The Fallible Study Bible

The Fallible · Synthetic · Study Bible

Matthew8:28–34

The Demons and the Pigs

✦ Public-domain source — quoted & attributed⚙ AI synthesis — generated, verify

Matthew 8:28–34 — The Demons and the Pigs. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.

28

When Jesus arrived on the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, He was met by two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs. They were so violent that no one could pass that way.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Kai autou elthontos eis to peran eis tēn chōran tōn Gadarēnōn hypēntēsan autō dyo daimonizomenoi exerchomenoi ek tōn mnēmeiōn lian chalepoi hōste mē tina ischyein parelthein dia ekeinēs tēs hodou

Word by word30 · parsed
ΚαὶKaiWhenG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
αὐτοῦautou[Jesus]G846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
ἐλθόντοςelthontosarrivedG2064
√ ἔρχομαι — to come or go (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively)VerbAorist Participle ActiveGenitive Masculine Singular
ἔρχομαι: to come or go Aorist participle in a genitive absolute with αὐτοῦ: the arrival is backgrounded, not narrated. Matthew compresses a boat journey into one subordinate clause so that the whole weight of the sentence falls on what met him at the shore. The same root recurs at verse 29 as ἦλθες, thrown back at him by the demons: “you came here.”
εἰςeisonG1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
τὸtotheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Neuter Singular
πέρανperanother sideG4008
√ πέραν — through (as adverb or preposition), iAdverb
εἰςeisinG1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
τὴνtēntheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Singular
χώρανchōranregionG5561
√ χώρα — room, iNounAccusative Feminine Singular
τῶνtōnof theG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Plural
ΓαδαρηνῶνGadarēnōnGadarenesG1046
√ Γαδαρηνός — a Gadarene or inhabitant of GadaraAdjectiveGenitive Masculine Plural
Γαδαρηνός: a Gadarene, inhabitant of Gadara The reading here is contested at the level of the manuscripts themselves. Pulpit follows Westcott and Hort in printing Gadarenes in Matthew and Gerasenes in the parallels; Ellicott, Barnes, Poole and Gill all argue instead from Gergesenes. Ellicott notes that Gadara stood about sixteen miles from Tiberias at the north-west end of the Gilead hills, Cambridge that Gergesa answers to the modern Khersa on the lake shore. The unit records the variant rather than resolving it (see apparatus).
ὑπήντησανhypēntēsanHe was met byG5221
√ ὑπαντάω — to go opposite (meet) under (quietly), iVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
ὑπαντάω: to go to meet, to fall in with Aorist active. The verb frames the whole unit: the possessed meet him here, and in verse 34 the whole city comes out εἰς ὑπάντησιν (G5222, the cognate noun). Pulpit notes that ὑπάντησιν suggests the closest proximity, over against ἀπάντησιν which connotes a contrast to the place left. Two meetings, opposite outcomes.
αὐτῷautō. . .G846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
δύοdyotwoG1417
√ δύο — "two"AdjectiveNominative Masculine Plural
δαιμονιζόμενοιdaimonizomenoidemon-possessed [men]G1139
√ δαιμονίζομαι — to be exercised by a dæmonVerbPresent Participle Middle or PassiveNominative Masculine Plural
δαιμονίζομαι: to be under the power of a demon Present middle or passive participle, a standing condition. Gill insists the phrase is "to be understood, not of any natural disease of body, but of real possession by Satan." The participle is plural here and plural again at verse 33; Mark and Luke have a singular man, which is the harmonisation problem Ellicott, Benson, Barnes, Poole, Cambridge and Pulpit all take up in different ways.
ἐξερχόμενοιexerchomenoicomingG1831
√ ἐξέρχομαι — to issue (literally or figuratively)VerbPresent Participle Middle or PassiveNominative Masculine Plural
ἐκekfromG1537
√ ἐκ — literal or figurativePreposition
τῶνtōntheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Neuter Plural
μνημείωνmnēmeiōntombsG3419
√ μνημεῖον — a remembrance, iNounGenitive Neuter Plural
μνημεῖον: a remembrance, a sepulchre Genitive plural after ἐκ. Pulpit presses the preposition: "The Greek shows that they did not merely come from among the tombs, but actually out of them." Ellicott adds that to a Jew, dwelling in tombs was defiling and therefore itself a mark of madness. Poole cites Isaiah 65:4 for the practice; the rock-cut chambers around Gadara are, on Ellicott's report, still inhabited.
λίανlian[They were] soG3029
√ λίαν — much (adverbially)Adverb
χαλεποὶchalepoiviolentG5467
√ χαλεπός — difficult, iAdjectiveNominative Masculine Plural
χαλεπός: hard, harsh, hard to bear One of only two New Testament occurrences (the other is 2 Timothy 3:1). The word describes not rage as such but intractability: a thing that cannot be handled. That is why the consequence clause is about passage, not injury: the road, not the traveller, is what the adjective closes off.
ὥστεhōstethatG5620
√ ὥστε — so too, iConjunction
μὴmēnoG3361
√ μή — (adverb) not, (conjunction) lestAdverb
τινὰtinaoneG5100
√ τὶς — some or any person or objectInterrogative / Indefinite PronounAccusative Masculine Singular
ἰσχύεινischyeincouldG2480
√ ἰσχύω — to have (or exercise) force (literally or figuratively)VerbPresent Infinitive Active
ἰσχύω: to have or exercise force Present infinitive in a result clause with ὥστε: “so that no one was strong enough.” The verb is one of strength, not permission. It sets up the reversal of the unit: no man had strength to pass this road, and then one man comes up the road and speaks a single word (verse 32) and the strength that barred it is gone.
παρελθεῖνpareltheinpassG3928
√ παρέρχομαι — to come near or aside, iVerbAorist Infinitive Active
διὰdia. . .G1223
√ διά — through (in very wide applications, local, causal, or occasional)Preposition
ἐκείνηςekeinēsthatG1565
√ ἐκεῖνος — that one (or (neuter) thing)Demonstrative PronounGenitive Feminine Singular
τῆςtēsG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Feminine Singular
ὁδοῦhodouwayG3598
√ ὁδός — a roadNounGenitive Feminine Singular
29

