Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Mark 5:9
And he asked him, What [is] thy name? And he answered, saying, My name [is] Legion: for we are many.
9. My name is Legion ] “He had seen the thick and serried ranks of a Roman legion, that fearful instrument of oppression, that sign of terror and fear to the conquered nations.” Even such, terrible in their strength, inexorable in their hostility, were the “lords many,” which had dominion over him. Compare (i) the “seven demons,” by whom Mary Magdalene was possessed (Luk 8:2), (ii) the “seven other spirits” “worse than the first,” which our Lord describes as taking up their abode in a man (Mat 12:45).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Mar 5:9
My name is Legion.
The legion of sin
Truly the name of sin is Legion. It is anger, malice, intemperance, murder, impurity, unfaithfulness, dishonesty, equivocation, dissimulation, falsehood, hypocrisy, ingratitude, disobedience, impatience, discontentment, envy, covetousness; it is profanity, formality, superstition, idolatry, blasphemy, and atheism. It is a repudiation of the authority, a defiance of the power, a slight to the wisdom, a contempt of the holiness, and unthankfulness for the goodness of God. It is the cause of all the error, conflict, cruelty, suffering, weeping, and woe that exist in this world. Like a foul demon, it has poisoned and polluted, blighted and cursed everything it has touched. It has caused man, the noblest work of God, to become the destroyer of his own soul, the murderer of his brother, the enemy of his God. (Arthur Thompson.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 9. Legion: for we are many.] Could a disease have spoken so? “No, there was no devil in the case; the man spoke according to the prejudice of his countrymen.” And do you think that the Spirit of God could employ himself in retailing such ridiculous and nonsensical prejudices? “But the evangelist gives these as this madman’s words, and it was necessary that, as a faithful historian, he should mention these circumstances.” But this objection is destroyed by the parallel place in Luke, Lu 8:30, where the inspired writer himself observes, that the demoniac was called Legion, because many demons had entered into him.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
9. And he asked him, What is thyname?The object of this question was to extort anacknowledgment of the virulence of demoniacal power by which thisvictim was enthralled.
And he answered, saying, Myname is Legion: for we are manyor, as in Luke (Lu8:30) “because many devils [demons] were entered into him.”A legion, in the Roman army, amounted, at its full complement, to sixthousand; but here the word is used, as such words with us, and eventhis one, for an indefinitely large numberlarge enough however torush, as soon as permission was given, into two thousand swine anddestroy them.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And he asked him, what is thy name?…. Which question Christ put, not for his own sake; for he was not ignorant of his name, nor of the number of the unclean spirits which were in the man; but partly, that it might be known what a miserable condition this poor man was in, being infested, and vexed with such a large company of devils; and partly, that his own pity and power in delivering him, might be more manifest;
and he answered, saying, my name is Legion: the Syriac version renders it, “our name is Legion”; the reason of which name is given,
for we are many: as a Roman legion did consist of many, though its number was not always alike: in the time of Romulus, a legion consisted of three thousand foot, and three hundred horse; afterwards, when the city was, increased, of six thousand foot, and six hundred horse; sometimes it was six thousand and two hundred foot, and three hundred horse; sometimes four thousand foot, and three hundred horse; sometimes five thousand foot, and three hundred horse x. Some make a legion to consist of six thousand six hundred sixty six; and others make it much larger, even twelve thousand five hundred: however, the number in a legion was many; hence the word is retained among the Jews, and is used for a large number, either of persons or things; as, , “a legion of olives” y: that is, a large number of them; though sometimes it is used of a single person, who has others under him, as the general of an army: thus it is said z that one man should say to another,
“from whence art thou? he replies, from such a “legion” am I;–the man went to the legion–the legion heard, and was afraid–the man said, woe unto me! now will the legion slay me–the legion heard, c.”
And again a,
“a certain legion asked R. Abba, is it not written, c.”
Once more b,
“Lo! such a legion shall go with thee, to keep thee, &c.”
