answersLogoWhite

0


Best Answer

Another Answer from our community:

There are no geographic errors in the Gospel of Mark. There are a number of alleged errors, which, when objectively examined, are found to demonstrate an accurate knowledge of local geography on the part of the author of Mark.

Firstly, in relation to the weather on the Sea. It is indeed prone to sudden and violent storms with dangerous winds accompanying. One such event occured in 1992 with waves 10 feet high which caused damage to the town of Tiberias. This is due to a number of factors. These are the fact that it is 680 feet below sea level. The sea is relatively warm, producing warm moist air which interacts with cool dry air on the mountains to the North and East. Large temperature and pressure changes are caused by the difference in height from the Lake and the mountains around, including the well known Golan Heights. Strong winds funnel through the hills as they descend to the 'sea.' When these different air masses mix they can result in sudden and violent storms with danger to any small craft caught on the sea.

Another important factor is the shallowness of the Lake which results in waves being more easily formed than in deeper water. Lake Erie, although much larger also has a similar 200 feet maximum depth and is also known as being prone to violent and dangerous waves whipped up by wind. This is because the wind energy is dissipated by the deeper water but it is not able to be absorbed or lessened by shallower water.

Thus the disciples, who knew of these violent storms and winds, were suitably terrified when they were caught out on the lake in one. Mark, in keeping with his normal style shows all the action and describes the storm in detail for his Roman readers, not likely to be familiar with the local geography. In contrast, Matthew, for example, would hardly bother to describe something so well known to his Jewish audience and so he has less detail.

"Due to its low-lying position in the rift valley, surrounded by hills, the sea is prone to sudden violent storms; hence the New Testament story about Jesus calming the storm." Source:Wikipedia 'Sea of Galilee.'

Interestingly, the Wikipedia article, including the mention of the storms, as quoted above, is mentioned in at least one tourist Web Site. This is hardly likely if it doesn't happen. What tourist operator in their right mind, would wish to put off potential clients?

Another tourist site said this:

Galilee (Sea of)Also known as the Lake of Gennesaret, Lake Tiberias and Lake Kinneret.

A comparatively small lake, fed by the River Jordan and lying 600 feet below sea level, where violent storms rush down from surrounding mountains causing very rough water. (emphasis mine) Source: Immanuel Tours

It seems almost superfluous to state the connection between wind and waves. However, since this has been thrown into doubt, this also demonstrates a consistency with reality in terms of geographical facts in Mark. Scientific study, involving the effects of wind on waves has been conducted on the Sea of Galilee in recent times. Quite obviously such a study could not be carried out without wind. Wind causes waves. The physics involves a study of the way the wind energy is absorbed by the water and the resultant effects.

There are also people involved in 'storm chasing' as a hobby in Israel today. Some of the storms recorded occurred over Northern Israel in the Galilee region. Strong winds are also frequently associated with such storms. The meteorological phenomena necessary for the occurrence of such storms is well known. For example, the tourist website (easily accessible on the internet) Eshet Incoming says this:

'Due to its low-lying position in the rift valley and surrounded by hills, the sea is prone to sudden violent storms.'

Scientific study has been conducted of the relationship between wind and waves on the Sea of Galilee. Although the research has nothing directly to do with confirming The Bible, it must be wondered how such research can be conducted at all if wind and waves do not occur.

'Working with Robert Miller, a professor at Oregon State University, Anis observed intense internal wave activity near the lake's shores (internal waves are similar to those observed on the water surface, but usually have much larger vertical amplitudes). Near the lake's center, which is farther away from the boundaries, much less activity was observed, with relatively little mixing and little internal wave motion.'

It is no surprise, since Mark is in touch with reality, that he knows and describes this. Thus there is geographic accuracy, not error in Mark's description of the storm of wind causing great waves.

Since the Sea is itself the lowest freshwater Lake in the world, there is naturally going to be a rise to the land around. However, although mountainous terrain is defined differently in different situations, it is clear that there are significant heights. In places these come close to the Sea itself. In ancient times, and to a degree still today, the topography on the eastern side of the Lake in particular makes settlement and building difficult and so the population is concentrated on flatter land to the south and especially the western side.

It is these slopes, which in places come very close to the Sea itself, form the setting for the large herd of swine (pigs or hogs, depending on ones preference) which ran down into the Lake and were drowned. Thus the statement 'there are no mountains anywhere near the lake' is quite incorrect. It is also these heights which contribute to the weather.

As there are a number of places where the slopes do come close to the sea (this is obvious from a number of the links posted with photographs of the cliffs) and so the description of the herd running down and drowning in the sea is not an error but a geographic accuracy.

Ironically, it is precisely the presence of such slopes which restricts the farming possibilities, since they are too steep in many places for agricultural crops - at least specifically in the area where this story took place.

