Gadara

From the Catholic Encyclopedia

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 to-day 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 (Jos., xii, 13) whose king was defeated by Josue, a place which is also mentioned in I Par., ii, 51; Jos., xv, 58. It is to-day called Djédur, half-way between Bethlehem and Hebron. A Gedera (Greek Gadera) is mentioned as being in the plain of Sephelah (Jos., xv, 36; I Par., iv, 23) and is to-day 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.

S. VAILHÉ