Upon which the gloss is, , “the general of an army” so called, because he had a legion, or a large number of soldiers under his command: and just so this unclean spirit is called by this name, because he had a great many more with him, and under him, in that man sometimes it is only used of a single person himself, as of a king’s servant sent into a foreign country, to collect his c tax: a legion was reckoned by the Jews unclean and defiled, whatsoever place they entered into d; how much more unclean must this man be, that had a legion of unclean spirits in him! From hence it appears, that the devils are very numerous; for if there was a legion of them in one man, how many must there be in all the children of disobedience, to maintain their ground, and support their interest among them? As there is an innumerable company of holy angels to encamp about the saints, and do them all the service they can, and axe appointed to; so there is undoubtedly an innumerable company of devils, who do all the hurt they can, or are permitted to do, unto the sons of men: hence they are expressed by words, which signify number as well as power; as principalities and powers, the rulers of the darkness of this world, spiritual wickedness in high places, the power or posse of the air, the angels of Satan, the angels that sinned and left their habitations, c. As also that they are in a body, and in the form of an army with a general at the head of them, the prince of devils, and king of the bottomless pit: there are whole squadrons and regiments of them, yea, even legions; which are formed in battle array, and make war against Christ, the seed of the woman; as they did when he was in the garden, and hung upon the cross, which was the hour and power of darkness; and against his members; as they did in Rome pagan against the Christian church, and in Rome papal, against the same, Re 12:7, and what a mercy it is for the saints, that besides twelve legions of good angels and more, which are ready to assist and protect them, they have God on their side, and therefore it signifies not who is against them; and they have Christ with them, who has spoiled principalities and powers; and greater is the Holy Spirit that is in them, than he that is in the world.
x Alexander ab Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 1. c. 5. Liv. Hist. l. 8. c. 8. y Bereshit Rabba, sect. 20. fol. 17. 4. z Zohar in Gen. fol. 96. 4. & Ivare Binah in ib. a Ib. in Exod. fol. 50. 2. b Zohar in Exod. fol. 51. 4. c Vajikra Rabba, sect. 30. fol. 170. 4. & Mattanot Cehuna in ib. d T. Bab. Cholin, fol. 123. 1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
My name is Legion ( ). 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.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) ”And He asked him, What is thy name?” (kai eperota auton ti onoma soi) “And He (Jesus) questioned him, what name do you have?” This was said to establish the man’s public identity, who had come from among the mountains and tombs.
2) “And he answered, saying, My name is Legion:” (kai legei auto legion onoma mou) “And he (the deranged spirit) says to Him (to Jesus), my name is Legions:- The term legion means an innumerable band. How many demons may possess one person is not known. Mary Magdalene had seven cast out of her, Mar 16:9; False prophets are habitats of demons, 1Ti 4:1-2; Mat 7:22.
3) “For we are many.” (hoti polloi esmen) ”Because we are (exist as) many,” many fallen, deranged, degraded spirits, as described 2Pe 2:4; Jud 1:6. The legion band of demons were organized to destroy this man of Gadara and damn his soul in hell, Psa 9:17.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
Mar 5:9
My name is Legion. The devil was compelled by Christ to pronounce this word, that he might more fully display the greatness and excellence of his grace. There must have been good reasons why this man should have endured so severe a punishment as to have an army of devils, so to speak, dwelling within him. What compassion then was it, to rescue from so many deaths a man who was more than a thousand times ruined! It was a magnificent display of the power of Christ., that by his voice not one devil, but a great multitude of devils, were suddenly driven out. Legion denotes here not a definite number of men, but merely a great multitude.
Hence it is evident what a wretched creature man is, when he is deprived of the divine protection. Every man is not only exposed to a single devil, but becomes the retreat of vast numbers. This passage refutes also the common error, which has been borrowed by Jews and Christians from the heathens, that every man is attacked by his own particular devil? On the contrary, Scripture plainly declares, that, just as it pleases God, one devil (554) is sometimes sent to punish a whole nation, and at other times many devils are permitted to punish one man: as, on the other hand, one angel sometimes protects a whole nation, and every man has many angels to act as his guardians. There is the greater necessity for keeping diligent watch, lest so great a multitude of enemies should take us by surprise.
(554) “ A scavoir que chacun hornroe ha son diable et son mauvals ange qui lui fait la guerre;” — “namely, that each man has his devil and his evil angel who makes war with him.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
9. Asked What is thy name? Christ asked the man (not the demon) his name, in order to call out his personal consciousness, and aid in restoring him to himself. My name is Legion The demon snatches the man’s organs and answers the question for himself, giving his own name. He is a host by nature and by name. A Legion in the Roman army was a division embracing six thousand men. The demon, perhaps, assumes that name for this whole number, as being their leader. That Legion is a name for a commander of a legion among the Jews, appears from the Talmudical writings. It is not indeed to be supposed that either angels or devils wear in the invisible world the names that men give to their visible manifestations; and hence the same dark personality may enact the oracular Python or Apollo among the Greeks, the Belial, perhaps, among the Hebrews, and the Beelzebub among the Canaanites.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And he asked him, “What is your name?” ’
By now Jesus had recognised that He was dealing with an unusual situation of a plurality of evil spirits and His request was therefore in order to discover exactly with whom or what He was dealing. He directed His question to the man but it was essentially to the evil spirits.
