King James Bible Dictionary

(Heb. hazir), regarded as the most unclean and the most abhorred of all animals (Leviticus 11:7; Isaiah 65:4; 66:3, 17; Luke 15:15, 16). A herd of swine were drowned in the Sea of Galilee (Luke 8:32, 33). Spoken of figuratively in Matthew 7:6 (see Proverbs 11:22). It is frequently mentioned as a wild animal, and is evidently the wild boar (Arab. khanzir), which is common among the marshes of the Jordan valley (Psalms 80:13).

Forbidden as food
Leviticus 11:7; Deuteronomy 14:8

Used for food
Isaiah 65:4; Isaiah 66:17

Used for sacrifice
Isaiah 66:3

Wild boar
Psalms 80:13

Jewels in the nose of
Proverbs 11:22

Viciousness of
Matthew 7:6

Jesus sends devils into
Matthew 8:28-32; Mark 5:11-14; Luke 8:32-33

Feeding of
Luke 15:15-16

Sow returns to her wallow
2 Peter 2:22

(Heb. chazir). The flesh of swine was forbidden as food by the Levitical law, (Leviticus 11:7; 14:8) the abhorrence which the Jews as a nation had of it may be inferred from (Isaiah 65:4) and 2 Macc 6.18,19. No other reason for the command to abstain from swine's flesh is given in the law of Moses beyond the general one which forbade any of the mammalia as food which did not literally fulfill the terms of the definition of a clean animal" viz,, that it was to be a cloven-footed ruminant. It is, however, probable that dietetical considerations may have influenced Moses in his prohibition of swine's flesh- it is generally believed that its use in hot countries is liable to induce cutaneous disorders; hence in a people liable to leprosy the necessity for the observance of a strict rule. Although the Jews did not breed swine during the greater period of their existence as a nation there can be little doubt that the heathen nations of Palestine used the flesh as food. At the time of our Lord's ministry it would appear that the Jews occasionally violated the law of Moses with regard to swine's flesh. Whether "the herd of swine" into which the devils were allowed to enter, (Matthew 8:32; Mark 5:13) were the property of the Jewish or of the Gentile inhabitants of Gadara does not appear from the sacred narrative. The wild boar of the wood, (Psalms 80:13) is the common Sus scrofa which is frequently met with in the woody parts of Palestine, especially in Mount Tabor.

SWINE, noun sing. and plural A hog, a quadruped of the genus Sus, which furnishes man with a large portion of his most nourishing food. The fat or lard of this animal enters into various dishes in cookery. The swine is a heavy, stupid animal, and delights to wallow in the mire.

SWI'NE-BREAD, noun A kind of plant, truffle.

SWI'NE-CASE

SWI'NE-COAT

SWI'NE-CRUE, noun A hog sty; a pen for swine. [Local.]

SWI'NE-GRASS, noun [Latin centinodia, knot grass.] A plant.

SWI'NEHERD, noun [swine and herd.] A keeper of swing.

SWI'NE-OAT, noun [swine and oat.] A kind of oats, cultivated for the use of pigs, as in Cornwall; the Avena nuda of botanists.

SWI'NE-PIPE, noun [swine and pipe.] A bird, the red-wing. [Local.]

SWI'NE-POCKS

SWI'NE-POX, noun The chicken-pocks. A variety of the chicken-pocks, with acuminated vesicles containing a watery fluid; the water pox.

SWI'NE'S-CRESS, noun A species of cress, of the genus Cochlearia.

SWI'NE-STONE, noun [swine and stone.] A name given to those kinds of

limestone which, when rubbeD, emit a fetid odor, resembling that of naphtha combined with sulphurated hydrogen.

SWI'NE-STY, noun A sty or pen for swine.

SWI'NE-THISTLE, noun A plant, the sow thistle.