A Herd of About 2,000 Pigs (Mark 5:13): Historical Relevance

All three Synoptic Gospels record the episode of Jesus casting a legion of demons into a herd of swine (Matt. 8:28-34; Mark 5:1-20; Luke 8:26-39). Only Mark gives the herd’s approximate number: “about 2,000.” Why were there so many pigs in this one location, and what’s the relevance?

Geographical-Sociocultural Setting

Jesus and his disciples were on the eastern coast of the Sea of Galilee in the mid-western Decapolis region near the village of Gergesa: predominately Gentile territory.¹ Since the fourth-century-BC conquests of Alexander the Great, the cities of the Decapolis (mainly east of the Jordan) were Greek municipalities that were under Roman control from the first century BC. According to Jewish law, pigs were unclean animals and forbidden as a food source (Lev. 11:7-8; Deut. 14:8), but not among the Greco-Roman population.

Roman Dietary Preferences

Pork was one of the most popular meats in Rome.² The Roman orator Callistratus considered pork to be “the most lawful flesh” (Plutarch, Quaestiones Conviviales 4.5.1). Emperor Caligula found it curious that the Jews did not eat pork and challenged a delegation from Philo to explain why (Philo, Legatio 45.361-62). Juvenal mocked the Jews of Judea for abstaining from pork and for allowing pigs to live to old age (Satire 6.160). Tacitus noted as unusual, “they abstain from swine’s flesh” (Hist. 5.4.2).

The Legio X Fretensis

Roman legions had been stationed in Syria since its establishment as a Roman province in 64 BC, the center of military operations overseeing the entire region, including the Jewish territories of Galilee and Judea. Around 41-40 BC the Legio X Fretensis (“Tenth Legion of the Strait”) was formed by Julius Caesar’s adopted son Octavian, defeating Marc Antony’s forces at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC that led to the founding of the Roman Empire and Octavian’s accession as Emperor Augustus Caesar. The legion was then stationed in Syria by at least AD 6, having engaged in repressing multiple Jewish uprisings and participating in the campaign to Judea led by legate Publius Sulpicius Quirinius (cf. Acts 5:37; Josephus, Ant. 18.1.1; 2.1).³ Documented in Syria in AD 18 (Tacitus, Annals 2.57.2),⁴ they were later involved in the Jewish-Roman War of AD 66-70 and contributed to the defeat of Galilean and Judean cities and the siege and destruction of Jerusalem.

The symbols of Legio X Fretensis were the goddess Venus (Octavian’s mythical ancestress), the bull (perhaps representing Taurus to symbolize the legion’s start around April-May), Neptune (god of the sea), a battleship (signifying victories at sea), and a boar (pictured above). This last symbol is pertinent to our study, seeing that pork was their preferred food.⁵

The Relevance of Mark’s Reference

To feed Roman legions and perhaps countless other pork-consumers who had settled in the general region, a sizeable number of pigs would have been necessary. Moreover, the Greeks regarded pigs to be among the more cost-efficient sacrifices in their cultic rituals, particularly during the annual Thesmophoria festival honoring Demeter (goddess of agriculture/ Roman Ceres) and her daughter Persephone (goddess of spring and queen of the underworld/ Roman Proserpina).⁶

Mark’s seemingly obscure attention to detail makes sense when viewed in its geocultural context. A herd of about 2,000 pigs is not only normal and expected but was probably just a meager fraction of what would have been needed and available for the local economy.

Conclusion

The Roman flavoring of Mark’s Gospel is highlighted by its heavy use of Latinisms,⁷ including the term “legion,” from the Latin legio, descriptive of a division of the Roman army of approx. 3,000–6,000 soldiers. In Mark’s telling of the story of Jesus, there appears to be a subtle anti-Roman sentiment: a “legion” of demons cast into a herd of pigs—the tenth legion’s symbol and favored food source—drowned in the sea. Despite Rome’s apparent dominance, the Son of God has arrived, he is more powerful, and his way is far superior.  