It is not likely that Jesus was using a technique for obtaining power over them. He already had that power. For the question ‘what is your name?’ compare Gen 32:27-29; Jdg 13:17-18. It can hardly be true that God needed Jacob’s name in order to get power over him and certain that Jacob did not ask God’s name for that reason. And Manoah’s request was in order to honour his visitor. The asking of the name in the latter two cases was in order to find out who or what they were dealing with. The whole point about Jesus was that He did not need to use the usual exorcising techniques (Mar 1:27). What He did want to know, however, was whom He was dealing with.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
‘And he says to him, “My name is legion, for we are many”.
Knowing, in the face of His authority, that they were forced to speak, they replied evasively and probably with the aim of intimidating Jesus into leaving them alone. They were aware that His exertions of power were exhausting to His human frame (Mar 5:30; Luk 6:19), and they wanted Him to realise that this particular exorcism would require much power. Godly men who have engaged in exorcism have testified to the fact that it was very exhausting, and they had never had to face anything like this. But the spirits were underestimating Jesus.
‘My name is legion.’ Was the man giving Legion as a name because he was in a state of confusion, aware of the forces possessing him, or was he simply indicating the multiplicity of names of the evil spirits (Mar 5:15), hinting that they could not give them all for they were so many, and at the same time indicating how long it would take to deal with them. For we must recognise that the evil spirits were not omniscient, and probably thought that they could somehow forestall Jesus. Possibly they could see He was still exhausted. The word ‘legion’ was the name given to a Roman regiment of between four thousand and six thousand men. Strictly it indicated six thousand, but it was unusual for a legion to have its full complement. Thus the indication here is of possession by a great number of evil spirits.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Mar 5:9-10. What is thy name? See Luk 8:30-31.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
(9) And he asked him, What is thy name? and he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.
CHRIST’s question could not have been for himself, but it seems to have been intended for the information of his disciples then with him, and for all his disciples to the end of time. The enemy we have to do with is truly a legion; multitudes of his soldiers in the lust of our flesh, and his dominion by them over the fallen nature he hath ruined, are at his command; which like a Roman legion, consisting as it did in the smallest computation of at least six thousand, are a formidable host for keeping in captivity that nature the devil first ruined. But, Reader! think herefrom, the greatness of his power, and the greatness of his mercy, which hath subdued all, and brought his people out. Oh! the grace and sovereignty in CHRIST JESUS!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
9 And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.
Ver. 9. My name is Legion ] That is, a multitude. A legion was commonly among the Romans, saith Isidore, 6000 armed soldiers: 6666, saith Hesychius. So many devils were gotten in one poor man. Let us in him see what the best of us have deserved; and, since we have escaped, offer a passover each for himself.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
9. ] . has perhaps given rise to the report of two dmoniacs in Matt. I cannot see in the above supposition any thing which should invalidate the testimony of the Evangelists. Rather are all such tracings of discrepancies to their source, most interesting and valuable. Nor can I consent for a moment to accept here the very lame solution (repeated by Bp. Wordsw.), which supposes one of the dmoniacs not to be mentioned by Mark and Luke: in other words, that the least circumstantial account is in possession of an additional particular which gives a new aspect to the whole : for the plural , used here and in Luke of the many dmons in one man , is there used of the two men , and their separate dmons.
On see note, Luk 8:30 .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mar 5:9 . ; instead of saying at once what He had meant to say, Jesus adopts a roundabout method of dealing with the case, and asks the demoniac his name, as if to bring him into composure. : from the Roman legion not a rare sight in that region, emblem of irresistible power and of a multitude organised into unity; the name already naturalised into Greek and Aramaean. The use of it by the demoniac, like the immediate recognition of Jesus as a God-like person, reveals a sensitive, fine-strung mind wrecked by insanity.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Legion. A Roman legion was about 6,000 men.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
9.] . has perhaps given rise to the report of two dmoniacs in Matt. I cannot see in the above supposition any thing which should invalidate the testimony of the Evangelists. Rather are all such tracings of discrepancies to their source, most interesting and valuable. Nor can I consent for a moment to accept here the very lame solution (repeated by Bp. Wordsw.), which supposes one of the dmoniacs not to be mentioned by Mark and Luke: in other words, that the least circumstantial account is in possession of an additional particular which gives a new aspect to the whole: for the plural, used here and in Luke of the many dmons in one man, is there used of the two men, and their separate dmons.
On see note, Luk 8:30.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mar 5:9. , Legion) An appellation by Synecdoche [see Append., the genus for the species]. There was one principal leader among them, and the rest were conjoined with him, constituting thus the legion: and this, whether he had previously borne this Latin name, before that he entered this man, or then first assumed it.- , we are many) Luke affirms this in his own words [not in the mans or the demons], ch. Mar 8:30. If in one nest [dwelling] there can be so many, how many there must be in the whole aggregate throughout the World! [Mere number in itself does not produce protection (patronage).-V. g.]