“What do You want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have You come here to torture us before the appointed time?”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Ti soi kai hēmin Huie tou Theou Kai idou ekraxan legontes ēlthes hōde basanisai hēmas pro kairou

Word by word17 · parsed
ΤίTiWhatG5101
√ τίς — an interrogative pronoun, who, which or what (in direct or indirect questions)Interrogative / Indefinite PronounNominative Neuter Singular
σοίsoido You [want]G4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounDative 2nd Person Singular
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἡμῖνhēminwith usG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounDative 1st Person Plural
ἐγώ: I, me (here dative plural ἡμῖν) The dative of the Semitic idiom. Poole lists its range across Joshua 22:24, 2 Samuel 16:10, 2 Kings 9:18, 2 Chronicles 35:21, Joel 3:4 and John 2:4, everywhere as the speech of one who wants no dealings with another. Henry turns it back on the reader: "See whose language those speak, who will have nothing to do with the gospel of Christ."
ΥἱὲHuieSonG5207
√ υἱός — a "son" (sometimes of animals), used very widely of immediate, remote or figuratively, kinshipNounVocative Masculine Singular
υἱός: a son Vocative. Barnes gathers what the title carries: superiority to the prophets (Hebrews 1:1) and to Moses (Hebrews 3:6), a unique relation to the Father, "and is equivalent to a declaration that he is divine, or equal to the Father." Maclaren notes that on these lips the name "must be taken in its full significance." The first confession of it in this Gospel after the baptism and temptation comes from the wrong side of the line.
τοῦtouG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Singular
ΘεοῦTheouof GodG2316
√ θεός — figuratively, a magistrateNounGenitive Masculine Singular
ΚαὶKaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἰδοὺidouG2400
√ ἰδού — used as imperative lo!VerbAorist Imperative Active2nd Person Singular
ἔκραξανekraxanthey shoutedG2896
√ κράζω — properly, to "croak" (as a raven) or scream, iVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
κράζω: to croak, to scream Aorist indicative active, plural. Strong's gives the root sense as the raven's croak. This is not speech but outcry; Gill notes the whole clause is prefaced by ἰδοὺ as a mark of wonder, "that the devils themselves ... not only say, but cry out, as being in great consternation, horror, and fear."
λέγοντεςlegontesG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Plural
ἦλθεςēlthesHave You comeG2064
√ ἔρχομαι — to come or go (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively)VerbAorist Indicative Active2nd Person Singular
ἔρχομαι: to come Aorist indicative, 2nd person singular: “you came.” The same root that told of his arrival in verse 28 is now an accusation in the mouth of what met him. Gill hears a local emphasis in the following ὧδε: is it not enough that you drove us out of Judea, must you pursue us into this Gentile country too?
ὧδεhōdehereG5602
√ ὧδε — in this same spot, iAdverb
βασανίσαιbasanisaito tortureG928
√ βασανίζω — to tortureVerbAorist Infinitive Active
βασανίζω: to torture, to test by the touchstone Aorist infinitive of purpose. The verb assumes a judicial future the demons already believe in. Barnes sets it against 2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 1:6: evil spirits are not now bound as they will be, and these "seemed to be apprised of that, and were alarmed lest the day that they feared had come."
ἡμᾶςhēmasusG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative 1st Person Plural
πρὸprobefore [the]G4253
√ πρό — "fore", iPreposition
καιροῦkairouappointed timeG2540
√ καιρός — an occasion, iNounGenitive Masculine Singular
καιρός: an occasion, an appointed season Genitive after πρό. Gill records three readings of the phrase and does not choose between them: the day of judgment, or the span the demons had reckoned on in these men, or (raised only as a question) the season of the gospel going to the Gentiles. The first is the standard reading in Barnes, Poole and Pulpit.
30

In the distance a large herd of pigs was feeding.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de makran ap’ autōn pollōn agelē choirōn Ēn boskomenē

