The Dekapolis (from deka = ten + polis = city) was a league of ten Hellenistic cities in the Transjordan and northern Palestine region, including cities like Damascus, Gerasa, Gadara, and Scythopolis. It was a predominantly Gentile region of Greek culture within Jewish Palestine.
Jesus' ministry in the Decapolis is theologically significant as an intentional crossing of ethnic and cultural boundaries. After healing the Gerasene demoniac, Jesus sent the man back to his own people — the Gentile cities of the Decapolis — as His first missionary to the Gentiles (Mark 5:20). The region's enthusiasm for Jesus sets the stage for the feeding of the 4,000, where Jesus feeds a largely Gentile crowd, foreshadowing the gospel's universal reach.