Word Pictures in the New Testament - David Cox

Word Pictures in the NT [Mark: Chapter 5].
5:5 {He was crying out, and cutting himself with stones} (\•n
kraz•n kai katakopt•n heauton lithois\). Further vivid details by
Mark. Night and day his loud scream or screech could be heard
like other demoniacs (cf. 1:26; 3:11; 9:26). The verb for
cutting himself occurs here only in the N.T., though an old verb.
It means to _cut down_ (perfective use of \kata-\). We say _cut
up_, gash, hack to pieces. Perhaps he was scarred all over with
such gashes during his moments of wild frenzy night and day in
the tombs and on the mountains. Periphrastic imperfect active
with \•n\ and the participles.
5:6 {Ran and worshipped} (\edramen kai prosekun•sen\). "At first
perhaps with hostile intentions. The onrush of the naked yelling
maniac must have tried the newly recovered confidence of the
Twelve. We can imagine their surprise when, on approaching, he
threw himself on his knees" (Swete).
5:7 {I adjure thee by God} (\horkiz• se ton theon\). The demoniac
puts Jesus on oath (two accusatives) after the startled outcry
just like the one in 1:24, which see. He calls Jesus here "son
of the Most High God" (\huie tou theou tou hupsistou\) as in Lu
8:28 (cf. Ge 14:18f.). {Torment me not} (\m• me basanis•is\).
Prohibition with \m•\ and the ingressive aorist subjunctive. The
word means to test metals and then to test one by torture (cf.
our "third degree"). Same word in all three Gospels.
5:8 {For he said} (\elegen gar\). For he had been saying
(progressive imperfect). Jesus had already repeatedly ordered the
demon to come out of the man whereat the demon made his outcry to
Jesus and protested. Mt 8:29 had "before the time" (\pro
kairou\) and 8:31 shows that the demons did not want to go back
to the abyss (\t•n abusson\) right now. That was their real home,
but they did not wish to return to the place of torment just now.
5:9 {My name is Legion} (\Legi•n onoma moi\). So Lu 8:30, but
not Matthew. Latin word (_legio_). A full Roman legion had 6,826
men. See on ¯Mt 26:53. This may not have been a full legion, for
Mr 5:13 notes that the number of hogs was "about two thousand."
Of course, a stickler for words might say that each hog had
several demons.
5:13 {And he gave them leave} (\kai epetrepsen autois\). These
words present the crucial difficulty for interpreters as to why
Jesus allowed the demons to enter the hogs and destroy them
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