Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 8:30

"Now there was afar off from them a herd of many swine feeding." — Matthew 8:30 (ASV)

A herd of many swine — We are surprised at first to find swine kept in a country where their flesh could not be an article of food. But though the Jews did not eat pork, Roman soldiers did, and the swine may have been kept to supply the needs of the legion with which the man was familiar. The pun of Augustus about Herod’s swine and son (see Note on Matthew 2:16) seems to imply that the king kept them on his estates for such a purpose.