Leviticus 11:7-8

11:7 The pig is unclean to you because its hoof is divided (the hoof is completely split in two ¹ ), even though it does not chew the cud. ²  11:8 You must not eat from their meat and you must not touch their carcasses; ³  they are unclean to you.

Deuteronomy 14:8

14:8 Also the pig is ritually impure to you; though it has divided hooves, ⁴  it does not chew the cud. You may not eat their meat or even touch their remains.

Isaiah 65:4

65:4 They sit among the tombs ⁵ 

and keep watch all night long. ⁶ 

They eat pork, ⁷ 

and broth ⁸  from unclean sacrificial meat is in their pans.

Isaiah 66:3

66:3 The one who slaughters a bull also strikes down a man; ⁹ 

the one who sacrifices a lamb also breaks a dog’s neck; ¹⁰ 

the one who presents an offering includes pig’s blood with it; ¹¹ 

the one who offers incense also praises an idol. ¹² 

They have decided to behave this way; ¹³ 

they enjoy these disgusting practices. ¹⁴ 

Matthew 8:30

8:30 A ¹⁵  large herd of pigs was feeding some distance from them.

Luke 8:32

8:32 Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, ¹⁶  and the demonic spirits ¹⁷  begged Jesus ¹⁸  to let them go into them. He gave them permission. ¹⁹ 

[11:7]  ¹ tn See the note on Lev 11:3.

[11:7]  ² tn The meaning and basic rendering of this clause is quite certain, but the verb for “chewing” the cud here is not the same as the preceding verses, where the expression is “to bring up the cud” (see the note on v. 3 above). It appears to be a cognate verb for the noun “cud” (גֵּרָה, gerah) and could mean either “to drag up” (i.e., from the Hebrew Qal of גָרָר [garar] meaning “to drag,” referring to the dragging the cud up and down between the stomach and mouth of the ruminant animal; so J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:647, 653) or “to chew” (i.e., from the Hebrew Niphal [or Qal B] of גָרָר used in a reciprocal sense; so J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 149, and compare BDB 176 s.v. גָרַר, “to chew,” with HALOT 204 s.v. גרר qal.B, “to ruminate”).

[11:8]  ³ sn The regulations against touching the carcasses of dead unclean animals (contrast the restriction against eating their flesh) is treated in more detail in Lev 11:24-28 (cf. also vv. 29-40). For the time being, this chapter continues to develop the issue of what can and cannot be eaten.

[14:8]  ⁴ tc The MT lacks (probably by haplography) the phrase וְשֹׁסַע שֶׁסַע פַּרְסָה (vÿshosa’ shesa’ parsah, “and is clovenfooted,” i.e., “has parted hooves”), a phrase found in the otherwise exact parallel in Lev 11:7. The LXX and Smr attest the longer reading here. The meaning is, however, clear without it.

[65:4]  ⁵ sn Perhaps the worship of underworld deities or dead spirits is in view.

[65:4]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “and in the watches they spend the night.” Some understand נְּצוּרִים (nÿtsurim) as referring to “secret places” or “caves,” while others emend the text to וּבֵין צוּרִים (uven tsurim, “between the rocky cliffs”).

[65:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “the flesh of the pig”; KJV, NAB, NASB “swine’s flesh.”

[65:4]  ⁸ tc The marginal reading (Qere), supported by the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a, reads מְרַק (mÿraq, “broth”), while the consonantal text (Kethib) has פְרַק (feraq, “fragment”).

[66:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “one who slaughters a bull, one who strikes down a man.” Some understand a comparison here and in the following lines. In God’s sight the one who sacrifices is like (i.e., regarded as) a murderer or one whose worship is ritually defiled or idolatrous. The translation above assumes that the language is not metaphorical, but descriptive of the sinners’ hypocritical behavior. (Note the last two lines of the verse, which suggests they are guilty of abominable practices.) On the one hand, they act pious and offer sacrifices; but at the same time they commit violent crimes against men, defile their sacrifices, and worship other gods.

[66:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “one who sacrifices a lamb, one who breaks a dog’s neck.” Some understand a comparison, but see the previous note.

[66:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “one who offers an offering, pig’s blood.” Some understand a comparison, but see the note at the end of the first line.

[66:3]  ¹² tn Heb “one who offers incense as a memorial offering, one who blesses something false.” Some understand a comparison, but see the note at the end of the first line. אָוֶן (’aven), which has a wide variety of attested nuances, here refers metonymically to an idol. See HALOT 22 s.v. and BDB 20 s.v. 2.

[66:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “also they have chosen their ways.”

[66:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “their being [or “soul”] takes delight in their disgusting [things].”

[8:30]  ¹⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[8:32]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “mountain,” but this might give the English reader the impression of a far higher summit.

[8:32]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “they”; the referent (the demonic spirits) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:32]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:32]  ¹⁹ sn Many have discussed why Jesus gave them permission, since the animals were destroyed. However, this is another example of a miracle that is a visual lesson. The demons are destructive: They were destroying the man. They destroyed the pigs. They destroy whatever they touch. The point was to take demonic influence seriously, as well as Jesus’ power over it as a picture of the larger battle for human souls. There would be no doubt how the man’s transformation had taken place.