According to the law of Moses, swine were unclean, and any Jew owning them or using them as food violated this law. The destruction of the herd (Luke 8:26,36) and the question of the destination of the evil spirits has been well explained by Trench in his famous book on Miracles. He wrote: "A man is of more value than many swine," and added that it is not necessary to suppose that our Lord sent the devils into the swine, but merely permitted them to go, adding further that if those Gadarene villagers who owned the swine were Jews, as may be supposed, they were properly punished by the loss of that which they ought not to have had at all. As for the evil spirits, it is reasonable to conclude that they found a congenial refuge somewhere else. With regard to their recognition of Jesus as divine, we have Scripture assurance that "the devils believe and tremble."