--Kevin L. Moore

Endnotes:

     ¹ See K. L. Moore, “Geographical Confusion: the Land of Demon-Possessed Pigs,” Moore Perspective (6 July 2022), <Link>.

     ² John M. G. Barclay, “‘Do we undermine the Law?’ A Study of Romans 14.1–15.6,” in James D. G. Dunn, ed. Paul and the Mosaic Law (Grand Rapids; Cambridge: Eerdmans, 1996) 294.

     ³ See K. L. Moore, “Luke’s Alleged Historical Blunder Revisited (Part 1),” Moore Perspective (16 Oct. 2019), <Link>.

     ⁴ It has been suggested that they may have comprised the infantry of “two centurions” and “two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen” that commander Claudius Lysias ordered to escort Paul from Jerusalem to Caesarea (Acts 23:23-33). See Randall Niles, “The Roman 10th Legion of the Strait,” Drive Thru History Adventures (19 Oct. 2018), <Link>.

     ⁵ Craig E. Evans and Scott Stripling, “Did the Swine drown at Gergesa? Another Look at Mark 5:1 in Light of Text and Topography,” ETS 76th Annual Meeting (11 Nov. 2024), San Diego, CA.

     ⁶ See Matthew Dillon, Girls and Women in Classical Greek Religion (London: Routledge, 2002) 114-16. Remember also the profane pig sacrifice of Antiochus IV Ephiphanes that led to the Maccabean revolt (Josephus, War 1.1.1-2; 2 Macc. 5:11-14; cf. Dan. 8:9-13; 11:21-39).

     ⁷ See K. L. Moore, “Mark’s Audience,” Moore Perspective (27 Oct. 2012), <Link>.

Additional Sources Consulted: Austin J. Alexander, “The Tenacious Tenth: A Brief History of Rome’s Legio X Fretensis,” Medium (12 July 2023), <Link>; Emil Ritterling, “Legio X Fretensis,” Livius (22 June 2020), <Link>; Donald L. Wasson, “Legio X Fretensis,” World History Encyclopedia (20 Aug. 2021), <Link>.

Related Posts: A Legion of Demons; Beyond the Jordan 

Image credit: https://x-legio.com/en/wiki/legio-x-fretensis

Pictured below are tile fragments with the stamp of LEGX F (the Legio X Fretensis) featuring a battleship and wild boar.

https://www.worldhistory.org/image/14448/stamp-of-legio-x-fretensis/

https://x-legio.com/photo/2233/9.jpg

A Legion of Demons, a Herd of Swine, an Unlikely Missionary

Jesus, having begun his public ministry in his home environment of Galilee, eventually directed his attention eastward to the Decapolis region on the other side of the Sea of Galilee (Matt. 4:25; Mark 5:20; 7:31). The ten cities of the Decapolis were established as Greek municipalities following the 4th-century-BC conquests of Alexander the Great, at various times controlled and influenced by the Greek Ptolemies, the Greek Seleucids, the Hellenized Hasmoneans, and finally the Romans. In the early 1st century AD this was a predominantly Gentile territory (a.k.a. Gaulantis) comprised of Hellenistic centers in a Greco-Roman environment.¹

Unfamiliar Surroundings

Recounted in all three Synoptic Gospels (Matt. 8:28-34; Mark 5:1-20; Luke 8:26-39), fairly early in his ministry Jesus and his disciples ventured to the eastern coast of the Sea of Galilee in mid-western Decapolis to a place his fellow-Jews would have considered unclean, with unclean animals and unclean people tormented by unclean spirits. Upon exiting the boat they were immediately encountered by two extremely fierce demon-possessed men (Matt. 8:28). One of them, apparently more dominant, vocal, or notorious and eventually humble and receptive, is singularly featured in the accounts of Mark and Luke.²

