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 1 Chronicles 2:51; Joshua 15:58. 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.