The narrative is set by the Sea. That's a key point in the story (which may have been moved anywhere, if the Decapolis is admissible.)The narrative is set in the Decapolis a Hellenistic enclave in the region of Palestine.
Andrew Criddle
* Ev 8:26-39
26 Then they arrived at the region of the Gerasenes,[a] which is opposite Galilee. 27 As he stepped out on shore, a man from the city ...
32 Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding, and the demons[d] begged Jesus[e] to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. 33 Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd stampeded down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
34 When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country.
32 Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding, and the demons[d] begged Jesus[e] to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. 33 Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd stampeded down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
34 When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country.
Idem in Mark:
5 They came to the other side of the sea, to the region of the Gerasenes. 2 And when he had stepped out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met him. ... 11 Now there on the hillside a great herd of swine was feeding, 12 and the unclean spirits[c] begged him, “Send us into the swine; let us enter them.” 13 So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine, and the herd, numbering about two thousand, stampeded down the steep bank into the sea and were drowned in the sea.
14 The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country. ... 20 And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone was amazed.
14 The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country. ... 20 And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone was amazed.
Matthew 8:28:
28 And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes,... So they came out and went into the swine; and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and perished in the waters.
The 'region of the Gerasenes' or 'country of the Gadarenes' is saying region/area/country in the broadest sense; testimony in the cities (elsewhere) later is also stated: the cities are NOT 'by the Sea.' The 'cities of the Decapolis' are too far away, but 'Gergesa-Kursi' (near Hippus) might resolve this: the story isn't told that way, however.
There's still no (archeological) proof the indigenous population ate swine, is there? Inconsistencies like this strongly lead me to believe that whoever compiled NT myths really had a poor understanding of place-names, ergo, Not Local. The driving of swine-herds into lakes or seas is a curious detail, but I don't believe it's necessarily Jewish either. Herodotus might suggest something else, altogether.
Statistics: Posted by billd89 — Wed May 08, 2024 8:38 am