This special episode of the seventh season of the Retelling the Bible Podcast is posted today (December 12, 2023). It is a discussion of the biblical story of the demoniac out of whom Jesus cast many demons with the curious assistance of a large herd of pigs. The discussion took place over three time zones between Garry Stevens of the History in the Bible Podcast (in Australia), Steven Guerra of the History of the Papacy podcast (in the USA) and W. Scott McAndless (in Canada).
You can listen to the episode right now and subscribe to the podcast by following one of these links or by searching for the podcast on your favourite platform:
Show Notes about the Episode
We were discussing the episode that I recorded back in the spring of 2018 and I had called Episode 2.4 A Suicidal Herd of Pigs. (Click through to get links to listen to the original podcast episode.) For whatever reason, as we discussed the story, we fell into calling it the story of the Gadarene Swine.
I based my story of the demoniac on the version that is told in Mark 5:1-19, where it is said to occur in “the region of the Gerasenes” in the best ancient documents. The story is also told in Luke 8:26-39 where it takes place in the “region of the Gerasenes” in the best manuscripts.
Matthew’s version of the story (Matthew 8:28-34) is the one that is set in “the region of the Gadarenes.” But in it, Matthew says that Jesus healed two demoniacs instead of one.
All of the references to the place where this episode took place have alternate readings and early scribes pretty obviously attempted to harmonize the various gospel stories.
History in the Bible Podcast
Garry Steven’s History in the Bible Podcast is a magnificent three-season long layman’s guide to a century and more of research into the Biblical texts and the archaeological evidence behind them. He has explored the religion of ancient Israel, the development of Christianity, and the co-evolution of Judaism and Christianity.
Although Garry is now approaching the end of his project of creating his layman’s guide, he continues to engage in collaborations with other podcasters and experts from time to time and I am very honoured to be included in his list of collaborators.
If you haven’t yet listened to his podcast, be sure to check it out at https://www.historyinthebible.com/
History of the Papacy Podcast
Steven Guerra’s History of the Papacy Podcast is an in-depth review of the fascinating history of an institution that has played a vital role in the history of the world. He receives many plaudits for his depth of knowledge and clear and digestible presentation.
He began about a decade ago with the biblical and other accounts of the early church and his most recent posts deal with the life and times of Pius IX.
To find out more about his work, go to https://www.atozhistorypage.com/history-of-the-papacy
Media in this Episode
The following music was used for this media project:
Music: AhDah by Kevin MacLeod
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/3345-ahdah
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist website: https://incompetech.com
Music: Curse of the Scarab by Kevin MacLeod
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/3573-curse-of-the-scarab
Licensed under CC BY 4.0: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
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