Luke 8:32

8:32 a large herd of pigs: Pigs were unclean animals for Jews, which shows that the people of this region were Gentiles. The unclean demons were fit only for pigs.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Luk 8:32 . χοίρ . ἱκανῶν : for a large number, often in Lk.; his equivalent for Mk.’s 2000.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

32. a herd of many swine] St Mark says “about 2000.” Of course, if the owners of these swine were Jews, they were living in flagrant violation of the law; but the population of Peraea was largely Greek and Syrian.

that he would suffer them to enter into them] The Jews, as we have already seen, believed that physical and mental evil was wrought by the direct agency of demons, and attributed to demons not only the cases of “possession,” but many other classes of illness (melancholia, brain- disease, heart-disease, &c.) which we do not usually regard in this light. They also believed that demons could take possession even of animals, and they attributed to demons the hydrophobia of dogs and the rage of bulls. “Perhaps,” says Archbishop Trench (On the Miracles, p. 185), “we make to ourselves a difficulty here, too easily assuming that the whole animal world is wholly shut up in itself, and incapable of receiving impressions from that which is above it. The assumption is one unwarranted by deeper investigations, which lead rather to an opposite conclusion—not to the breaking down of the boundaries between the two worlds, but to the shewing in what wonderful ways the lower is receptive of impression from the higher, both for good and for evil.” Further than this the incident leads into regions of uncertain speculation, into which it is impossible to enter, and in which none will dogmatize but those who are least wise. Milton seems to find no difficulty in the conception that evil spirits could ‘incarnate and imbrute’ their essence into a beast: in at the serpent’s mouth

“The devil entered; and his brutal sense

The heart or head possessing, soon inspired

With act intelligential.” Par. Lost.

Comp. Dante, Inf. xxv. 136, “L’anima, ch’era fiera divenuta Si fugge,” &c.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Then went the devils out of the man,.... Being obliged by the power of Christ, sore against their wills, having had possession of him a long time:

and entered into the swine; possessed them:

and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake; that is of Gennesaret; or the sea, as the Syriac and Persic versions read; that is, the sea of Galilee, the same with the former:

and were choked; in the waters, and died, as the Ethiopic version adds.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

If, says St. Athanasius, the infernal spirits have no power over such impure beasts as swine, with much greater reason then are they deprived of power over man, who is made after God’s own image, and redeemed by the blood of his son, Christ Jesus. We should therefore fear only God, and despise the devil. (In vit. St. Anthony)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

And there was there a herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them. For what end was this request? Was it simply the way they chose to enter the abyss by? We know that the lives of the creatures, after the permission was given, lasted but a few minutes at most. Was it a desire to do more mischief during their brief sojourn on earth? Theophylact (eighth century) suggests that the purpose of the evil spirits, in their request, was to injure Jesus in that part of the country by arousing fears among the covetous inhabitants lest they too might lose, in a similar way, their herds. But to the writer of this note it seems best to confess that no satisfactory answer can ever be given here. We know so little of these dread spirits of evil. The reason of the Lord"s permission is more obvious. Some such visible proof as the sight of the evil and unclean forces that had mastered him so long, transferred to the bodies of other creatures and working their wild will upon them, was probably a necessary element in his perfect cure. It is likely also that Jesus wished to show his indignation at the flagrant disregard of the Mosaic Law, at the open disobedience to the Divine injunctions respecting swine, which was shown by the presence of so vast a herd of these animals pronounced unclean by the Mosaic Law under which these people were professedly living (St. Mark gives the number as two thousand). In this district the large majority of the inhabitants were Jews. The keeping or the rearing of swine was strictly forbidden by the Jewish canon law. Other Oriental peoples also held these animals as unclean. Herodotus (it. 47) tells us that in Egypt there was a special class of swineherds, who alone among the inhabitants of the country were forbidden to enter a temple. This degraded caste were only allowed to marry among themselves. The eating of swine"s flesh is referred to by Isaiah (Isa_65:3, Isa_65:4) as among the acts of the people which continually provoked the Lord to anger.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

To enter into the swine - Not that they were any easier in the swine than out of them. Had it been so, they would not so soon have dislodged themselves, by destroying the herd.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Now a large herd of pigs was there feeding on the hillside

This is supplied as background information to introduce the pigs. (See: Background Information)

was there feeding on the hillside

"was nearby eating grass on a hill"

So the demons came out

The word "so" is used here to explain that the reason the demons came of out the man was because Jesus had told them that they could go into the pigs.

rushed

ran very fast

the herd ... was drowned

"the herd ... drowned." No one caused the pigs to drown once they were in the water.

translationWords

flocks

pig

demon

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

32. χοίρων ἱκανῶν. St Mark says “about 2000.” Of course, if the owners of these swine were Jews, they were living in flagrant violation of the Law; but the population of Peraea was largely Greek and Syrian.

εἰς ἐκείνους εἰσελθεῖν. The Jews, as we have already seen, believed that physical and mental evil was wrought by the direct agency of demons, and attributed to demons not only the cases of “possession,” but many other classes of illness (melancholia, brain-disease, heart-disease, &c.) which we do not usually regard in this light. They also believed that demons could take possession even of animals, and they attributed to demons the hydrophobia of dogs and the rage of bulls. “Perhaps,” says Archbishop Trench (On the Miracles, p. 185), “we make to ourselves a difficulty here, too easily assuming that the whole animal world is wholly shut up in itself, and incapable of receiving impressions from that which is above it. The assumption is one unwarranted by deeper investigations, which lead rather to an opposite conclusion—not to the breaking down of the boundaries between the two worlds, but to the shewing in what wonderful ways the lower is receptive of impressions from the higher, both for good and for evil.” Further than this the incident leads into regions of uncertain speculation, into which it is impossible to enter, and in which none will dogmatize but those who are least wise. Milton seems to find no difficulty in the conception that evil spirits could ‘incarnate and imbrute’ their essence into a beast:

“In at the serpent’s mouth

The Devil entered; and his brutal sense

The heart or head possessing, soon inspired

With act intelligential.” Par. Lost.

Comp. Dante, Inf. XXV. 136,

“L’ anima, ch’ era fiera divenuta

Si fugge,” &c.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

32. ἀγέλη χοίρων ἱκανῶν. This illustrates the fondness of Lk. for ἱκανός in this sense: Mt. has ἀγ· χοίρων πολλῶν and Mk. ἀγ χοίρων μεγάλη. With characteristic love of detail Mk. gives the number as ὡς δισχίλιοι, which may be an exaggeration of the swineherds or of the owners, who wished to make the most of their loss. Had the number been an invention of the narrator, we should have had 4000 or 5000 to correspond with the legion. It is futile to ask whether each animal was possessed. If some of them were set in motion, the rest would follow mechanically. For the ἐπέτρεψεν αὐτοῖς of Lk. and Mk. we have the direct ὑπάγετε in Mt., which need mean no more than “depart, be gone.” But the distinction between commanding and allowing what He might have forbidden is not very helpful. Whatever the motive of the demons may have been, Jesus uses it for a good end, and secures the easy and effectual cure of their victim.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.