The herdsmen tell everyone (Lk 8:34-8:34)

“When the swine herdsmen

Saw what had happened,

They ran off.

They reported this

In the city

And in the countryside.”

 

ἰδόντες δὲ οἱ βόσκοντες τὸ γεγονὸς ἔφυγον καὶ ἀπήγγειλαν εἰς τὴν πόλιν καὶ εἰς τοὺς ἀγρούς.

 

Luke said that when the swine herdsmen saw what had happened (ἰδόντες δὲ οἱ βόσκοντες τὸ γεγονὸς), they ran off (ἔφυγον).  They reported (καὶ ἀπήγγειλαν) this in the city (εἰς τὴν πόλιν) and the in the countryside (καὶ εἰς τοὺς ἀγρούς).  All three synoptic gospels, Matthew, chapter 8:33, Mark, chapter 5:14, and Luke here, have the herdsmen of these pigs tell everybody in the area what happened, with slight nuances in each story.  Mark said that the shepherds of this herd of pigs fled when they saw what had happened to their flocks.  They recounted the whole story about what had happened to the demoniac and their herd of pigs to the town and the countryside.  However, people came out to see what had happened, to see what had taken place.  Matthew said that the shepherds of these herds of pigs ran off when they saw what had happened to their flocks.  They went into the town, probably Gadara.  Then they told the whole story about what had happened to the demoniacs and their herd of pigs.  They were without a job.  Have you ever lost your job suddenly?

The swine herdsmen fled (Mk 5:14-5:14)

“The swineherds

Ran off.

They told it

In the city

And in the countryside.

The people came

To see

What it was

That had happened.”

 

Καὶ οἱ βόσκοντες αὐτοὺς ἔφυγον καὶ ἀπήγγειλαν εἰς τὴν πόλιν καὶ εἰς τοὺς ἀγρούς· aκαὶ ἦλθον ἰδεῖν τί ἐστιν τὸ γεγονός.

 

All three synoptic gospels, Matthew, chapter 8:33, and Luke, chapter 8:34, and Mark here, have the herdsmen of these pigs tell everybody in the area what happened, with slight nuances in each story.  Mark said that the shepherds of these herds of pigs ran off (Καὶ οἱ βόσκοντες αὐτοὺς ἔφυγον) when they saw what had happened to their flocks.  They announced, proclaimed, or recounted (καὶ ἀπήγγειλαν) to the town (εἰς τὴν πόλιν), and the countryside (καὶ εἰς τοὺς ἀγρούς) the whole story about what had happened to the demoniac and their herd of pigs.  They were without a job.  However, people came out to see what had happened, to see what had taken place (aκαὶ ἦλθον ἰδεῖν τί ἐστιν τὸ γεγονός).

The structure and summary content of Matthew

The Gospel of Matthew, has five blocks of narratives, perhaps as a parallel to the first five books of the Old Testament, the Torah or the Pentateuch.  The story of Jesus moved from Galilee to Jerusalem with the post-resurrection appearance in Galilee the culmination of the whole story.

The herdsmen in the city (Mt 8:33-8:33)

“The swine herdsmen ran off.

They went into the town.

They told

The whole story

About what had happened

To the demoniacs.”

 

οἱ δὲ βόσκοντες ἔφυγον, καὶ ἀπελθόντες εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἀπήγγειλαν πάντα καὶ τὰ τῶν δαιμονιζομένων.

 

All three synoptic gospels. Mark, chapter 5;14, and Luke, chapter 8:34, and Matthew here, have the herdsmen of these pigs tell everybody in the area what happened, with slight nuances in each story.  The shepherds of these herds of pigs ran off (οἱ δὲ βόσκοντες ἔφυγον) when they saw what had happened to their flocks.  They went into the town (καὶ ἀπελθόντες εἰς τὴν πόλιν), probably Gadara.  Then they told the whole story about what had happened to the demoniacs (ἀπήγγειλαν πάντα καὶ τὰ τῶν δαιμονιζομένων) and their herd of pigs.  They were without a job.

The Bible narrative story

There is a narrative quality to the Bible.  We have to appreciate truth in the story, because stories express truth.  We tend to dismiss things as just a story.  Even with modern technology, the Internet. YouTube, and Facebook are full of stories.  Scientific facts are not poetry and thus they have different rules.  The story world helps us understand our real world.  We would not have a real world without language and story.  Non-literate societies emphasized oral story as very important.  Even today, whether it is television or movies, we love a good story.  In the 1997 movie “Titanic” the story was simple, the ship sunk.  However, the love story of Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet drew us in and made us feel the whole story.  Historical novels are very popular as a means of understanding the past historical times.