The Meaning of Matthew 8:30 Explained

Matthew 8:30

KJV: And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding.

YLT: And there was far off from them a herd of many swine feeding,

Darby: Now there was, a great way off from them, a herd of many swine feeding;

ASV: Now there was afar off from them a herd of many swine feeding.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And  there was  a good way off  from  them  an herd  of many  swine  feeding. 

What does Matthew 8:30 Mean?

Context Summary

Matthew 8:28-34 - An Unwelcome Visitor
The demon spirit seems still to tenant the lives of human beings. To what else can we attribute the paroxysms of passion, the awful cruelties and inhumanities of men? There is only one devil, but many demons; only one prince of the power of darkness, but many emissaries. Take heed, lest you open the door of your nature to the spirit of evil and he possess you. Watch and pray, and trust the keeping of your soul to the hands of Christ. He is stronger than the strong man.
Notice that the demon is set upon destruction. If he may not destroy the souls of men, he will destroy swine. This is the mark of evil. It is always destructive; whereas the Spirit of God is constructive and builds up from the ruins of Satan's work a new heaven and a new earth, both in the soul and in the universe.
All the city besought Jesus to depart, because men count their gains more valuable than His presence. The same spirit rules in the commercial world of today. Let us beware. What shall it profit to gain the world, if we lose our souls? [source]

Chapter Summary: Matthew 8

1  Jesus cleanses the leper;
5  heals the centurion's servant,
14  Peter's mother in law,
16  and many others;
18  shows the cost of following him;
23  stills the storm on the sea;
28  drives the demons out of two men possessed;
31  and tells them to go into the pigs

What do the individual words in Matthew 8:30 mean?

There was now far off from them a herd of pigs many feeding
Ἦν δὲ μακρὰν ἀπ’ αὐτῶν ἀγέλη χοίρων πολλῶν βοσκομένη

Ἦν  There  was 
Parse: Verb, Imperfect Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: εἰμί  
Sense: to be, to exist, to happen, to be present.
δὲ  now 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: δέ  
Sense: but, moreover, and, etc.
μακρὰν  far  off 
Parse: Adjective, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: μακράν  
Sense: far, a great way.
ἀγέλη  a  herd 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: ἀγέλη  
Sense: herd or oxen or cattle, a herd or company.
χοίρων  of  pigs 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root: χοῖρος  
Sense: a swine.
πολλῶν  many 
Parse: Adjective, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root: πολύς  
Sense: many, much, large.
βοσκομένη  feeding 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Middle or Passive, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: βόσκω  
Sense: to feed.