Attributed commentary excerpt
John Gill's Exposition on Matthew 8:28
A historical reference excerpt for this verse. Read it alongside the biblical text and other available sources.
Exposition of the Old and New Testament
John Gill (1697–1771) · 18th-century historical commentary
Source: BibleWord.ai's local reference edition of this named work.
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 and the same city, called by different names; but that these two cities were near each other, in the same country, which was sometimes denominated from the one, and sometimes from the other. Origen f522 has a remarkable passage, showing the different situations of Gadara and Gergesa; and that the latter cannot be Gerasa in Arabia; and also the signification of the name, for the sake of which, I shall transcribe it. “Gerasa (says he) is a city of Arabia, having neither sea nor lake near it; wherefore the evangelists, who well knew the countries about Judea, would never have said so manifest an untruth: and as to what we find in some few copies, “into the country of the Gadarenes”, it must be said, that Gadara indeed was a city of Judea, about which were many famous baths; but there was no lake, or sea in it, adjacent with precipices; but Gergesa, from whence were the Gergasenes, is an ancient city about the lake; now called Tiberias; about which is a precipice adjacent to the lake, from whence is shown, that the swine were cast down by the devils. Gergesa is interpreted, paroikia ekbeblhkotwn, “the habitation of those that cast out”; being called so perhaps prophetically, for what the inhabitants of those places did to the Saviour, beseeching him to depart out of their coasts.” Dr. Lightfoot suggests, that this place might be so called, from atçgrg, which signifies “clay” or “dirt”, and mentions Lutetia for an example. But to pass this, as soon as Christ was got out of the ship, and come to land in this country, there met him two possessed with devils. Both Mark and Luke mention but one, which is no contradiction to Matthew; for they do not say that there was only one; and perhaps the reason why they only take notice of him is, because he was the fiercest, had a legion of devils in him, and was the principal one, that spake to Christ, and with whom he was chiefly concerned. This is to be understood, not of any natural disease of body, but of real possession by Satan. These possessed men met him, not purposely, or with design, but accidentally to them, and unawares to Satan too; for though he knows much, he is not omniscient: had he been aware of Christ’s coming that way, and what he was about to do, he would have took care to have had the possessed out of the way; but so it was ordered by providence, that just as Christ landed, these should be coming out of the tombs. Their coemeteria, or burying places, were at some distance from towns or cities; wherefore Luke says, the possessed met him “out of the city”, a good way off from it; for the Jews f523 say, ry[l ˆykwms twrbqh ytb wyh alç, “that the sepulchres were not near a city”; (see <420712>Luke 7:12) and these tombs were built so large, that persons might go into them, and sit and dwell in them, as…
This public page shows a contextual excerpt from the locally available source text.
How to use this source
This excerpt is attributed to its named commentary. It is included as a historical study resource and should be evaluated in light of Scripture and other relevant evidence.