Thus, in the absence of other crops, the swine had large available areas for grazing. In addition to this, the warmish, sub-tropical climate around the lake would have been suitable for this type of animal.

The herd of swine, as discussed above, had little in the way to rival them for the grazing, although goats would have also done well there. The size of the herd is really a matter of the economics of the people concerned and not geography, although it is clear that such an occupation would have been both possible and suitable in this region. As the account states, as is fairly obvious, there was more than one man minding this herd.

Thus, although the size of the herd is somehow listed as a geographic error, this simply cannot be so, for the reasons discussed above.

The Land of the Gerasenes

When Jesus crossed the lake he came to an area of land surrounding the town of Gerasa, hence the 'land of the Gerasenes.' The precise and specific accuracy of Mark is clear when he mentions this as the land of the Gerasenes. If he had said that Jesus came to land at the town itself he would have been showing ignorance as the town was distant from the shore. Even today, when the Sea of Galilee stores more water(for irrigation purposes) than it did in Jesus'day, the town is still away from the shoreline by some distance.

The topography around this town, now called Kersa, matches the narrative in Mark.

Towns in biblical times, as today, often had regions identified as belonging to them, either as near suburbs or part of a wider territory. This would be particularly so in a region which, due to its steep hillsides, was not densely populated.

The Travels of Jesus On and Around The Sea of Galilee

The Gospel of Mark demonstrates a high degree of accuracy in relation to Jesus' travels on and around the Sea of Galilee.

This is demonstrated in the six separate crossings which Mark records in the following passages:

1. Mark 4:35 - 5:1

2. Mark 5:20

3. Mark 6:31-34

4. Mark 6:45ff

5. Mark 8:10

6. Mark 8:13

In this relatively short number of chapters there are thus contained a number of significant confirmations which indicate that Mark is not only aware of the local geography but is accurate in his portrayal of events. In relation to this, the following points can be made:

A. The frequency and relative ease of crossing (despite occasional storms), demonstrates precisely what we would expect for such a small body of water, even with the transportation of the day.

B. Mark demonstrates 'directional awareness' in relation to his narrative as Jesus arrives in a region with the correct towns one would expect to find on the side of the lake to which the disciples were headed.

C. Although Mark has an account of a 'storm of wind' and another where the 'wind was contrary', most of the crossings occur without apparent incident, as is the case even today. This reflects an accurate knowledge of actual conditions on the water.

D. In the account of Mark 6:45ff (v48) Jesus, looking from an elevated position could see his disciples out on the lake having trouble making headway against what was evidently a North wind. This vision is nothing supernatural but is exactly what one finds today on this lake, which is small enough to see across, at least from side to side, especially from an elevated position. Perusal of any number of web sites with pictures of the lake demonstrate this to be so.

E. In the same account mentioned above the disciples, although setting out for Bethsaida to the North (see 6:45), actually make landfall at Gennesaret a little to the west (6:53). This is consistent with a boat being blown off-course, as frequently happens, even today. The mention of this demonstrates an awareness of geographical and navigational fact.

User Avatar

Wiki User

8y ago
This answer is:
User Avatar
More answers
User Avatar

Wiki User

8y ago

The author of the Gospel According to St Mark appeared to have a poor knowledge of Palestinian geography. Some examples of this are:

  • The Sea of Galilee. This is an enclosed lake, too small for the drama in the story.

    The 3rd century pagan, Porphyry, described the Sea of Galilee, 'Experts in the truth of these places report that there is no sea there, though they do refer to a small, river-fed lake at the foot of the mountains in Galilee near the city Tiberius, a lake easily traversed in small canoes in no more than two hours and insufficiently capacious for waves or storms.'

    Compare this to the Gospel story of a storm whipping up waves that threatened to sink the fishing boat, or the hours spent by the disciples crossing the lake before Jesus walked on the water to meet them.

    Matthew and Luke, possibly more familiar with Palestine, removed the references to the 'storm' waves that threatened the fishing boat.

  • An improbably large herd of 2000 swine was grazing on the mountains near the lake until Jesus caused them to run down a steep slope into the Sea. However, there are no mountains anywhere near the lake.

  • Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee to the land of the Gerasenes. However, the town of Gerasa is shown as several kilometres from the shore and across a river.

    This location was changed in Matthew to 'Gadarenes'.

    In English translations, the New American Bible (NAB) has retained 'Gerasenes' in the Gospel according to Mark, while the King James Version (KJV) substitutes 'Gadarenes', in conformance with Matthew.

  • In Mark 10:46, 11:1-11, Mark describes Jesus as travelling from Jericho to Jerusalem via Bethpage and then Bethany.