Word by word9 · parsed
δὲdeG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
μακρὰνmakranIn the distanceG3112
√ μακράν — at a distance (literally or figuratively)AdjectiveAccusative Feminine Singular
μακράν: at a distance Adverbial accusative. Geneva adds the detail Matthew omits: "On a hill, as Mark and Luke witness." Distance and height together are what make verse 32 physically possible, which is why Cambridge and Pulpit both stake the identification of the site on a steep descent running straight to the water.
ἀπ’ap’. . .G575
√ ἀπό — "off," iPreposition
αὐτῶνautōn. . .G846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Plural
πολλῶνpollōna largeG4183
√ πολύς — (singular) much (in any respect) or (plural) manyAdjectiveGenitive Masculine Plural
ἀγέληagelēherdG34
√ ἀγέλη — a droveNounNominative Feminine Singular
ἀγέλη: a drove, a herd Rare (seven verses, all in this one episode across the three Gospels). Matthew uses it three times in three verses, so that the herd becomes a character in the scene: asked for, entered, and then, with πᾶσα in verse 32, lost entire.
χοίρωνchoirōnof pigsG5519
√ χοῖρος — a hogNounGenitive Masculine Plural
χοῖρος: a hog The unclean animal of Leviticus 11:7, kept here on the far shore. Ellicott offers a concrete explanation of the anomaly: Roman soldiers ate pork even where Jews did not, and the herd may have supplied the garrison. Gill and Barnes canvass the alternative that the owners were Jews in open breach of their own law. The text itself does not say, and the commentators divide.
ἮνĒnwasG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbImperfect Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
εἰμί: to be (imperfect) Imperfect with the participle: the herd had been grazing all along, before Jesus landed and while the demoniacs raged. The tense sets the ordinary world running in the background of the confrontation.
βοσκομένηboskomenēfeedingG1006
√ βόσκω — to pastureVerbPresent Participle Middle or PassiveNominative Feminine Singular
βόσκω: to pasture, to feed Rare (nine verses). Here middle or passive; at verse 33 the active participle names the herdsmen. It is also the verb the risen Christ lays on Peter at John 21:15, of feeding lambs. The two flocks stand a long way apart, and the Verifier's link between the two passages is lexical, not thematic: the same rare word, nothing more.
31

So the demons begged Jesus, “If You drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de hoi daimones parekaloun auton legontes Ei ekballeis hēmas aposteilon hēmas eis tēn agelēn tōn choirōn

Word by word16 · parsed
δὲdeSoG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
οἱhoitheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Plural
δαίμονεςdaimonesdemonsG1142
√ δαίμων — a dæmon or supernatural spirit (of a bad nature)NounNominative Masculine Plural
δαίμων: a supernatural spirit of a bad nature The masculine form, found otherwise only at Revelation 16:14 and 18:2 (Cambridge). Matthew has shifted speaker since verse 29: there the cry was the men's, here the petition is explicitly the demons'. Pulpit marks the same distinction, "This is distinguished from ver. 29 as expressly the utterance of the evil spirits."
παρεκάλουνparekalounbeggedG3870
√ παρακαλέω — to call near, iVerbImperfect Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
παρακαλέω: to call near, to beseech Imperfect, iterative. The word is the noun-root behind Paraclete, one called alongside. Here it is used by the accuser, and at verse 34 by a town that wants no comforter. Matthew sets the two petitions on either side of the miracle and lets the reader hear that they ask for the same thing.
αὐτὸνauton[Jesus]G846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
λέγοντεςlegontesG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Plural
ΕἰEiIfG1487
√ εἰ — if, whether, that, etcConjunction
ἐκβάλλειςekballeisYou drive us outG1544
√ ἐκβάλλω — to eject (literally or figuratively)VerbPresent Indicative Active2nd Person Singular
ἐκβάλλω: to cast out, to eject Present indicative in a first-class condition. This is the standard exorcism verb of the Gospels, and its presence here concedes the outcome before the sentence is finished. Gill reads the whole request as damage control: they beg not to be sent out of the country at all, and settling for the swine is their second petition.
ἡμᾶςhēmas. . .G1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative 1st Person Plural
ἀπόστειλονaposteilonsend usG649
√ ἀποστέλλω — set apart, iVerbAorist Imperative Active2nd Person Singular
ἀποστέλλω: to set apart, to send forth with commission Aorist imperative. Nothing in the Greek asks leave. Poole draws the practical conclusion in one line, that the devil cannot so much as trouble a swine without leave from God; Henry the same, "they cannot enter even a swine without his leave." The imperative form and the theological fact pull against each other, and the tension is the point.
ἡμᾶςhēmas. . .G1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative 1st Person Plural
εἰςeisintoG1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
τὴνtēntheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Singular
ἀγέληνagelēnherdG34
√ ἀγέλη — a droveNounAccusative Feminine Singular
ἀγέλη: a drove, a herd Accusative after εἰς, the destination they name for themselves. Ellicott reads the request as a last claim on power: "If the power to terrify and disturb men is taken from us, let us, at least, retain the power to destroy brutes." Luke's parallel names the alternative they are avoiding, the abyss.
τῶνtōnG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Plural
χοίρωνchoirōnof pigsG5519
√ χοῖρος — a hogNounGenitive Masculine Plural
32

“Go!” He told them. So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and died in the waters.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Hypagete Kai eipen autois hoi de exelthontes apēlthon eis tous choirous kai idou hē pasa agelē hōrmēsen kata tou krēmnou eis tēn thalassan kai apethanon en tois hydasin