A Seemingly Insurmountable Challenge

While both men were demon-possessed, the main character was inflicted by a plurality of “demons” (Mark 5:12; Luke 8:27, 35, 38), identified as “the unclean spirit” and “the demon” (Mark 5:2, 8; Luke 8:29), but also “the unclean spirits” (Mark 5:13) and “many demons” (Luke 8:30). The plural-singular variation is probably indicative of multiple spirit beings with a chief spokesman operating through a single host.³

The term “legion” [λεγεών or λεγιών] (Mark 5:9, 15; Luke 8:30) is descriptive of a division of the Roman army of approx. 3,000–6,000 soldiers, probably used here hyperbolically (“a large number”) and therefore not intended as an exact figure. It is also possible that the evil spirits were employing the exaggerated expression and its military implications as a desperate attempt to intimidate Jesus and the disciples.

The Impact of the Lord’s Presence

The demoniacs lived among the tombs, at least one of whom exhibited supernatural strength and barbaric behavior. He was “from the city,” perhaps Gergesa or one of the larger Decapolis cities,⁴ and “wore no clothes” (Luke 8:27). To describe his reaction to Jesus, Mark employs the verbal προσκυνέω (Mark 5:6), sometimes rendered “worship” (ASV, N/KJV). The only other occurrence of this word in Mark’s Gospel depicts insincere “worship” done mockingly (Mark 15:19). The prospect of authentic devotion is precluded by Luke’s parallel description using the verbal προσπίπτω  (Luke 8:28): he merely “fell down before” Jesus evidently out of fear rather than genuine reverence (contrast Matthew 14:33). 

Jesus is recognized as “Son of the Most High God” (Luke 8:28). These satanic forces understood Christ’s power to “torment” or “afflict” or “punish” [βασανίζω] them (Matt. 8:29; Mark 5:7b),⁵ i.e., to send them into the “abyss” or “unfathomable deep” [ἄβυσσος] far away from the natural world (Luke 8:31).⁶

The Problem Resolved

That a verbal exchange ensued after Jesus had ordered the demons out indicates stubborn resistance. Just as there are different types of people (cf. Mark 4:15-20), apparently there were different kinds of evil spirits, some of which were more obstinate than others and much more defiant (cf. Mark 9:17-18, 26, 29). Knowing they could not withstand the Lord’s power, to avoid the fate of disembodiment the demons requested reassignment to a nearby herd of pigs. 

Only Mark gives the number of swine, “about 2,000” (Mark 5:13). These were unclean animals according to the Jewish Law and forbidden as a food source (Lev. 11:7-8; Deut. 14:8). Whether those who owned and herded the pigs were nominal Jews, violating the law to which they were amenable,⁷ or more likely Gentiles, they were not only exposing themselves and others to heightened health risks⁸ but were disregarding the religious and cultural sensibilities of their conservative Jewish neighbors. Moreover, the Greeks regarded pigs to be among the more cost-efficient sacrifices in their cultic rituals (remember the profane pig sacrifice of Antiochus IV Ephiphanes that led to the Maccabean revolt).

Jesus freed the demoniac, his colleague, and the community of this horrific affliction, while purifying the entire area by casting unclean spirits in an unclean place into unclean animals that all drowned in the Sea of Galilee (cf. Isa. 65:1-7). The demonic forces appear to have been responsible for the destruction of these animals, perhaps a last-ditch effort to shift the blame to Jesus and impede his ministry by turning the community against him. If such a large number of swine were needed for pagan sacrifices, the cruel and sacrilegious ritual was dealt a crushing blow.

The Aftermath

Word quickly spread and a crowd of curious spectators soon gathered to find their infamous neighbor “sitting [at Jesus’ feet], clothed, and in his right mind” (Mark 5:15; Luke 8:35). Rather than relieved and appreciative, however, they were afraid and pleaded with Jesus to leave their vicinity (Mark 5:15-17; Luke 8:37a). They apparently preferred pork, profit, and evil over compassion and spiritual redemption. 

