Lexical Summary hus: Pig, Swine Original Word: ὗς Strong's Exhaustive Concordance sow. Apparently a primary word; a hog ("swine") -- sow. NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Origina prim. word Definition a hog NASB Translation sow (1). Thayer's Greek Lexicon STRONGS NT 5300: ὗςὗς, ὑός, ἡ, from Homer down, the Sept. several times for חֲזִיר, a swine: 2 Peter 2:22. Topical Lexicon Scriptural Occurrence2 Peter 2:22 employs the word once in the Greek New Testament: “A dog returns to its vomit, and, ‘A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mire.’ ” The apostle closes his warning about false teachers with a vivid picture drawn from common farm life. The sow is outwardly cleansed yet inwardly unchanged; when left to itself, it instinctively seeks the filth from which it was washed. Peter places this image alongside the equally graphic proverb about the dog to underscore the depth of spiritual relapse that characterizes those who abandon the truth they once professed. Old Testament Foundations The Mosaic distinction between clean and unclean animals provides the theological backdrop. Leviticus 11:7–8 and Deuteronomy 14:8 explicitly forbid Israel to eat pork: the pig “though it has a split hoof… does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you.” Because holiness required separation from uncleanness, the pig became a symbol of impurity. Isaiah 65:4 and Isaiah 66:3–4 depict idolatrous Israelites sitting among the graves and eating “pig’s flesh,” illustrating covenant infidelity. By the time of Second Temple Judaism, avoidance of swine was emblematic of Jewish identity, so much so that Antiochus Epiphanes’ desecration of the altar with pork (167 B.C.) provoked fierce resistance (1 Maccabees 1:47). Cultural and Intertestamental Perspectives Rabbinic literature reinforces the revulsion: “Cursed is the man who raises swine” (Baba Qamma 82b). Swineherding was considered so defiling that it often connoted Gentile occupation. Josephus records that Herod’s household jested it was safer to be Herod’s pig than his son (Antiquities 17.2.4), a quip intelligible precisely because Jews ordinarily shunned pigs. Pigs in the Teaching of Jesus Although ὗς appears only in 2 Peter 2:22, the Gospels employ a cognate (χοῖρος) to convey similar ideas: • Matthew 7:6 warns, “Do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces.” Each setting relies on the Jewish view of swine as defiling to reinforce teachings about discernment, spiritual bondage, and repentance. Symbolic Force in 2 Peter Peter’s reference presupposes that his readers immediately grasp the proverb’s weight. Two layers of meaning emerge: 1. External cleansing without internal regeneration fails. The sow’s nature is unchanged, so its behavior reverts despite the washing. Together the dog and sow communicate that false teachers, though they once escaped “the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 2:20), reveal their unchanged hearts by returning to corruption. Historical Interpretation Early Christian writers read Peter’s proverb as a warning against nominal faith: • Clement of Alexandria cautioned that those who relapse into sin after baptism imitate the sow (Paedagogus 1.6). The Reformers echoed this theme, applying 2 Peter 2 to teachers who distort the gospel for personal gain. Pastoral and Homiletical Applications 1. Regeneration versus Reformation: Moral reform without the new birth will inevitably fail, just as the washed sow returns to mud. Practical Ministry Counsel • Guard the Gospel: Elders must exercise discernment in recognizing and refuting error (Titus 1:9). Conclusion Strong’s Greek 5300, though appearing only once, summons the entire biblical portrayal of swine to illustrate the gravity of apostasy and the necessity of inward renewal. The image is unflinching: apart from transforming grace, external washings cannot restrain innate corruption. For the Church, Peter’s proverb remains a solemn call to hold fast to sound doctrine and pursue holiness of heart and life. Forms and Transliterations υν υός Υς Ὗς Hys Hŷs UsLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts |
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