Mark 5 Footnotes

5:1 The place of this miracle is somewhat confused in the Greek manuscripts of the NT, with testimony divided among Gerasenes, Gadarenes, and Gergesenes. (The best reconstruction has Mark and Luke naming the region of the Gerasenes, while Matthew has the region of the Gadarenes.) All three places were cities or villages east of the Sea of Galilee. Gerasa was the most important village, but only Gergesa (modern El Kursi) is close enough to the lake and possesses a suitable geography (steep cliffs) to fit the story. It is likely that early in the transmission of this story the name of the lesser-known Gergesa was replaced by the better-known and similarly pronounced Gerasa. Or perhaps Gerasa was an alternative spelling of the name of the village, later confused with the well-known namesake city. Others argue that Gergesa was a village in the territory of Gadara, prompting Matthew to use the regional designation for its inhabitants in his version of the story.