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Δεκάπολις

Dekápolis

G1179 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

A region or league composed of ten cities; specifically, the Decapolis, an association of Hellenistic city-states mostly located east and southeast of the Jordan River during the Hellenistic and Roman periods. In the New Testament, it refers both to the region and, by extension, to the collective civic and cultural identity of these cities. The term denotes the territorial, administrative, and cultural unity of these cities, known for Greek urban institutions.

Semantic Range

the league or region of ten cities, the collective term for the group of Hellenistic cities, the territory associated with these cities

Root / Etymology

From the Greek words δέκα ('ten') and πόλις ('city').

Historical & Contextual Notes

Δεκάπολις (Dekápolis) refers to a confederation of ten Hellenistic cities in the region east of the Jordan River, recognized from the mid-2nd century BCE onward. These cities were founded or refounded in the wake of the conquests of Alexander the Great and functioned as centers of Greek cultural and political life in a region otherwise marked by Semitic populations and traditions. By the time of the New Testament, the term denoted not merely a numerical league but a cohesive region marked by Greek language, civic structure (polis-based self-government), and cultural identity, distinct from surrounding Judaean, Nabataean, and other local populations. The use of the term in the Gospels reflects both geographic and socio-cultural distinctness from nearby Judean territories. The standard English rendering 'Decapolis' is a direct transliteration and not a translation of the Greek term; translation as 'ten cities' is literal but loses the historical sense of the group as a recognized geopolitical entity.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from δέκα and πόλις; the ten-city region; the Decapolis, a district in Syria:--Decapolis.

Root Family

Δεκάπολις (Dekapolis) — ten, city, ten-city league

Root δεκα-, πολε- ten, city

Word Forms

2 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G1179-02 Δεκαπόλεως dekapoleos N GEN F SG Decapolis of the Ten-City Region of the Ten-City Region 2
G1179-01 Δεκαπόλει dekapolei N DAT F SG Decapolis to the Ten-City League Ten-City League 1

Occurrences in Scripture

3 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G1179-02 Matthew 4:25 Δεκαπόλεως dekapoleos N GEN F SG Decapolis of the Ten-City Region of the Ten-City Region
G1179-01 Mark 5:20 Δεκαπόλει dekapolei N DAT F SG Decapolis to the Ten-City League Ten-City League
G1179-02 Mark 7:31 Δεκαπόλεως dekapoleos N GEN F SG Decapolis of the Ten-City Region of the Ten-City Region
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