The Lord respected their wishes and departed, but not before making another attempt to reach their souls. He was not ready to give up on these unreceptive, albeit confused, people. Instead, he leaves behind an unlikely missionary, the one who had for a long time been terrorizing the region as a tomb-dwelling, chain-breaking, unclothed, demon-possessed wild man (Mark 5:18-20; Luke 8:38-39). Even though he had no theological training or evangelistic experience, he did have a story to tell. The Lord had monumentally changed his life, so he simply proclaimed throughout the city and surrounding region “how much Jesus had done for him” (Mark 5:20; Luke 8:39).

Despite the initial rejection, Jesus later returned to the Decapolis region to do many good works. This time the people warmly received him “and they glorified the God of Israel” (Matt. 15:29-31; Mark 7:31-37). What made the difference?

Conclusion

Jesus had led his disciples well beyond their comfort zone to unfamiliar surroundings where his message of repentance and hope was needed just as much as in their home environment. He showed compassion to a couple of social outcasts and freed them from the clutches of Satan, and at least one of them was grateful. But the rest of the community proved to be unreceptive and resistant. Nevertheless, Jesus still cared. He left behind a missionary, not a religious professional but one of their own, living proof of the Lord’s transformative power. And Matthew would later report that among Christ’s many followers were those of “the Decapolis” (Matt. 4:25). 

Lessons to Learn

·      Jesus has authority and power over the forces of evil.

·      Jesus offers love and compassion to those who are otherwise unlovable and seemingly undeserving. 

·      The Lord does not passively wait for sinners to come to him; he takes the initiative.

·      Humans have been created with free-will agency and are not forced by their Creator to accept and submit to his will.

·      Those resistant to the gospel still deserve a chance to hear it, some even more than once.

·      Sharing my faith can be as simple as telling others what the Lord has done for me.

--Kevin L. Moore

Endnotes:

     ¹ S. Thomas Parker, “The Decapolis Reviewed,” JBL 94.3 (Sept. 1975): 437-41.

     ² Unless otherwise noted, scripture quotations are the author’s own translation. See K. L. Moore, “Synoptic Confusion: Matthew’s ‘Two’ vs. Mark and Luke’s ‘One’?” Moore Perspective (2 Jan. 2019), <Link>.

     ³ BDAG 588, “it expresses the totality of lesser spirits subjects [sic] to one spirit.” This may also demonstrate the incongruent tension between physical and malevolent spiritual realities.

     ⁴ See K. L. Moore, “Geographical Confusion: the Land of Demon-Possessed Pigs?” Moore Perspective (6 June 2022), <Link>.

     ⁵ Cf. 2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6; Rev. 20:10. 

     ⁶ Cf. Rev. 9:1, 2, 11; 20:1-3.

     ⁷ These were the kind of Jews the Pharisees would have regarded as “sinners” (Matt. 9:10-13; 11:19; Mark 2:15-17; Luke 5:30-32; 7:34; 15:1-2), also subject to Paul’s indictment, “through the transgression of the law you dishonor God, for, as it is written, ‘through you the name of God is blasphemed among the nations’” (Rom. 2:23b-24). In Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son, feeding pigs was the absolute rock bottom, which, incidentally, was in “a distant land” (Luke 15:13, 15). Note also Isa. 66:3, 17; Matt. 7:6; 2 Pet. 2:22.  

     ⁸ Trichinosis is a parasitic disease caused by eating undercooked meat, particularly pork. There are also a number of pork-related food poisonings caused by bacterial contamination.

“Jesus went out of His way to reach this man. Across a sea. Into Gentile territory. Into a graveyard. Into the presence of a legion of demons. Not to debate theology—but to rescue one soul everyone else had abandoned.

This wasn’t a healing story. It was a rescue operation.” 

