Matthew 8:30 is the 30th verse in the eighth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament.

Content

In the original Greek according to Westcott-Hort, Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority, this verse is:

Ἦν δὲ μακρὰν ἀπ᾿ αὐτῶν ἀγέλη χοίρων πολλῶν βοσκομένη.

In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:

And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding.

The New International Version translates the passage as:

Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding.

For a collection of other versions see BibleHub Matthew 8:30.

Analysis

This verse is a part of the narrative to show Jesus' authority and his relationship to the Gentiles (cf. Matthew 8:5–13). The location in the Decapolis and the fact that swine are being raised nearby indicate a non-Jewish area, along the east coast of the Sea of Galilee where the population was mixed.[1] The Jews do not eat pork, but Roman soldiers did, so the swine may have been kept to supply the food for the Roman 'legion'.[2] Augustus was reported to have said that 'it was better to be "Herod's swine than son"',[3] seemingly implying that Herod did keep swine herds on his estates, perhaps for supplying the Romans.[2] The scene with pigs in the passage provides irony and humor which are familiar to Matthew's Jewish audience.[4]

References

  1. ^ Allison 2007, p. 857.
  2. ^ Ellicott, C. J. (Ed.) (1905). Ellicott's Bible Commentary for English Readers. Matthew 8. London : Cassell and Company, Limited, [1905-1906] Online version: (OCoLC) 929526708. Accessed 28 April 2019.
  3. ^ Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius. Saturnalia. II:IV, verse 11. Cum audisset inter pueros quos in Syria Herodes rex Iudaeorum intra bimatum iussit interfici filium quoque eius occisum, ait: Melius est Herodis porcum esse quam filium.
  4. ^ Coogan 2007, p. 19 New Testament.

Sources