Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Mark 5:5

"And always, night and day, in the tombs and in the mountains, he was crying out, and cutting himself with stones." — Mark 5:5 (ASV)

The possessed man lived in the tombs. Often in Palestine people were buried in natural caves or in tombs cut out of the limestone rock. It was a natural place for a demon-possessed man to dwell because of the popular belief that tombs were a favorite haunt of demons. Efforts had been made to control this wretched man, but without success.