Word by word28 · parsed
ὙπάγετεHypageteGoG5217
√ ὑπάγω — to lead (oneself) under, iVerbPresent Imperative Active2nd Person Plural
ὑπάγω: to withdraw, to go away Present imperative plural, and the only word Jesus speaks in the entire unit. Pulpit reads the permission carefully: "As they asked; for he was not yet come to send them to their final home." Set against verse 29, the single word is the answer to “before the appointed time”: not yet, and not here.
ΚαὶKaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
εἶπενeipenHe toldG2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
αὐτοῖςautoisthemG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
οἱhoiG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Plural
δὲdeSoG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ἐξελθόντεςexelthontesthey came outG1831
√ ἐξέρχομαι — to issue (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Plural
ἐξέρχομαι: to issue, to go out Aorist participle. The third appearance of this root in the unit: the possessed came out of the tombs (verse 28), the demons come out of the men here, and the city goes out to meet him at verse 34. Matthew builds the whole episode out of goings-out.
ἀπῆλθονapēlthonand wentG565
√ ἀπέρχομαι — to go off (iVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
εἰςeisintoG1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
τοὺςtoustheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Plural
χοίρουςchoirouspigsG5519
√ χοῖρος — a hogNounAccusative Masculine Plural
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἰδοὺidouG2400
√ ἰδού — used as imperative lo!VerbAorist Imperative Active2nd Person Singular
ἰδού: behold! Pulpit counts this the third of the stages "that were apparent to all" (with verses 29 and 34). It is a narrator's finger, not a word of the story: what follows was visible to the swineherds on the hill.
ἡhētheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Feminine Singular
πᾶσαpasawholeG3956
√ πᾶς — all, any, every, the wholeAdjectiveNominative Feminine Singular
πᾶς: all, the whole With ἀγέλη: nothing of the herd is left. The same adjective governs πόλις at verse 34, so that the totality of the loss and the totality of the town's refusal are stated with one word.
ἀγέληagelēherdG34
√ ἀγέλη — a droveNounNominative Feminine Singular
ὥρμησενhōrmēsenrushedG3729
√ ὁρμάω — to start, spur or urge on, iVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
ὁρμάω: to start, to rush headlong Aorist, singular, with a collective subject. The verb is one of sudden impulse. Barnes, answering the objection that this was wanton destruction, is careful about agency: Jesus "did not command, he only suffered or permitted the devils to go into the swine." The grammar agrees: the imperative at index 0 is go, not destroy.
κατὰkatadownG2596
√ κατά — (prepositionally) down (in place or time), in varied relations (according to the case (genitive, dative or accusative) with which it is joined)Preposition
τοῦtoutheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Singular
κρημνοῦkrēmnousteep bankG2911
√ κρημνός — overhanging, iNounGenitive Masculine Singular
κρημνός: an overhanging place, a precipice Articular genitive after κατά. On this one word the site identification turns. Origen, quoted by Gill, describes Gergesa as "an ancient city by what is now called the Lake of Tiberias, by which is a steep place adjacent to the lake"; Thomson's Khersa, cited by both Cambridge and Pulpit, answers the same description.
εἰςeisintoG1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
τὴνtēntheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Singular
θάλασσανthalassanseaG2281
√ θάλασσα — the sea (genitive case or specially)NounAccusative Feminine Singular
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἀπέθανονapethanondiedG599
√ ἀποθνήσκω — to die off (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
ἀποθνήσκω: to die off Aorist plural. The animals die; nothing is said of what becomes of the demons, and the commentators who fill that silence (Poole's abyss, Gill's return to prison) are reasoning from Luke, not from Matthew. Matthew stops at the water.
ἐνeninG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
τοῖςtoistheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Neuter Plural
ὕδασινhydasinwatersG5204
√ ὕδωρ — water (as if rainy) literally or figurativelyNounDative Neuter Plural
33

Those tending the pigs ran off into the town and reported all this, including the account of the demon-possessed men.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de Hoi boskontes ephygon kai apelthontes eis tēn polin apēngeilan panta kai ta tōn daimonizomenōn

Word by word15 · parsed
δὲdeG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ΟἱHoiThoseG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Plural
βόσκοντεςboskontestending [the pigs]G1006
√ βόσκω — to pastureVerbPresent Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Plural
βόσκω: to pasture, to feed Present active participle, the counterpart to the middle or passive at verse 30. Gill, following his own long note on the rabbinic prohibition, calls these "men of very low life, and whose employment was very infamous and reproachful." Cambridge is more cautious: whether they were Jews or Gentiles "does not appear ... more probably the latter."
ἔφυγονephygonran offG5343
√ φεύγω — to run away (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
φεύγω: to run away Aorist. Their flight is the first human response to the miracle recorded in the unit, and it is fear over property. Gill lists the mixed motives: astonishment, loss of employment, and dread of their masters.
καὶkai. . .G2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἀπελθόντεςapelthontes. . .G565
√ ἀπέρχομαι — to go off (iVerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Plural
εἰςeisintoG1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
τὴνtēntheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Singular
πόλινpolintownG4172
√ πόλις — a town (properly, with walls, of greater or less size)NounAccusative Feminine Singular
ἀπήγγειλανapēngeilan[and] reportedG518
√ ἀπαγγέλλω — to announceVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
ἀπαγγέλλω: to announce, to bring word Aorist indicative plural. The verb of report. Gill notes the order of their telling: the swine first, "as being done last, and with which they were most affected, and what chiefly concerned their employers," and only then the men. Mark's and Luke's parallels add "and in the country," which Matthew omits.
πάνταpantaall thisG3956
√ πᾶς — all, any, every, the wholeAdjectiveAccusative Neuter Plural
πᾶς: all, every, the whole Accusative neuter plural, “all things." The third of the unit's totalities (the whole herd, all things told, the whole city), and each one measures something other than the two men who were set free.
καὶkaiincludingG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
τὰtathe [account]G3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Neuter Plural
τῶνtōnof theG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Plural
δαιμονιζομένωνdaimonizomenōndemon-possessed [men]G1139
√ δαιμονίζομαι — to be exercised by a dæmonVerbPresent Participle Middle or PassiveGenitive Masculine Plural
δαιμονίζομαι: to be under the power of a demon Genitive plural participle, exactly the form of verse 28 and still plural. Pulpit flags it: "Matthew repeats the plural." Whatever is decided about the harmony with Mark and Luke, Matthew is consistent with himself at both ends of the scene.
34

Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to leave their region.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

kai idou hē pasa polis exēlthen eis hypantēsin tō Iēsou kai idontes auton parekalesan hopōs metabē apo tōn autōn horiōn

