And they came over unto the other side of the sea Of Galilee, or Tiberias; into the country of the Gadarenes: in the Evangelist Matthew it is called, “the country of the Gergesenes”, as it is here in the Arabic and Ethiopic versions.

And when he was come out of the ship As soon as he was landed, immediately there met him out of the tombs, a man with an unclean spirit. The Jews have a notion, that a man by dwelling among the tombs, becomes possessed with an unclean spirit: hence they say of one that seeks to the dead, or a…

Who had his dwelling among the tombs Which is one of the characters of a madman among the Jews; who say it is [[15]] “the sign of a madman, that he goeth out in the night, (הקברות) (והלן בבית) , “and lodges among the tombs”, and rends his garments, and loses what is given to him.” The same they…

Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains Trial had been made several times, to no purpose; his arms had been bound with chains, and his feet with fetters, which was very proper to prevent doing hurt to himself, and injury to others: and the chains had been plucked asunder by…

And always night and day, he was in the mountains And this being in an Heathen country, would have rendered him an unclean person, if he had not been possessed with an unclean spirit; for so runs one of the Jewish canons [[17]]: “he that walks in an Heathen land, on mountains and rocks, is…

But when he saw Jesus afar off For it seems the tombs among which this man dwelt, were at some distance from the sea shore: wherefore when it is said, , that this man met Jesus, as soon as he came out of the ship: the meaning that he then came forth to meet him, as he might do upon sight of persons…

And cried with a loud voice The man possessed with the devil; or the devil in him, making use of his voice, expressing great fear, dread, and horror, at the appearance of Christ in these parts: and said, what have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? The devils in the man, own…

For he said unto him Or he had said unto him, as soon as he came up to him, and fell before him; even before he had confessed, and adjured him; and which indeed drew out the confession from him, that he was superior to him, and therefore became his supplicant: come out of the man, thou unclean…

And he asked him, what is thy name? &c.] Which question Christ put, not for his own sake; for he was not ignorant of his name, nor of the number of the unclean spirits which were in the man; but partly, that it might be known what a miserable condition this poor man was in, being infested, and…

And he besought him much The devil that was at the head of this legion, who had the rest under his command, he, in their name, and on their behalf, entreated Jesus with great earnestness.

Now there was there, nigh unto the mountains Where this man often was, according to Beza, the mountains of Galaad, which ran through that country, or the mountains that surrounded Tiberias. Some copies, as the Alexandrian copy and others, read “at”, or “about the mountain”, in the singular number.

And all the devils besought him The whole legion of them, not only their chief, in the name of the rest, but all of them earnestly entreated him; they were all humble supplicants, not from love, but fear, and with a view to do mischief: though the word “all” is omitted in some copies, as it is in…

And forthwith Jesus gave them leave For the reason of this (See Gill on Matt. 8:32). and the unclean spirits went out; of the man, in whom they had for some time dwelt: and entered into the herd of swine; according to the leave given them by Christ: this shows not only the existence of spirits, but…

And they that fed the swine Not the owners, but the keepers of them, the swine herds, “fled”; being astonished at the power of Christ, affrighted at the noise of the devils, and terrified at the sight and loss of the swine: and told it in the city and country; or “in the fields”: they went into the…

And they come to Jesus Who had wrought this miracle, and of which, and whom, the keepers of the swine had given them some account: and see him that was possessed of the devil, and had a legion.

And they that saw it Not the keepers of the swine, for they were fled and gone; but others that were eyewitnesses of the whole affair, who lived in houses hard by, or were working in the fields; or the disciples of Christ: told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil; gave a…

And they began to pray him That is, the inhabitants of the city of Gadara, and of the villages round about, very earnestly importuned him to depart out of their coasts; fearing, lest for their sins, some sorer judgment should fall upon them, than the loss of their swine; since they perceived he was…

And When he was come into the ship For at the request of these men, who were unworthy of his presence, and of any favour from him, either by his doctrine, or miracles, he turned back to the sea side again; and as he was about to take ship, he that had been possessed with the devil, prayed him that…

Howbeit Jesus suffered him not He being as able to preserve him from those evil spirits, when absent, as present; and besides, to take him along with him, would look like ostentation and boasting, which Christ was averse unto; and more especially, as is clear from what follows, he chose he should…

And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis He submitted to the will of Christ, though he could gladly have gone with him; he hearkened to his instructions, took his advice, and obeyed his commands, as every one that has received favours from him ought to do and he went not only to his own,…

And when Jesus was passed over again Over the sea of Tiberias, that part of it which was necessary to go over from the country of Gadara, to Capernaum, by ship, or “boat”, unto the other side.

And behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue Having heard of his return, and where he was; (See Gill on Matt. 9:18). Jairus by name; in Hebrew (יאיר) , “Jair”: and Jerom says [[12]], it signifies “enlightening”, or “enlightened”: deriving it from (אור) , “to be light”: and it is no…

And besought him greatly Used much importunity with him, and was very urgent in his requests: saying, my little daughter lieth at the point of death, or “is in the last extremity”; just breathing out her last; for she was not actually dead when he left her, though she was before he returned, and…

And Jesus went with him Immediately without objecting to the weakness of his faith: and much people followed him; to see the miracle performed, which they were exceedingly fond of: and thronged him; so that it was with some difficulty and trouble that he passed along the streets to: the ruler’s…

And a certain woman which had an issue of blood twelve years.] (See Gill on Matt. 9:20). This woman was in the crowd that thronged Jesus, as he passed through the streets of Capernaum.

And had suffered many things of many physicians She took many a nauseous medicine, and had gone through courses of physic with different physicians; for there were many among the Jews that pretended to the cure of fluxes; and various are the prescriptions the Jewish doctors give for such a…

When she had heard of Jesus Of the many miracles he had wrought, and cures he had performed, in cases as difficult and desperate as hers, or more so; and that he was now passing along the streets, came in the press behind; though she was so weak, and much enfeebled, as she must needs be, by such,…

For she said Within herself, such were her thoughts, and so great her faith: if I may touch but his clothes I shall be whole; (See Gill on Matt. 9:21).

And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up, &c.] It was usual with the Jews to call the womb, in which the child is formed, (מקור) , “a fountain” [[17]]; and because, from hence, issued the blood in a menstruous and profluvious person, they called it, as here, (מקור דמיה) , “the…

And Jesus immediately knowing in himself As soon as ever the woman had touched his garments, and had a cure, Christ, who knew all things in his Spirit, or divine nature, that dwelt in him, knew what was done, that the woman had touched him, and was healed thereby; though, as not without his…

And his disciples said unto him Peter, and they that were with him; after the crowd that were about him denied that any of them had touched him; see , thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou who touched me? They seem astonished at his question, and answer with some degree of…

And he looked round about The press and throng of people, on every side of him; though he knew very well where she stood, who had done the thing, and had received the cure: to see her that had done this thing; how she looked, and whether her countenance, and the confusion she was thrown into by the…

But the woman fearing and trembling Lest she should be reproved, and suffer the penalties of the law, for appearing in public during the time of her uncleanness, , or that Christ was displeased with her, for her taking an improper method to obtain her cure; or lest he should recall it, or was angry…

And he said unto her, daughter Instead of reproving her, or showing any anger, or resentment at her, as she feared, he speaks to her in a very soft, kind, and tender manner, and called her “daughter”, which was not only an expression of affection and civility, this being an affable, courteous way…

While he yet spake The above things to the poor woman, in commendation of her faith, and for her future encouragement, peace, and comfort in soul and body: there came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house certain that said.

As soon as Jesus had heard the word that was spoken By those that came from the ruler’s house; as that his daughter was dead, and it was to no purpose to give him any further trouble, since all hope of recovery was now gone: he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue; who was overwhelmed with…

And he suffered no man to follow him To the house of the ruler, but dismissed the multitude, being not desirous of the honour and applause of men: probably what he said to the ruler, was privately, and with a low voice, so that the multitude did not hear him; and understanding by the messengers…

And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, &c.] Along with him, and the three disciples above mentioned; and the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic, and Persic versions read, “and they came”, the above persons: and seeing the tumult; the throng and crowd of people, of relations, friends,…

And when he was come in Into the house, within doors, into one of the apartments, and where the company of mourners, and the pipers, and mourning women were, singing and saying their doleful ditties: he saith unto them, why make ye this ado and weep? why all this tumult and noise? this grief and…

And they laughed him to scorn The servants of the house that had laid her out; and the neighbours and relations that were come in on this occasion, and had satisfied themselves that she was dead; and the players on the pipe and flute, with the mourning women, who got their livelihood this way; (See…

And he took the damsel by the hand (See Gill on Matt. 9:25). And said unto her; in the Syriac language, which was then commonly spoken by the Jews, and well understood: hence the Syriac version expresses the following words without an interpretation, Talitha Cumi.

And straightway the damsel arose, and walked As soon as ever the above words were pronounced by Christ, such divine power went along with them, that the child returned to life; and raised herself up from the bed, got off of it, and walked about the room in perfect health and strength: for she was…

And he charged them straitly that no man should know it, &c.] From them, immediately, and whilst he was upon the spot; for that the thing could be long concealed, it was not reasonable to suppose: this charge he gave, to show his dislike of ostentation and popular applause, and to avoid the envy of…