Perea/Gilead
Perea (from Greek: peran (iordanou) ["beyond
Jordan"]) was a district on the east side of the Jordan river whose
northern border was south of Pella in the Decapolis and whose southern border was guarded by the frontier fortress of Machaerus.
In antiquity the region had belonged to Israel's bitter rivals, the
kingdoms of Ammon and Moab, which were conquered by David [10th c. BCE]. After Solomon,
during the time of the divided
monarchy [9th-8th c. BCE], it was known as Gilead and was the homeland
of Elijah. For about 600
years the region was lost to Israelite control, but was reconquered
by Johanan Hyrcanus [ca.
120 BCE] and its inhabitants forcibly converted to Judaism.
Augustus assigned Perea to Herod,
who willed it to Antipas. This was the area of the activity of Johanan
the Baptizer [according to John 1], including his imprisonment &
execution at Machaerus [according to Josephus].
According to the synoptic gospels, Jesus took the Jordan valley road through Perea that ran from the southern
end of the Sea
of Galilee to the ford at Jericho on his way to Jerusalem.
Sources: Into
His Own |