--Jesse S. Bean, “The Most Demon Possessed Man in the Bible,” Jesse Speaks (1-17-26), <Web>.

Related Posts: Demons & Demon Possession, Geographical Confusion: Land of Demon-Possessed Pigs, 2000 Pigs: Historical Relevance, Beyond the Jordan: an Ethnogeographical Study

 

Image credit: adapted from <https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/booklets/what-does-the-bible-teach-about-clean-and-unclean-meats/a-telling-event-from-jesus-christs-ministry>

 

Geographical Confusion: the Land of Demon-Possessed Pigs?

Fairly early in his ministry Jesus and his twelve disciples ventured to the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee and encountered a Legion of demons and their reluctant hosts.¹ All three Synoptic Gospels report this incident in great detail but are confusingly obscure about the specific geographical location (Matt. 8:28-34; Mark 5:1-20; Luke 8:26-40). Was it the land of the Gadarenes or the Gerasenes or the Gergesenes? While the townships of Gadara [Γάδαρα], Gerasa [Γέρασα], and Gergesa [Γέργεσα] are assumed, these communities were considerable distances apart in various proximities to the Sea of Galilee.

Textual Variation²

Variant readings among extant manuscripts occur in each Synoptic account. In Matthew 8:28 most manuscripts read “Gergesenes,”³ although the weight of textual evidence supports “Gadarenes,”⁴ while a number of ancient versions favor “Gerasenes.”⁵ In Mark 5:1 and Luke 8:26 and 37 the majority of manuscripts read “Gadarenes,”⁶ yet  “Gerasenes” is better supported by the weight of textual evidence,⁷ and “Gergesenes” is another variant reading.⁸

Geographical Probability

Gadara (modern-day Umm Qais in NW Jordan) was about 6 miles (9.6 km) from the Sea of Galilee, and Gerasa (modern-day Jerash in N. Jordan) was approximately 37 miles (60 km) away. Closer to the coast was Gergesa, which would explain why Origen (ca. 184-253), Eusebius (ca. 260-339), and later copyists preferred this particular location.⁹ Archaeologically identified as the lakeside village of El Kursi (in Israeli controlled Golan Heights), it more readily corresponds to the Gospel accounts: “they sailed down” to this area (Luke 8:26) and were encountered “immediately” once exiting the boat (Mark 5:2). The site also has nearby tombs and a steep bank descending to the shore (Matt. 8:28, 32; Mark 5:2-5, 13; Luke 8:27, 33).¹⁰

Why the Geographical Confusion?

The incident occurred in the greater Decapolis region (Mark 5:20), where both Gadara and Gerasa were among the league of ten cities (Pliny, Natural History 5.16). None of the Synoptic authors names a particular city. They each speak of the χώρα (“country” or “region”) of a much broader territory incorporating and surrounding these municipalities, where the Gadarene, Gerasene, and Gergesene peoples all lived.

Although Gerasa was the farthest away from the sea, it was the largest and better known.¹¹ Mark and Luke both allude to “the country of the Gerasenes” as a geographical marker that would have been more familiar to their respective non-Jewish audiences living far away and unacquainted with the area. While Gadara was smaller and lesser known, Matthew writes to a Jewish audience somewhat familiar with the region, so he can be more defined with reference to the Gadarenes. In fact, Josephus reports that this territory reached to the “frontier” or “coast” of the water boundary (Life 9.42). And if variant readings are afforded any level of credence, all three Synoptic authors would be even more precise than most modern versions indicate.

