Matthew 8:28

“And when he was come to the other side, etc.] Of the lake, or sea of Tiberias, right over against Galilee, into the country of Gergesenes, the same with the Girgashites, (<011521>Genesis 15:21 <050701>Deuteronomy 7:1 <060310>Joshua 3:10) whom Joshua drove out of the land of Canaan; and who, as a Jewish writer f521 says, left their country to the Israelites, and went to a country, which is called to this day, ˆajsygrwg, “Gurgestan”, of which these people were some remains: both in (<410501>Mark 5:1; <420826>Luke 8:26) it is called “the country of the Gadarenes”; and so the Syriac and Persic versions read it here; which is easily reconciled by observing, not that Gergesa and Gadara were one…”

“The same account of the demoniacs substantially is found in Mark 5:1-20, and Luke 8:26-38. Matthew 8:28 The other side - The other side of the Sea of Tiberias. Country of the Gergesenes - Mark Mark 5:1 says that he came into the country of the “Gadarenes.” This difference is only apparent. “Gadara” was a city not far from the Lake Gennesareth, one of the ten cities that were called “Decapolis.” See the notes at Matthew 4:25. “Gergesa” was a city about 12 miles to the southeast of Gadara, and about 20 miles to the east of the Jordan. There is no contradiction, therefore, in the evangelists. He came into the region in which the two cities were situated, and one evangelist mentioned one, and…”

“The country of the Gergesenes - Or of the Gadarenes - Gergesa and Gadara were towns near each other. Hence the country between them took its name, sometimes from the one, sometimes from the other. There met him two demoniacs - St. Mark and St. Luke mention only one, who was probably the fiercer of the two, and the person who spoke to our Lord first. But this is no way inconsistent with the account which St. Matthew gives. The tombs - Doubtless those malevolent spirits love such tokens of death and destruction. Tombs were usually in those days in desert places, at a distance from towns, and were often made in the sides of caves, in the rocks and mountains. No one could pass - Safely. Mar 5:1;…”

“8:28-34 This episode focuses on Jesus’ authority as well as on the cost of following him; those who walk by faith will, like the Messiah, also experience opposition. 8:28 possessed by demons . . . so violent: Demon-possession was often accompanied by violence, revulsion at the presence of the Son of God (8:29), inability to speak (9:32; 12:22), blindness (12:22), seizures (17:15), and self-destructive behavior (17:15). With Jesus’ exorcisms, the power of the Kingdom broke into human history (12:28).”

“when: Mark 5:1-20; Luk 8:26-39; Act 10:38 Gergesenes: Some are of opinion that Gergasa was the country of the ancient Girgashites; but it is more probable the Gergesenes was introduced by Origen upon mere conjecture; as before him most copies seem to have read Gadarenes, agreeable to the Parallel Passages and the ancient Syriac version. Gadara, says Josephus, was the metropolis of Peraea, or the region beyond Jordan; and he also observes that it was sixty furlongs, or about eight miles from Tiberias. It is therefore rightly placed opposite Tiberias, at the southeast end of the lake. Pliny says it was called Hippodion, was one of the cities of Decapolis, and had the river Hieromax, or…”