Luke 8:30-32
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
30 Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”[a] He replied, “Legion,” because many demons had entered him. 31 And they pleaded with him not to order them to depart to the abyss.[b]
32 A herd of many swine was feeding there on the hillside, and they pleaded with him to allow them to enter those swine; and he let them.
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- 8:30 What is your name?: the question reflects the popular belief that knowledge of the spirit’s name brought control over the spirit. Legion: to Jesus’ question the demon replies with a Latin word transliterated into Greek. The Roman legion at this period consisted of 5,000 to 6,000 foot soldiers; hence the name implies a very large number of demons.
- 8:31 Abyss: the place of the dead (Rom 10:7) or the prison of Satan (Rev 20:3) or the subterranean “watery deep” that symbolizes the chaos before the order imposed by creation (Gn 1:2).
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