Conclusion

At first glance the textual, intertextual, and geographical discrepancies give the appearance of inaccuracy and disharmony among the Synoptics. However, geographical specificity does not seem to be the intent of the respective authors. The general area on the eastern coast of the Sea of Galilee in mid-west Decapolis is clearly in view (Mark 5:13, 20). Alert readers recognize that Jesus is venturing into predominantly Gentile territory and thus laying the groundwork for his eventual call to make disciples of all nations.¹²

--Kevin L. Moore

Endnotes:

     ¹ Matthew records two demoniacs, one of whom would have been the more dominant or notorious figure who became the Lord’s emissary, singularly featured in the accounts of Mark and Luke. See K. L. Moore, “Synoptic Confusion: Matthew’s ‘Two’ vs. Mark and Luke’s ‘One’?” Moore Perspective (2 Jan. 2019), <Link>.

     ² See P. W. Comfort, A Commentary on the Manuscripts and Text of the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic, 2015): 141, 183-84, 217-18; B. M. Metzger, Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, 2nd ed. (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1994): 18-19, 72, 121. 

     ³ The Byzantine Majority Text and Textus Receptus; cf. Darby, JUB, LSV, N/KJV, WEB, YLT.

     ⁴ NA²⁷ and UBS⁵; cf. ASV, CSB, ESV, NAB, NASB, NET, NIV, NLT, N/RSV.

     ⁵ Latin Vulgata Clementina; cf. Douay-Rheims, ISV, Finnish Bible (1776), Latvian NT. This is probably a case of scribal harmonization with the parallel accounts in Mark and Luke.

     ⁶ The Byzantine Majority Text and Textus Receptus; cf. Darby, JUB, LSV, N/KJV, WEB, YLT.

     ⁷ NA²⁷ and UBS⁵; cf. ASV, CSB, Douay-Rheims, ESV, ISV, NAB, NASB, NET, NIV, NLT, N/RSV.

     ⁸ Fourth/fifth-century Codex Washingtonianus.

     ⁹ Origin, Commentary on John 6.24; Eusebius, Onomasticon 73.14. See T. J. Baarda, “Gadarenes, Gerasenes, Gergesenes and the ‘Diatessaron’ Traditions,” in E. E. Ellis and M. E. Wilcox, eds., Neotestamentica et Semitica: Studies in honour of Matthew Black (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1969): 181-197.

     ¹⁰ C. A. Evans and S. E. Porter, eds., Dictionary of New Testament Backgrounds (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2000): 97; Joel Marcus, Mark 1–8 AYB (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008): 27:342; John McRay, Archaeology and the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008): 166-168; W. Sanday, Sacred Sites of the Gospels (Oxford: Clarendon, 1903): 27; Vassilios Tzaferis, “A Pilgrimage to the Site of the Swine Miracle,” BAR 15 (1989): 48. Thanks to the research of Colt Mahana, “Healing of the Gerasene Demoniac (Mark 5:1-20),” FHU BIB 515: Synoptic Gospels (9 April 2022): 1-15.

     ¹¹ D. M. Doriani, “Matthew,” in I. M. Duguid, J. M. Hamilton, Jr., and J. Sklar, eds., ESV Expository Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2021): 8:143 n.140; C. S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, 2nd ed. (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2014): 139.

     ¹² See K. L. Moore, “Beyond the Jordan: an Ethnogeographical Study,” Moore Perspective (9 June 2021), <Link>.

Addendum:

In the early 1980s the Sea of Galilee’s water levels were low, exposing the ancient harbor of the lakeside village of El Kursi, one of fourteen harbors around the lake. A fish tank was also discovered. The water levels rose in the mid-1980s. Today a thick bamboo forest makes it inaccessible by land but it can be accessed by water and under water. The surrounding topography fits the biblical account, with a steep slope and nearby tombs. Craig E. Evans and Scott Stripling, “Did the Swine drown at Gergesa? Another Look at Mark 5:1 in Light of Text and Topography,” ETS 76th Annual Meeting (11 Nov. 2024), San Diego, CA.

Related Posts: Legion of Demons, Herd of Swine, Unlikely Missionary, 2000 Pigs: Historical Relavence

 

Image credit: adapted from <https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Map-of-the-Decapolis-region_fig1_30843902>