Word by word20 · parsed
καὶkaiThenG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἰδοὺidou. . .G2400
√ ἰδού — used as imperative lo!VerbAorist Imperative Active2nd Person Singular
ἡhētheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Feminine Singular
πᾶσαpasawholeG3956
√ πᾶς — all, any, every, the wholeAdjectiveNominative Feminine Singular
πᾶς: all, the whole Pulpit distinguishes πᾶσα ἡ πόλις from the more vivid ὅλη ἡ πόλις of Mark 1:33, calling it "not really less comprehensive, but giving a less vivid representation of one united body." Gill likewise reads it as the great number rather than every individual.
πόλιςpolistownG4172
√ πόλις — a town (properly, with walls, of greater or less size)NounNominative Feminine Singular
πόλις: a walled town Which town is disputed, and the dispute is the unit's central textual problem. Pulpit argues that Matthew names the district by the well-known Gadara in verse 28 but leaves "the city" of verses 33 and 34 as he found it in his source, the village at the lakeside, "the result is at first misleading." Ellicott instead takes it as "the population of Gadara or Gerasa (more probably the former)."
ἐξῆλθενexēlthenwent outG1831
√ ἐξέρχομαι — to issue (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
ἐξέρχομαι: to issue, to go out Aorist, singular, with the collective subject. The fourth and last going-out of the unit. Two men came out of the tombs to meet him; now a whole town comes out to send him away.
εἰςeistoG1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
ὑπάντησινhypantēsinmeetG5222
√ ὑπάντησις — an encounter or concurrence (with G1519 (εἰς) for infinitive, in order to fall in with)NounAccusative Feminine Singular
ὑπάντησις: an encounter, a falling in with The noun of G5221, the verb of verse 28, and this is its only occurrence in the unit. The word occurs elsewhere in Matthew at 25:1, where the virgins go out to meet the bridegroom, and at John 12:13, where the crowd goes out to meet Jesus with palm branches. Here the same construction frames a request that he go.
τῷtōG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Masculine Singular
ἸησοῦIēsouJesusG2424
√ Ἰησοῦς — Jesus (iNounDative Masculine Singular
καὶkaiAndG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἰδόντεςidonteswhen they sawG3708
√ ὁράω — by extension, to attend toVerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Plural
αὐτὸνautonHimG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
παρεκάλεσανparekalesanthey begged [Him]G3870
√ παρακαλέω — to call near, iVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
παρακαλέω: to call near, to beseech Aorist. Gill is careful about what this petition is not: it is not the centurion's "I am not worthy" of Matthew 8:8, nor Peter's "depart from me, I am a sinful man," but fear of further loss. Pulpit makes the same comparison with Luke 5:8 and draws the opposite conclusion about the heart behind the words.
ὅπωςhopōsG3704
√ ὅπως — what(-ever) how, iConjunction
μεταβῇmetabēto leaveG3327
√ μεταβαίνω — to change placeVerbAorist Subjunctive Active3rd Person Singular
μεταβαίνω: to change place Aorist subjunctive in a purpose clause. Barnes reads the whole verse as a lesson in what acquisitiveness can do to sight: "They loved it so much that they were blind to the evidence of the miracle." Poole records the outcome without softening it: "He immediately departeth, and we do not read that he came here any more."
ἀπὸapo. . .G575
√ ἀπό — "off," iPreposition
τῶνtōnG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Neuter Plural
αὐτῶνautōntheirG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Plural
ὁρίωνhoriōnregionG3725
√ ὅριον — a boundary-line, iNounGenitive Neuter Plural
ὅριον: a boundary line, a border Genitive plural. A territorial word. The demons had asked not to be sent out of the country (Mark's parallel); the townsmen ask that Jesus be. Matthew ends the scene with a border drawn by men, having opened it with one that no man could cross (verse 28).

The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.

⚙

Grand Commentary — the unit, read whole

synthesis · verify

AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.

i. The road no one could pass — 8:28

⚙ Matthew tells the crossing in a genitive absolute (αὐτοῦ ἐλθόντος) and never names the traveller, so that the first proper noun in the scene is a place name that the manuscripts cannot agree on. Ellicott lays out the three candidates, Gadara, Gerasa and Gergesa, with the observation that "the variations are obviously of very early date"; Cambridge stakes the site on Khersa, where a steep descent runs to the lake; Pulpit follows Westcott and Hort and prints Gadarenes here, Gerasenes in the parallels. Maclaren is the most candid about the geography: Gadara itself, six miles off with a gorge between, "is out of the question as the scene of the miracle." Against that uncertain map Matthew sets two certainties: ὑπήντησαν, an active plural verb (they met him, not he was met), and λίαν χαλεποί, exceedingly hard to handle, a word the New Testament uses only twice. The result clause is not about assault but about access: μὴ ἰσχύειν τινὰ παρελθεῖν, no one was strong enough to pass through that way. Poole notes that the tombs were chosen "partly to affright persons through the horror of the places," citing Isaiah 65:4. A road, a graveyard, and a strength no traveller could match.

ii. The confession from the wrong side — 8:29

⚙ The first thing said to Jesus in this unit is a title. Cambridge refuses the domesticated reading of the idiom: Τί ἡμῖν καὶ σοί is "not ‘what is there in common between you and us?’ but ‘what cause of war is there between us?’" Pulpit adds the underlying Hebrew form and lists 2 Samuel 16:10; Poole runs the same idiom through Joshua 22:24, 2 Kings 9:18, 2 Chronicles 35:21, Joel 3:4 and John 2:4. Barnes gathers what Υἱὲ τοῦ Θεοῦ carries in this Gospel, that it "is equivalent to a declaration that he is divine, or equal to the Father," and Maclaren insists that on these lips the name "must be taken in its full significance." Henry draws the hardest line in the unit from it: "Surely here was torment, to be forced to own the excellence that is in Christ, and yet they had no part in him." Then πρὸ καιροῦ. The demons concede an appointed season and dispute only its date. Pulpit itemises the theology hidden in that concession: a future torment is assumed, and they have no doubt as to their own share in it. Gill canvasses three readings of the kairos and refuses to settle on one.

iii. One word, and the herd — 8:30-8:32

⚙ Matthew spends three verses on the animals and one word on the exorcism. The herd is introduced with a periphrastic imperfect, Ἦν βοσκομένη, the ordinary world grazing on through the confrontation; Geneva supplies from the parallels that it was "On a hill." The petition is grammatically extraordinary: Cambridge notes that δαίμονες is the masculine form found elsewhere only at Revelation 16:14 and 18:2, and Pulpit that ἀπόστειλον carries "no thought of permission, but only of command. They recognize his mastery." Benson reads the same request as a confession: by making it "the devils acknowledged that it was not in the power even of a legion of them to do any mischief to so contemptible a creature as a swine without Christ's permission." Poole compresses it: the devil cannot so much as trouble a swine without leave from God. The answer is Ὑπάγετε, one word, and Maclaren sees what Matthew's abbreviation achieves by it, that "His simple presence is the potent spell before which the demons cower and flee." On the destruction that follows, the commentators divide honestly. Ellicott states the scandal plainly ("why permission was given for a destructive work which seemed alike needless and fruitless") before answering it; Barnes stresses that Jesus "did not command, he only suffered or permitted"; Pulpit that he "would not employ his inherent Divine power even against the kingdom of Satan, or forcibly disturb the conditions under which evil existed in the world." Barnes also records the fact that ought to govern the whole discussion: except the fig tree, this is the only one of Christ's miracles "in which he caused any destruction of property."

iv. Two meetings, one border — 8:33-8:34

⚙ The unit closes by repeating its own opening vocabulary and reversing it. In verse 28 two demonized men ὑπήντησαν him; in verse 34 a whole city goes out εἰς ὑπάντησιν, the cognate noun. In verse 31 the demons παρεκάλουν (imperfect, kept begging); in verse 34 the town παρεκάλεσαν (aorist, asked once). The root ἐξέρχομαι runs through the whole scene: out of the tombs, out of the men, out of the city. Matthew's word order in verse 33 is pointed, all things first and the men appended, which Pulpit reduces to five words, "business first, philanthropy second." Cambridge offers the theological name for what happened to the two men, metanoia, "change from the old evil state to the new life." The town's verdict, in Ellicott's reading, is that they "were led to look on the Prophet who had wrought so great a work as a Destroyer rather than a Saviour"; in Barnes's, that they "were blind to the evidence of the miracle" through love of property; in Geneva's blunt gloss, "Where men live as swine, there Christ does not abide, but demons." Poole records the outcome without softening it: he departs, and we do not read that he came here any more.

Read under Sola Scriptura — this tool’s own fallible reading (⚙)

⚙ This is the tool's own fallible reading, offered to be tested against the text. Matthew has built this unit on a single repeated verb and its cognates. Two men met him (ὑπήντησαν, v. 28) and a whole city came out to a meeting with him (εἰς ὑπάντησιν, v. 34). The demons kept begging (παρεκάλουν, v. 31) and the townsmen begged (παρεκάλεσαν, v. 34). Both petitions ask for the same thing: distance. The difference is that the demons had to negotiate for it and were granted a short lease, while the city asked once and was granted it outright. Read that way, the swine are not the problem of the passage but its mirror. The unclean spirits asked to enter what was unclean and got exactly what they asked for, and it destroyed them; the city asked Jesus to cross its border and got exactly what it asked for, and Poole notes that so far as the record goes he never came back. Matthew's three totalities make the accounting: the whole herd (v. 32), all things reported (v. 33), the whole city (v. 34). Nothing in that ledger counts the two men. The one word Jesus speaks in the entire episode is Ὑπάγετε, withdraw, and by the end of the unit everyone in it has been granted a withdrawal except the two who were freed. The line printed below as a pullquote is this tool's own sentence, not a verse of Scripture.

Two met Him among the graves and a whole city came out to meet Him; only the graves were emptied.

⚙

Canonical Threads — out to the whole of Scripture

cross-refs · verify

AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.

The herd, the cliff, the sea: one event in three Greek accounts verbal / quotation: confirmed

Matthew 8:32, Mark 5:13 and Luke 8:33 narrate the same moment in overlapping Greek vocabulary. Two of the shared lexemes are genuinely rare: χοῖρος (G5519) stands in twelve New Testament verses in all, and ἀγέλη (G34) in seven, of which every single one belongs to this episode. The differences are as instructive as the agreements. Mark and Luke supply the number (two thousand, reported by Poole, Gill and Barnes from Mark 5:13), the name Legion, and the demons' plea about the abyss; Cambridge lists what Matthew omits, including "the impossibility of binding him with chains, the absence of clothing, the wild cries night and day." Jamieson, Fausset and Brown write no exposition of Matthew here at all, sending the reader straight to Mark 5.

Mark 5:13 · Luke 8:33

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexemes G5519 χοῖρος (in 12 vv) and G34 ἀγέλη (in 7 vv, all within this one episode), both rare, plus G1831 ἐξέρχομαι (in 212 vv). Greek to Greek, three accounts of one event, so the verbal link is real; no one text quotes another, and the tier records shared rare vocabulary, not citation.

