Mark 5:1 - Exposition

And they came to the other side of the sea . The other side of the sea would be the south-east side of the sea. Into the country of the Gadarenes , or rather, Gerasenes , which is now generally admitted to be the true reading, from Gerasa, Gersa, or Kersa. There was another Gerasa, situated at some distance from the sea, on the borders of Arabia Petraea. The ruins of the Gerasa, here referred to, have been recently discovered by Dr. Thomson, ('The Land and the Book'). Immediately over this spot is a lofty mountain, in which are ancient tombs; and from this mountain there is an almost perpendicular declivity, literally ( κρημνός ) corresponding accurately to what is required by the description in the narrative of the miracle. Dr. Farrar ('Life of Christ') says that in the days of Eusebius and Jerome, tradition pointed to a " steep place" near " Gerasa " as the scene of the miracle. The foot of this steep is washed by the waters of the lake, which are at once very deep.