The nobleman's son (Jn. iv. 46-54). Is this a doublet of Mt. viii. 5-13; Lk. vii. 2-10? John differs from synoptics in the time, the place, the disease, the suppliant, his plea, and Jesus' attitude. Matthew and Mark differ from each other concerning the bearers of the centurion's messages to Jesus. John's account is similar to synoptic superficially, but is probably not a doublet. Compare Syro-Phœnician's daughter (Mk. vii. 29f.). See GilbertLJ 202; Meyer on John iv. 51-54; Plummer on Luke vii. 10. WeissLX II. 45-51 identifies. Read SandayHastBD II. 613.
III and IV
The Ministry in Galilee
Read SandayHastBD II. 613-630; GilbertLJ 180-283. Consult WeissLX II. 44 to III. 153; EdersLJM I. 472 to II. 125; BeysLJ II. 140-147,168-294. See AndLOL 209-363 for discussion of details, and KeimJN III. 10 to IV. 346 for an illuminating, though not unprejudiced, topical treatment.
Geographical notes. Capernaum. The site is not clearly identified, two ruins on the NW of Sea of Galilee are rival claimants,--Tell Hum and Khan Minyeh. Tell Hum is advocated by Thomson, Land and Book, Central Pal. and Phœnicia (1882), 416-420; Khan Minyeh, by SmithHGHL 456, EnBib I. 696 ff. Latter is probably correct. See AndLOL 224-237. Bethsaida. The full name is Bethsaida Julias, located at entrance of Jordan into the Sea of Galilee. SmithEnBib I. 565f., SmithHGHL 457f., shows that there is no need of the hypothesis of a second Bethsaida to meet the statement in Mk. vi. 45, or that in Jn. i. 44. See also AndLOL 230-236. Ewing HastBD I. 282f. renews the argument for two Bethsaidas. Chorazin was probably the modern Kerazeh, about one mile N of Tell Hum, and back from the lake. See SmithEnBib I. 751; SmithHGHL 456; AndLOL 237f.
The mountain of the sermon on the mount (Mt. v. 1; Lk. vi. 12) probably refers to the Galilean highlands as distinct from the shore of the lake. More definite location is not possible. See AndLOL 268f.; EdersLJM I. 524. The traditional site, the Horns of Hattin, is a hill lying about seven miles SW from Khan Minyeh, which has near the top a level place (Lk. vi. 17) flanked by two low peaks or "horns."
The country of the Gerasenes, Gadarenes, or Gergesenes. Gadarenes is the best attested reading in Mt. viii. 28, Gerasenes in Mk. v. 1 and Lk. viii. 26; Gergesenes has only secondary attestation. Gadara is identified with Um Keis on the Yarmuk, some six miles SE of the Sea of Galilee. This cannot have been the site of the miracle, though it is possible that Gadara may have controlled the country round about, including the shores of the sea. Gerasa is the name of a city in the highlands of Gilead, twenty miles E of Jordan, and thirty-five SE of the Sea of Galilee, and it clearly cannot have been the scene of the miracle. Near the E shore of the sea Thomson discovered the ruins of a village which now bears the name Khersa. The formation of the land in the neighborhood closely suits the narrative of the gospels. This is now accepted as the true identification. See Thomson Land and Book, Central Palestine, 353-355; SBD2 1097-1100; HastBD II. 159f.; AndLOL 296-300. The name "Gadarenes" may indicate that Gadara had jurisdiction over the region of Khersa; the names "Gerasenes" and "Gergesenes" may be derived directly and independently from Khersa, or may be corruptions due to the obscurity of Khersa.
The feeding of the five thousand took place on the E of the sea, in a desert region, abundant in grass, and mountainous, and located in the neighborhood of a place named Bethsaida. Near the ruins of Bethsaida Julias is a plain called now Butaiha, "a smooth, grassy place near the sea and the mountains," which meets the requirements of the narrative. See AndLOL 322f.
The return of Jesus from the regions of Tyre "through Sidon" (Mk. vii. 31) avoided Galilee, crossing N of Galilee to the territory of Philip and "the Decapolis." This latter name applies to a group of free Greek cities, situated for the most part E of the Jordan. Most of the cities of the group were farther S than the Sea of Galilee; some, however, were E and NE of that sea, hence Jesus' approach from Cæsarea Philippi or Damascus could be described as "through Decapolis." See SmithHGHL 593-608; En Bib I. 1051 ff.; SchürerJPTX II. i. 94-121.
Of Magadan (Mt. xv. 39) or Dalmanutha (Mk. viii. 10) all that is known is that they must have been on the W coast of the Sea of Galilee. They have never been identified, though there are many conjectures. See SBD2, HastBD, and En Bib.