And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them. And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan.-Matthew 4:23-25***Decapolis was an area that consisted of 10 cities, 9 of them on the eastern and southeastern side of the Sea of Galilee, and the 10th city, Scythopolis, on the other side of the Jordan River, across from the Promised Land. Canaan, the Promised Land, was inhabited by idolaters when the Lord God promised to give the land to Abraham (Abram the Hebrew), and to Isaac, and to Jacob, and their descendants. Isaac was the only child born to Abraham and Sarah (Sarai). Jacob was the youngest fraternal twin son born to Isaac and Rebekah. When Isaac was elderly and thought he was dying, he told his oldest fraternal twin son Esau (Edom), his favorite child, to kill a particular animal and prepare a meal. When Rebekah heard Isaac's request, she led Jacob, her favorite child, into deceiving Isaac and cheating Esau. Afterwards, Rebekah's words led Isaac to send Jacob to Haran, Padan Aram, in northern Mesopotamia, to the home of Rebekah's family, including Rdbekah's father Bethuel the Syrian (Aramean) and brother Laban the Syrian (Aramean). Seven years after entering Haran, Jacob married Laban's daughters Leah and Rachel. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, and daughter Dinah were born to Jacob and Leah. Dan and Naphatli were born to Jacob and Bilhah, Rachel's maidservant. Gad and Asher were born to Jacob and Zilpah, Leah's maidservant. Sometime after Joseph was born to Jacob and Rachel, Jacob began preparing to journey to Canaan with his family and possessions. In Canaan, when they were near Bethlehem, Benjamin was born to Jacob and Rachel, and Rachel died. When Joseph was at least 17 years old, his brothers sold him to merchants traveling to Egypt and led Jacob to believe that Joseph was killed by an animal. When Joseph was 30 years old, Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, proclaimed Jacob to be second-in-command in Egypt. When Jacob 130 years old, he moved from with his family from Canaan to Egypt. When Jacob was 147 years old, he died in Egypt and his family buried his body in Canaan. Sometime after 110-year-old Joseph and his siblings were dead, their descendants the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt. Miriam and her younger brothers Aaron and Moses were from the tribe of Levi. When Moses was 80 years old, and Aaron was 83, the Lord God sent them to speak to Pharaoh and to the Israelite elders. After the Lord God brought the 10th and final plague upon Pharaoh and Egypt, Moses and Aaron led the Israelites, and those with them, away from Egypt, across the divinely parted Red Sea, and into the desert wilderness of Shur. During the 40-year journey to the Promised Land, Miriam died and was buried in Kadesh, in the desert wilderness of Zin. Upon Mount Hor, 123-year-old Aaron died. When Moses went upon Mount Nebo, the Lord God showed Moses the Promised Land, and 120-year-old Moses died and was divinely buried. Over 300 years after Joshua, Moses's successor, led the Israelites across the divinely parted Jordan River and onto the Promised Land, Saul, from the tribe of Benjamin, became the 1st king to rule over the Israelites. At least twice, Saul did not obey the commands of the Lord God. While Saul reigned, the Lord God sent Samuel, the priest, prophet and judge from the tribe of Levi, to anoint David to reign as king. When David was 30 years old, he began to reign only over the tribe of Judah, the tribe of his birth. When David was 37 1/2 years old, he became the 2nd king to reign over all of the Israelites. Solomon, the 2nd child born to David and Bathsheba, was the 3rd king to reign. Rehoboam, the son born to Solomon and Naamah, was the 4th king to reign over all of the Israelites. After Rehoboam gave a specific answer, the Israelites split into 2 kingdoms, according to the will of the Lord God, due to the idolatry and other wickedness of Solomon. Judah was the nation in the south and consisted of the tribe of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin. Jerusalem was the royal city and Rehoboam was the 1st king to reign. Israel was the northern nation and consisted of the other Israelite tribes. Samaria was the final royal city and Jeroboam, the son born to Nebat and Zeruah, was the 1st king to reign. Galilee was in the northern nation, in the portion of the Promised Land allotted to the tribe of Naphtali. Galilee became known as Galilee of the nations and Galilee of the Gentiles and was inhabited by Israelites and people who were not born into the Israelite tribes. The divinely inspired Scriptures of the Holy Bible reveal that David and the kings in both nations fought against the Syrians (Arameans). King Hoshea was the 19th king to rule over all of the Israelites in the northern nation of Israel. During the 9th year of Hoshea's reign, the Assyrians conquered Samaria, according to the will of the Lord God, due to the idolatry and other wickedness of the Israelites Less than 140 years after Samaria was conquered, Rehoboam's great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson Zedekiah (Mattaniah) became the 19th king to rule Judah. During the 11th year of Zedekiah's reign, the Babylonians (Chaldeans) conquered Jerusalem, according to the will of the Lord God, due to the idolatry and other wickedness of the Israelites. Over 500 years after Israelites began returning to Judah and Jerusalem, Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, was born. Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary, a virgin, and Jesus was born in Bethlehem, nearly 6 miles from Jerusalem, into the tribe of Judah, the tribe of Judah's kings, to Mary and her husband Joseph when Mary was a virgin. Approximately 30 years after Jesus was born to Joseph and Mary, Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River by Mary's relative John the Baptist, from the tribe of Levi. Jesus having prayed, the heavens tearing open, the Holy Spirit descended as a dove and lit upon Jesus. The Lord God in heaven audibly acknowledged his Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert wilderness. Jesus fasted 40 days and nights and was tempted. Afterwards, Jesus was tended to by angels, and Jesus went to the area near John the Baptist, and John the Baptist proclaimed Jesus to be the Lamb of God taking away the sin of the world. In Galilee, Jesus told specific Israelite men to follow him, and Jesus began to teach, preach and perform miracles among the Israelites, the treasured and chosen people of the Lord God. Jesus spoke about the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God. Before Jesus was born to Joseph and Mary, and after Jesus was betrayed, arrested, crucified, buried in a tomb, resurrected, seen by over 500 people, and returned to heaven less than 3 1/2 years after he was baptized, the Roman Empire was ruling the land whereupon the kingdoms of the Israelites previously stood.-Genesis 11:26-50:26, Exodus, Numbers 13:1-14:45, 20:1-29, 26:1-27:23, Deuteronomy 31:1-34:12, Joshua 1:1-4:24, 23:1-24:33, Judges 1:1-2:23, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts 1:1-26, 6:1-8:4
Reference Information:
Decapolis = Dekapoleos/Dekapolis = a group or district of ten cities in Syria
divers = poikilais/poikilos = diverse, various
Reference Scripture:
After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias.-John 6:1
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