst of the borders of Decapolis,' till He once
more reached the eastern, or south-eastern, shore of the Lake of Galilee. ...
/.../edersheim/the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter xxxiv a group of.htm

The Deaf Stammerer Healed and Four Thousand Fed.
... the blind seeing: and they glorified the God of Israel [The people whom Jesus healed
were Jews, but daily intercourse with the heathen of Decapolis had tended ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/lxix the deaf stammerer healed.htm

The Christian Sabbath --Peter's Confession of Faith.
... understand Him. Jesus was near the end of His ministry to the people east
of the Jordan in the country called Decapolis. They were ...
/.../lathbury/childs story of the bible/chapter xxvi the christian sabbathpeters.htm

The Men of Gadara
... And he went his way, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus
had done for him: and all men did marvel." Mark 5:14-20 (RV) ...
/.../chadwick/the gospel of st mark/chapter 5 14-20 the men of.htm

Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary

Decapolis

containing ten cities

ATS Bible Dictionary

Decapolis

(From the Greek words, deka, ten, and polis, a city,) a country in Palestine, which contained ten principal cities, on both of the Jordan, chiefly east, Matthew 4:25; Mark 5:20; 7:31. According to Pliny, they were, Scythopolis, Philadelphia, Raphanae, Gadara, Hippos, Dios, Pella, Gerasa, Canatha, and Damascus. Josephus inserts Otopos instead of Canatha. Though within the limits of Israel, the Decapolis was inhabited by many foreigners, and hence it retained a foreign appellation. This may also account for the numerous herds of swine kept in the district, Matthew 8:30; a practice which was forbidden by the Mosaic Law.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

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 (Matthew 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."

Thesaurus

Decapolis (3 Occurrences)
... conquered Syria (BC 65) they rebuilt, and endowed with certain privileges, these
"ten cities," and the province connected with them they called "Decapolis.". ...
/d/decapolis.htm - 10k

Decap'olis (3 Occurrences)
... Decapolis, Decap'olis. Decay . ... Mark 5:20 and he went away, and began to proclaim
in the Decapolis how great things Jesus did to him, and all were wondering. ...
/d/decap'olis.htm - 7k

Region (96 Occurrences)
... RSV). Matthew 4:25 Great multitudes from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem,
Judea and from beyond the Jordan followed him. (See NIV). ...
/r/region.htm - 34k

Departed (270 Occurrences)
... (WEB KJV ASV WBS). Mark 5:20 And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis
how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel. (KJV WEY WBS). ...
/d/departed.htm - 34k

Decalogue

/d/decalogue.htm - 8k

Judea (50 Occurrences)
... (WEB WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV). Matthew 4:25 Great multitudes from Galilee, Decapolis,
Jerusalem, Judea and from beyond the Jordan followed him. ...
/j/judea.htm - 22k

Large (235 Occurrences)
... WEY). Matthew 4:25 Great multitudes from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea
and from beyond the Jordan followed him. (See NAS NIV). ...
/l/large.htm - 34k

Gerasa
... 2. History: The great and splendid city in the Decapolis is first mentioned as taken
after a siege by Alexander Janneus, 85 BC (BJ, I, iv, 8). Josephus names ...
/g/gerasa.htm - 10k

Gerasenes (3 Occurrences)
... 2. History: The great and splendid city in the Decapolis is first mentioned as taken
after a siege by Alexander Janneus, 85 BC (BJ, I, iv, 8). Josephus names ...
/g/gerasenes.htm - 11k

Wondered (45 Occurrences)
... (DBY RSV). Mark 5:20 And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how
great things Jesus had done for him; and all wondered. (DBY WBS). ...
/w/wondered.htm - 19k

Bible Concordance

Decapolis (3 Occurrences)

Matthew 4:25 Great multitudes from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and from beyond the Jordan followed him.
(WEB KJV ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Mark 5:20 He went his way, and began to proclaim in Decapolis how Jesus had done great things for him, and everyone marveled.
(WEB KJV ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Mark 7:31 Again he departed from the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and came to the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the region of Decapolis.
(WEB KJV ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Subtopics

Decapolis

Decapolis: Ten Cities Situated in One District on the East of the Sea of Galilee

Related Terms

Decap'olis (3 Occurrences)

Region (96 Occurrences)

Departed (270 Occurrences)

Decalogue

Judea (50 Occurrences)

Large (235 Occurrences)

Gerasa

Gerasenes (3 Occurrences)