The swineherds run: βόσκω and the first report verbal / quotation: confirmed

The verb βόσκω (G1006, nine New Testament verses) does double duty in this unit: the herd "was being pastured" at 8:30 (middle or passive participle) and "those pasturing" flee at 8:33 (active participle). Mark 5:14 and Luke 8:34 carry the same rare verb with the same two companions, ἀπαγγέλλω (to announce) and πόλις (city). All three evangelists make hired herdsmen the first messengers of the miracle, and all three send them to the town rather than to Jesus. Mark and Luke add "and in the country," which Matthew omits; Pulpit suggests the addition refers to "the news being carried also to those men of the city who were at their daily labour outside it."

Mark 5:14 · Luke 8:34

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexemes G1006 βόσκω (in 9 vv, rare), G518 ἀπαγγέλλω (in 46 vv), G4172 πόλις (in 155 vv). Greek to Greek within the Synoptic parallel; the link is the shared rare verb βόσκω, not a quotation.

χαλεπός: the only other hard time in the New Testament verbal / quotation: confirmed

χαλεποί at Matthew 8:28 is one of just two occurrences of this adjective in the New Testament. The other is 2 Timothy 3:1, where Paul writes that in the last days καιροὶ χαλεποί will come, hard seasons. Both verses also carry καιρός (G2540), which Matthew places on the demons' lips three verses later: "before the kairos." The Verifier records the shared lexemes; what it cannot record is whether Matthew intended any connection, and nothing in the commentary tradition available here (Ellicott, Barnes, Poole, Gill, Cambridge, Pulpit) draws one. The resonance is real at the level of vocabulary and should be weighed no higher than that: a rare word for what cannot be handled, standing beside the word for an appointed season, in two places only.

2 Timothy 3:1

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexemes G5467 χαλεπός (in 2 vv, the rarest lexeme in this unit and the whole of its New Testament distribution) and G2540 καιρός (in 80 vv). Greek to Greek. The rarity establishes the verbal link; no quotation or literary dependence is claimed, and no commentator in this brief connects the two passages.

A far country and a herd of swine structural / thematic: confirmed

Luke 15:15-16 sends the younger son into a far χώρα (G5561, the same noun Matthew uses for the Gadarene region at 8:28) to feed χοίρους (G5519), and there he longs to eat what the pigs eat. Matthew 8 and Luke 15 share the country, the swine, and the condition of a man who has passed out of his own community into ruin. The parallel is worth naming and worth under-claiming: Luke's is a parable and Matthew's a narrative, they share no distinctive phrase, and no commentator in this brief links them. What they hold in common is a setting, the unclean far country, which both evangelists treat as the furthest point from home.

Luke 15:15 · Luke 15:16

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexemes G5519 χοῖρος (in 12 vv, rare), G5561 χώρα (in 28 vv), G1565 ἐκεῖνος (in 237 vv). Greek to Greek, so a verbal link exists, but it is deliberately tiered structural: parable and narrative share vocabulary and setting, not a quotation or a distinctive phrase, and no source in this brief connects them.

Sitting among the graves, eating swine's flesh structural / thematic: confirmed

Isaiah 65:4 indicts a rebellious people on two counts in one breath: they lodge among the graves and monuments, and they eat swine's flesh. Matthew 8 puts those same two defilements side by side without comment: men living out of the tombs, a herd of swine grazing within sight. Poole makes the connection explicitly at 8:28, citing Isaiah 65:4 (with John 20:6) for the rock-hewn Jewish tombs large enough to be lived in. The link cannot be verified by shared Strong's numbers, because Isaiah is Hebrew and Matthew is Greek; it rests on the coincidence of two uncommon images in one scene and on Poole's own citation, and the tier records it as motif rather than quotation.

Isaiah 65:4

basis: Cross-Testament (Hebrew against Greek), so no shared Strong's lexeme is possible and no verbal claim is made. Recorded basis: Poole cites Isaiah 65:4 at Matthew 8:28 for the tombs, and Isaiah 65:4 independently couples lodging among graves with eating swine's flesh, the two defilements Matthew's scene sets together.

Gergesenes and Girgashites: a disputed identification flagged: verify source

Gill identifies the Gergesenes with "the Girgashites, Genesis 15:21 whom Joshua drove out of the land of Canaan," and quotes Origen at length for the etymology "the habitation of those that cast out," called so "perhaps prophetically, for what the inhabitants of those places did to the Saviour." Ellicott records the same proposal and then argues against it: the Girgashites of Joshua 24:11 were "on the western side of the Jordan," and "it is, on the whole, more likely that the reading was a mistake, than that the old tribe still remained with its old name." The identification is therefore doubly uncertain: the Greek reading it depends on is itself contested (Pulpit prints Gadarenes as "certainly right here"), and the geography runs against it. Recorded, not endorsed.

Genesis 15:21 · Joshua 24:11

basis: Contested provenance on two counts. The Greek reading Γεργεσηνῶν that the identification rests on is disputed in the manuscripts (Pulpit and Maclaren follow Westcott and Hort in reading Γαδαρηνῶν here). Cross-Testament, so no shared Strong's lexeme is available. Gill and Origen affirm the link; Ellicott records it and judges it more likely a transcriptional error, citing the western location of the Girgashites at Joshua 24:11.