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
many
See, Mar 16:9; Mat 7:22 (See Scofield “Mat 7:22”)
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
What: Luk 8:30, Luk 11:21-26
Legion: Mat 12:45, Mat 26:53
Reciprocal: Act 19:15 – General
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
SATANS LEGIONS
And (Jesus) asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.
Mar 5:9
I. Our spiritual dangers.May we not say of our spiritual dangers, Their name is Legion! Satan is constantly changing his form of attack. His servants and his tactics are Legion! What then? Are you going to give up the fight? Nay, surely not! Think of yourselves rather as soldiers in a weary desert warfaresuch warfare as our British soldiers have been called upon to wage.
II. Never let us grow faint-hearted because our difficulties and our temptations are legion. The heart is attacked by hosts of evil. The fierce sun of temptation beats down upon it, it is in itself treacherous, and so you must watch it well. Our temptations are legion. Then we must not attempt to fight them all at once; that would be beating the air; but we must take them one by one. We must concentrate all our efforts upon one sin, our besetting one; and when in Gods great might we have conquered that, attack another. We must use all the help God gives us; especially must we seek fresh strength in our Communions. These must be regular, not fitful. We must kneel at the altar humbly, crying that we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves, and then rise up to go and fight again against a legion of foes, saying: The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our Refuge.
Rev. J. B. C. Murphy.
Illustration
It remains that the wise and the wary must set on their guard the simple and the innocent by the best possible device of keeping clear themselves from the snares of wickedness. That Holy Book we profess to take as our guide dwells at far greater length upon the necessity of avoiding sin than it does upon restoration after sin, yet the usual religious teaching is far more of repentance than of the defences in case of temptation. It is strange there are numbers enjoying safety in a state of salvation, who can see their servants, neighbours, relations, and others on the verge of eternal condemnation, and never say the right word at the right time to warn them. If only I had known! is the sad cry of the hopeless, while we might have changed it into, But for you I should now have beenan unbeliever, a drunkardor what not.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
9
The pronouns he and we are not the same in grammatical number. That is because one devil was the spokesman for the others. It is orderly for one or more beings interested in the same thing to let one do the talking. The apostles observed that practice according to Mat 17:4; Act 2:14.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.
[My name is Legion.] I. This name speaks a numerous company, the devil himself being the interpreter; “Legion (saith he) is my name; for we are many.”
And among the Jews, when a man would express a great number of any thing, it was not unusual to name a legion; “R. Eliezer Ben Simeon saith, It is easier for a man to nourish a legion of olives in Galilee; than to bring up one child in the land of Israel.”
II. Among the Talmudists, a legion bespeaks an unclean company; at least, they reckoned all the legions for unclean: “The Rabbins deliver: a legion that passeth from place to place, if it enter into any house, the house is thereby become unclean. For there is no legion which hath not some carcaphalia. And wonder not at this, when the carcaphalion of R. Ismael was fastened to the heads of kings.” “‘Carcaphal ‘ (saith the Gloss) is the skin of a head pulled off from a dead person, which they make use of in enchantments.”
III. What the Romans thought of their legions; take from the words of Caesar to the Spaniards: “Did ye not consider, if I were overthrown, that the people of Rome have ten legions; which could not only resist you, but pull down even heaven itself?” What then is the power of “more than twelve legions of angels”!
Fuente: Lightfoot Commentary Gospels
Mar 5:9. What is thy name! Probably addressed to the man, since there would be no special object in finding out the name of the demon, who however answered: Legion is my name. Matthew omits this, and Luke abbreviates it. The Latin word legion (used also in Greek and rabbinical Hebrew), was applied to a division of the Roman army, numbering from three to six thousand men. But it also denotes, indefinitely, a large number (compare our popular use of the word regiment); so that the answer means: I am a host, as the next clause shows: for we are many. Luke narrates the fact without putting it in the mouth of the demon. Our Lord had already commanded the demon to come out (Mar 5:8); the question what is thy name assumed that the command would be obeyed, leaving the man free to answer; but the demons still lingered and one of them, as leader, answered thus, in pride and partial resistance. Legion implies, not a collection, but an organized host (comp. Eph 6:12; Col 2:15).
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 9
Legion. Certain large divisions of the Roman army were called legions.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
These verses resume the conversation from Mar 5:7. A legion was six thousand Roman soldiers. Probably the leading demon used this as a round number to represent thousands of demons (cf. Mar 5:13). The word "legion" also suggests their organization, strength, oppression, and authority over the man they influenced. [Note: Hiebert, p. 120.] Probably Jesus asked this question for the disciples’ benefit.