    D.E. Nineham (Saint Mark) says that as Bethphage and Bethany are given in reverse order to that in which travellers from Jericho would reach them, we must therefore assume that St Mark did not know the relative positions of the two villages on the Jericho road. Matthew appears to have recognised the error since, in his account, he removed the reference to Bethany.

  • After the feeding of the four thousand, Mark 8:10 had Jesus go by boat to Dalmanutha.

    Raymond E. Brown (An Introduction to the New Testament, a major reference volume of the Anchor Bible Series) points out that no such place is known, and that Matthew (once again) corrected Mark, substituting Magdala.for Dalmanutha in his account (15:39), although he otherwise followed Mark's account faithfully. Although not conclusive, Matthew's substitution makes it seem somewhat unlikely that Dalmanutha really existed.

  • According to Mark 7:31, Jesus went from Tyre to the Sea of Galilee, by way of Sidon, 20 miles farther north and on the Mediterranean coast.

    Some scholars regard this improbable route as evidence that Mark did not really know that you would not go through Sidon to go from Tyre to the Sea of Galilee. Furthermore, Ian Wilson (Jesus: The Evidence) says there was no road from Sidon to the Sea of Galilee in the first century, only one from Tyre.

  • Mark 6:21 says that Antipas' party was for "the chief men of Galilee" and Mark 6:27 says Antipas had John the Baptist beheaded in prison and his head brought to the party. However, Josephus said that John was imprisoned at Herod's southern palace in Macharerus, which is to the east of the Dead Sea. Perhaps Antipas had all the chief men walk or ride to Macharerus rather than hold a party in his Galilee palace, but this is improbable, particularly given the number of problems in Mark's story of John the Baptist.


Brown (ibid, p160) says that Mark seems to depend on traditions (and perhaps already shaped sources) received in Greek, and that [overall] it seems confused about Palestinian geography.


    This answer is:
    User Avatar

    Add your answer:

    Earn +20 pts
    Q: Are there geographic errors in the Gospel of Mark?
    Write your answer...
    Submit
    Still have questions?
    magnify glass
    imp
    Related questions

    Why is it reasonable to assume Mark's Gospel was written primarily for non-Jewish readers?

    A:Palestinian Jews spoke Aramaic, whereas Mark's Gospel was written in Greek Koine, a language in which few of them would have been fluent. The fact that the language use was Greek Koine would also appear to rule out Romans and Greeks as the intended audience, but rather people of the Near East. The geographic errors and cultural anomalies in the Gospel would also have been detected by Palestinian Jews, again making them an unlikely audience for Mark. However, many Jews living in Egypt, Babylon and elsewhere in the Near East had adopted Greek Koine as their everyday language. They would have been able to use Mark's Gospel and would probably have been unaware of the geographic errors therein. However, they should have been able to detect cultural anomalies, so again they were probably not the intended audience. This means that Mark's Gospel was more probably written for gentile Christians of the ancient Near East.


    What Gospel did Mark write?

    He wrote the second, the Gospel of Mark.


    Is Mark's Gospel an autobiography or a biography?

    The gospel of Mark is a biography of Jesus written by John Mark


    Do Christians disagree with Mark's Gospel?

    A:Most Christians believe that the entire Bible is true, including Mark's Gospel. Since Mark is now known to have been the earliest New Testament gospel and that the other gospels were substantially based on Mark, either directly (Matthew and Luke) or indirectly (John), to disagree with Mark's Gospel on important issues would probably be to disagree with the gospels as a whole, which few Christians would do. Of course, there are minor errors in Mark that the subsequent evangelists recognised and corrected, but these are not substantive.


    What are the four biographical books of the New Testament?

    The question is looking for the answer, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. However, these books are gospels, not biographies. It has been explained: if a biography is found to contain errors of fact, it is no longer a biography, but if a gospel contains errors of fact, it is still a gospel.


    What are the 4 Gospels in Christian Bible?

    They are the Gospel of Matthew,Gospel of Mark,Gospel of Luke,and the Gospel of John.


    Who was Mark in The Bible?

    Mark was one of the writers of the Gospel accounts. The Gospel according to Mark is the second one.


    Which gospel has been called the Memoirs of Peter?

    A:This would be Mark's Gospel because of the widespread belief that Mark was related to Peter, who supposedly taught Mark about Jesus, and the attribution of this Gospel to Mark.


    When was Secret Gospel of Mark born?

    Secret Gospel of Mark was born on 1915-05-29.


    When did Secret Gospel of Mark die?

    Secret Gospel of Mark died on 1991-07-11.


    What book comes after Mark in the Bible?

    AnswerThe Gospel According to Luke follows after Mark's Gospel.


    What testament is Mark in?

    The Gospel of Mark is located in the New Testament. It is the second Gospel; in order they go Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.