Lydda
a town in the tribe of Ephraim, mentioned only in the New Testament (Acts 9:32, 35, 38) as the scene of Peter's miracle in healing the paralytic AEneas. It lay about 9 miles east of Joppa, on the road from the sea-port to Jerusalem. In the Old Testament (1 Chr. 8:12) it is called Lod. It was burned by the Romans, but was afterwards rebuilt, and was known by the name of Diospolis. Its modern name is Ludd. The so-called patron saint of England, St. George, is said to have been born here.
Lydda
city, central Israel, on the Plain of Sharon southeast of Tel Aviv-Yafo. Of ancient origin, it is mentioned several times in the Bible: in a New Testament account (Acts 9:32), the apostle Peter healed the paralytic at Lod. The city was a well-known centre of Jewish scholars and merchants from the 5th century BC until the Roman conquest in AD 70. It was the Roman colony of Diospolis after AD 200 and the traditional site of the martyrdom of St. George, patron saint of England; the alleged tomb of the legendary saint is still shown. An important city after the Arab conquest of Palestine in the 7th century AD, it was held (1099-1191) by the crusaders, who named it St. Jorge de Lidde.
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