Gadara

A titular see of Palaestina Prima; there were two sees of this name, one in Palaestina Prima, the other in Palaestina Secunda; it is therefore difficult to ascertain to which of the two cities the known bishops belonged ( Le Quien, III, 597). Gadara in Palaestina Secunda is today known as Oum-Keiss, beyond the Jordan, while Gadara in Palaestina Prima, the subject of this article, has not been identified. There was a Gader ( Joshua 12:13 ) whose king was defeated by Josue, a place which is also mentioned in I Par., ii, 51; Jos., xv, 58. It is today called Djédur, half-way between Bethlehem and Hebron. A Gedera (Greek Gadera ) is mentioned as being in the plain of Sephelah ( Joshua 15:36 ; 1 Chronicles 4:23 ) and is today called Khirbet-Djedireh, south-west of Amwas, or rather Qatrah, a village of the plain of Sephelah. Perhaps neither of these cities is our Gadara, and it can hardly be identified, as is often done, with Gazara or Gazer, a well-known Scriptural city, now Tell-Djezer, near Amwas.

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