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Bible Dictionaries
Swine
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
or SWINE ( chazîr ). Domesticated swine were probably kept in the East in the earliest historic times, when they appear to have been regarded as sacred. In a cave associated with the earliest place of sacrifice at ancient Gezer, in use certainly before b.c. 2000, large quantities of pigs’ bones were found. It was the sacrosanct character of swine that lay at the root of the prohibition in Leviticus 11:7 and Deuteronomy 14:8; and the eating of swine’s flesh and offering of swine’s blood ( Isaiah 65:4; Isaiah 66:3; Isaiah 66:17 ) are clearly regarded as a sign of lapse into paganism. The heathen frequently tried to compel the Jews to eat swine’s flesh ( e.g. 2Ma 6:18; 2Ma 7:1 ) and thus renounce their religion. The contempt felt for swine is shown by the proverbs quoted in Proverbs 11:22 , Matthew 7:6 , and 2 Peter 2:22 . In the Talmudic writings the pig appears as the emblem of uncleanness, and those who keep swine are regarded with aversion. The same ideas colour the parable of the Prodigal Son ( Luke 15:15 ), where he is depicted as reaching the lowest depth of infamy in being sent to feed swine, and actually being reduced to covet their food; and also the narrative of the demoniacs, where the Gentile inhabitants of Gerasa lose their great herd of swine ( Matthew 8:30 , Mark 5:13 , Luke 8:32 ).
In modern Palestine very much the same feeling survives. Chanzîr ‘pig’ is a common but very opprobrious appellation. Swine’s flesh is loathed by Jews and Moslems; the latter, who otherwise eat the same food as Christians, are always very suspicious that any unknown food may be contaminated with it. Pigs are not common in Palestine; they are kept by German colonists and in a few places by native Christians. In Rameh in Galilee, for example, considerable herds are kept and pastured in the surrounding fields. Horses, unfamiliar with their smell are much perturbed on approaching the village, and it is said that the cattle will not touch the water of the stream below where the swine are accustomed to resort.
E. W. G. Masterman.
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Hastings, James. Entry for 'Swine'. Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hdb/s/swine.html. 1909.