⚙Christ in the Unittypology · verify

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

The title spoken first by those with no part in him ancient/widely-held

⚙ In Matthew's narrative to this point the title Son of God has been put to Jesus only as a taunting condition, twice, by the devil in the wilderness (Matthew 4:3, 4:6). Here it is said flat, as fact, and said by demons. Barnes sets out what it carries: superiority to the prophets (Hebrews 1:1) and to Moses (Hebrews 3:6), a unique relation to the Father, "equivalent to a declaration that he is divine, or equal to the Father." Maclaren holds that on these lips the name "must be taken in its full significance." Pulpit reads the confrontation through 1 John 3:8 and Westcott's comment there, that "the spiritual adversary of man has a mightier spiritual antagonist." Henry supplies the redemptive-historical hinge by citing Hebrews 2:16: "fallen man has so much to do with Christ, when fallen angels have nothing to do with him." The christological point is not that the demons were right about his identity, which they were, but that right identification is not salvation. This is the standard reading, carried here by Henry, Barnes, Maclaren, Gill and Pulpit alike.

Mark 5:7 · Hebrews 2:16 · 1 John 3:8

Before the appointed time: judgment conceded by the accused ancient/widely-held

⚙ πρὸ καιροῦ concedes three things at once: that a judgment is fixed, that Christ is its agent, and that the speakers fall under it. Barnes names the texts the tradition reads with this one, 2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 1:6, where the spirits are kept for the judgment of the great day, and concludes that the demons "seemed to be apprised of that, and were alarmed lest the day that they feared had come." Gill hears in the objection an admission with no defence attached: "nor do they say anything against it." Pulpit lists the same three concessions from the wording alone. The single word Ὑπάγετε answers them: not yet, and not by force. Pulpit draws out what the restraint means for the shape of redemptive history, that he "would not employ his inherent Divine power even against the kingdom of Satan, or forcibly disturb the conditions under which evil existed in the world." What happens on this shore is a foretaste held deliberately short of the end, and the demons themselves are the witnesses that there is an end.

2 Peter 2:4 · Jude 1:6 · Matthew 25:41

The crossing to the unclean shore novel

⚙ Every marker of uncleanness available to a first-century Jewish reader is stacked in this one scene: Gentile territory, a graveyard lived in, a herd of swine. Jesus crosses into it, and nothing in Matthew's account suggests he is defiled by it; the movement runs the other way, and Cambridge names what happens to the men by the theological term metanoia, "change from the old evil state to the new life." Gill raises, without asserting, whether the demons' complaint about being pursued "hither" may glance at "the time of the preaching of the Gospel, and setting up the kingdom of Christ among the Gentiles," and he is careful to leave it as a question: "I leave to be considered." This tool follows him at the same distance. Read forward, the crossing anticipates a gospel that will go outside Israel's borders; read as Matthew actually ends it, the shore that Jesus enters is the shore that asks him to leave, and the mission there is carried on, in the parallels, only by a delivered man sent home to his own house. The figural reading is offered as a proposal, not a finding.

Mark 5:19 · Matthew 15:22 · Matthew 28:19

Apparatus & Provenance

The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.

Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:

  • Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible (1834)
  • Alexander Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (c. 1905)
  • Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, — (1880s)
  • Charles Ellicott, Commentary for English Readers (1878)
  • Geneva Study Bible, Marginal Notes (1599)
  • Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory (1871)
  • John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible (1746–63)
  • Joseph Benson, Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1810s)
  • Matthew Henry, Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706)
  • Matthew Poole, Annotations upon the Holy Bible (1685)
  • The Pulpit Commentary, Spence & Exell, eds. (1880s)

Two genuine problems in this unit are recorded here rather than settled.

The place name. The manuscripts vary across all three Gospels between Gadarenes, Gerasenes and Gergesenes, and the sources in this brief divide. Pulpit follows Westcott and Hort and calls Gadarenes "certainly right here," with Gerasenes in the parallels; Maclaren reports the same critical consensus; Ellicott, Barnes, Poole, Gill and Geneva all comment on a text reading Gergesenes. The Berean interlinear used for this unit reads Γαδαρηνῶν (G1046), and the notes follow it. The geography is equally unsettled: Maclaren states flatly that Gadara, over six miles from the lake with a gorge between, "is out of the question as the scene of the miracle," while Cambridge and Pulpit both identify the site with the modern Khersa, from Thomson's nineteenth century survey. Origen's description, quoted at length by Gill, is the oldest testimony cited in this brief and is itself part of the dispute rather than its resolution.

Two demoniacs or one. Matthew has two (plural in verse 28 and again in verse 33); Mark 5 and Luke 8 have one. Ellicott, Benson, Barnes, Poole and Gill all harmonise by supposing one man was more prominent and so remembered; Maclaren calls the divergence "not contradiction" but a sign of "more accurate information." Pulpit declines to harmonise and allows that Matthew may be in error in numbers, possibly through a misunderstanding of the plural in Mark 5:9. No resolution is asserted here; both positions are recorded in the voices.

Sources and limits. Scripture text is BSB (CC0); the interlinear, glosses, parse tags and Strong's numbers are Berean; every ✦ quotation is a verbatim contiguous span from the named public-domain commentator. Several entries in the brief are capped (Ellicott, Maclaren, Barnes, Gill and Pulpit at 8:28; Benson and Gill at 8:30; Barnes at 8:33 and 8:34), so quotations are drawn only from the text actually supplied. Gill's rabbinic citations on the keeping of swine, and Ellicott's and Geneva's appeals to Augustus and to Josephus, are reproduced as those authors give them and have not been independently checked against their sources. The Verifier's thread bases are shared-lexeme counts, not judgments of literary dependence; the Isaiah 65:4 and Girgashite links cannot be verified that way at all, because no Strong's number is shared between a Hebrew and a Greek text, and both are tiered accordingly. ⚙ material throughout, including the sola reading and its pullquote, is this tool's own fallible synthesis and is not Scripture.

✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)