pig

The word chazir is used for domestic and wild pigs. The domesticated pig was known in Egypt around 2500 B.C. and was probably domesticated in Canaan about that time too. Domestication of wild pigs seems to have coincided everywhere with the development of agriculture. Wild pigs were probably penned in large enclosures and fed scraps, thus keeping them away from planted fields. Later on, when full domestication had taken place, it was more usual for pigs to be herded rather than kept in pens. Pigs eat almost anything and herding did away with the necessity to feed them. It soon was noticed that the rooting activity of the pigs rid areas of tree roots and shrubs and promoted the growth of grass for grazing. So early swineherds herded the pigs into areas where future grazing was wanted, away from planted fields. Jews who kept pigs may not have done so with the idea of eating their meat, which was unclean, but to promote grazing grass and to sell the pigs to neighboring tribes.

Wild pigs, in the form of the European Boar Sus scrofus, were once abundant in Israel, especially in the Jordan Valley. Even now since neither Jews nor Moslems eat the meat of wild pigs, and thus do not hunt them, they can still be found in the Jordan Valley and in many other areas where there is both water and thick undergrowth.

The Greek words choiros and hueios mean “pig” or “pig meat”. The word hus means a female pig or sow.

The domesticated pigs of biblical times looked much more like wild pigs than the modern breeds of pig. They would have been brown or gray in color and fairly hairy. The young pigs probably had horizontal stripes.

Of all animals the pig was considered the most unclean.

In languages that differentiate between wild and domestic pigs, in Psalms 80:13 the word for a wild pig should be used. In 2 Peter 2:22, although the Greek specifies a female pig, the gender of the pig is not really important in the proverb. Many translations have simply “pig”.

Source: All Creatures Great and Small: Living things in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)

complete verse (Isaiah 65:4)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 65:4:

  • Kupsabiny: “They stay in the caves where people were buried,
    and are at night where no one knows.
    They eat the meat of pigs
    and drink the soup from impure things.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “They sit in tombs
    and waiting in secret places they pass the night.
    They eat pig meat,
    and they made soup, having put repulsive things in a cup.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “At night-time they sit on the graves and on the hidden places in-order to speak to the ghost of the dead-ones. They even eat the meat of the pig and some other food which are forbidden for them to eat.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “They secretly remain awake at night in burial caves,
    talking with the spirits of dead people/their ancestors.
    They eat the meat of pigs,
    and their pots are full of other meat that is also unacceptable to me.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Isaiah 65:4

This verse continues to list the people’s sins that provoke God’s anger.

Who sit in tombs, and spend the night in secret places: These two parallel lines refer to related activities. To sit in tombs probably refers to communicating with spirits of the dead. The people could do this in the burial tombs of the dead, because it was common practice to use caves or holes in the rock to bury the dead (see 22.16). New International Version renders in tombs as “among the graves” (similarly Revised English Bible), but most versions say “in/inside tombs.”

To spend the night in secret places probably refers to worshiping other gods during the night in places set aside for this. These “gods” could be the spirits of ancestors (see 8.19). Good News Translation spells out this meaning explicitly by combining the first two lines. Revised English Bible renders the second line as “keeping vigil all night long,” New International Version says “and spend their nights keeping secret vigil,” and New Jerusalem Bible has “spending the night in dark corners.” For many languages it will be helpful to specify why the people keep vigil. We recommend making it explicit that they are worshiping foreign gods (see the examples below).

Who eat swine’s flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels: These two parallel lines refer to eating food that makes someone ritually unclean. To eat swine’s flesh goes against the food laws of Israel (see Lev 11.7). Swine’s flesh is pig’s meat. Good News Translation says simply “pork.” A broth is a soup or stew that is made by boiling meat of some kind. The Hebrew term rendered abominable things is rare; it refers to ceremonially unclean meat, such as pork. In this context it could refer to the meat of sacrifices offered to foreign gods (so Good News Translation). Bible en français courant and New Jerusalem Bible translate abominable things as “unclean foods,” which does not refer to food that is physically dirty, but to food that God says is unfit to eat (see the comments on 6.5). Their vessels refers to the cups or bowls from which the people ate the soup/stew.

For the translation of this verse consider the following examples:

• They sit inside/among the tombs of the dead [or, tombs to consult the dead],
and pass the night in places where they worship other gods.
They eat pork,
and drink soup made from the flesh of unclean animals.

• They join in rituals for the dead,
spending nights where they worship foreign gods.
They eat the meat of swine,
and drink soup made from detestable animals.

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .