RED DAVE

It just occurred to me that there is an odd detail in the story of the Gadarene swine, above and beyond all the fact that Gadara is some twenty miles from the nearest body of water.

What is the likelihood of a herd of pigs in Judea? Since Jews were strictly forbidden to eat them, could this have been a detail invented by someone who never was there.

RED DAVE

BALDUCCI

The reason Jews didnt eat pigs is that they were holy, like cows to hindus

Cheerful Charlie

Nazareth was in Galilee which was heavily hellenized. I have no problems with pigs in Galilee. I have problems with claims there were 2,000 of them, not seemingly belonging to an angry swineherd.

CC

Cheerful Charlie

I suspect the Jews did not like seeing somebody taking up swineherding and finding his pigs trashed the local water holes. Pigs also will happily eat carrion. Including dead human bodies. Pigs also will trash a garden thoroughly very quickly. Pigs have a lot of reason for being despised.

CC

BALDUCCI

But those are not the reasons Jews didnt eat them. Many disgusting things have been regarded as holy, including execution by crucifixion

Boro Nut

Hardly. The bible clearly states why animals can't be eaten, and being holy isn't mentioned, although I find the idea of being holy meaning abhorrently unclean quite insightful. But eating your own spew is in there. That's clean (believe it or not). Unfortunately pigs only gobble up someone else's. You only have to look at what constituted a scrumptious burnt offering for confirmation:
Unblemished lamb - (Yummy)
Pigeons - (Ooh can I have two?)
No mention of pork scratchings.

DCHindley

You think Jews were the only folks living in Gadera (or Gerasa, or wherever this was supposed to have happened)? There were slews of Gentiles living all over the area. Check out E. Schurer's Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ (or via: amazon.co.uk) (the revised edition is best, but over $200, although the 1st volume is often available in reprints for cheap).

Also, there are a couple good books out there on land tenure in the region: Jack Pastor's Land and Economy in Ancient Palestine (or via: amazon.co.uk), David A. Fiensy's The Social History of Palestine in the Herodian Period (or via: amazon.co.uk), the two volume 2nd edition of M. Rostovtzeff's The Social and Economic History of the Roman Empire (or via: amazon.co.uk)), and Fabian Eugene Udoh's Doctoral Dissertation Tribute and Taxes in Early Roman Palestine (63 BCE-70 CE): The Evidence from Josephus, which was just published as To Caesar What is Caesar's: Tribute, Taxes, and Imperial Administration in Early Roman Palestine 63 B.C.E.-70 C.E. (or via: amazon.co.uk) (BJS 343; Providence, RI: Brown University Press, 2005).

DCH

khalimirov

This story shouldn't be taken literally. It simply means "Romans go home!"

Sauron

But I hear that most restaurants in Tel Aviv will still serve "white steak" if you ask nicely and don't raise your voice.

* Jewish joke - or at least I hope it was.

Sauron

Holy? :huh: No. Pigs were not considered holy. They were considered unclean - about as far from holy as you can get.