MAGADAN

(Magʹa·dan).

An area near the Sea of Galilee to which Jesus withdrew after his miraculous feeding of about 4,000 men. (Mt 15:39; manuscripts of more recent date here read “Magdala.”) Mark (8:10), according to the best Greek manuscripts, referred to the same territory as “Dalmanutha.”​—See DALMANUTHA.

No place called Magadan is today known in the region around the Sea of Galilee. However, some scholars believe that Magadan is the same as Magdala. Lending some support to this view is the fact that in Aramaic the letter l often replaces the n of Hebrew words. Thus Magadan could have been changed to Magdala. Others suggest that “Magdala” perhaps came to appear in more recent copies of the Greek text on account of an attempt to equate Magadan with modern Majdal.

Magdala (possibly Magadan) is considered to be modern Majdal (Migdal), about 6 km (3.5 mi) NNW of Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee. Located near the fork formed by the road running along the Sea of Galilee from Tiberias and the one coming down from the western hills, this site occupies a strategic position. Ruins of a relatively modern tower found there indicate that Majdal once guarded the southern entrance to the Plain of Gennesaret. Both Majdal and Magdala (a form of the Hebrew migh·dalʹ) mean “Tower.” This place is often suggested as the home of Mary Magdalene.