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 (Matthew 8:30)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 8:30:

  • Uma: “Not far from there, many pigs were feeding/rooting.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Not far from there, there was a large-herd of pigs feeding.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Now nearby there were some pigs grazing.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “There were many pigs who were all-rooting nearby,” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Not far from there, there was a herd of pigs being caused to graze by herdsmen.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Some distance away there was a group of pigs, they were herded there to eat.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Matthew 8:30

Now indicates a transition in the narrative. Good News Translation introduces a new paragraph. Here it can be translated as “It happened that…” or “There was a herd of swine….”

The presence of a herd of … swine indicates that Jesus is in Gentile territory. Swine is a word for “pigs.” The text indicates there were many of them. In English, “a large herd of pigs” is more natural than “a herd of many pigs,” but languages will vary on this.

At some distance (so Bible en français courant) or “In the distance” (New English Bible) is representative of most translations. Both New Jerusalem Bible and New American Bible have “some distance away,” while Good News Translation and Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1st edition have “Not far away.”

It seems that at some distance does not indicate a great distance, since the pigs can be seen. Translations can either follow Good News Translation or have a phrase like “Nearby” or “A little ways away.” Notice that in most languages it is more natural to put the expression near the beginning of the sentence, not at the end.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .