SEV Biblia, Chapter 15:15
Y fue y se lleg a uno de los ciudadanos de aquella tierra, el cual le envi a su hacienda para que apacentase los puercos.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Luke 15:15
Verse 15. To feed swine.] The basest and vilest of all employments; and, to a Jew, peculiarly degrading. Shame, contempt, and distress are wedded to sin, and can never be divorced. No character could be meaner in the sight of a Jew than that of a swineherd: and Herodotus informs us, that in Egypt they were not permitted to mingle with civil society, nor to appear in the worship of the gods, nor would the very dregs of the people have any matrimonial connections with them. HEROD. lib. ii. cap. 47.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 15. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country , etc.] Not to any one of the saints, for they are not citizens of the far country, but of the church of God below, and of heaven above; besides, carnal men do not like the company of such citizens: nor is the devil intended, for though he dwells in this country, he is more than a citizen, than an inhabitant; he is king and governor, the prince of the world, and the god of it; nor is it feasible, that a man under conviction, and beginning to be sensible of his want, should go and join himself to the devil: but an unregenerate, pharisaical, legal preacher, is designed; a man may be a preacher, and yet in the far country of sin and unregeneracy; there may be large gifts, where there is no grace; and a man may have a form of religion and godliness, and know nothing of the power of it; and a great stir and bluster may be made about good works, as were by the Pharisees, when few or none are done: now it is common for persons under legal convictions, to seek after such a preacher, and such a ministry, and to such an one this man went; he went not out of the land of sin, nor to his father's house, but to one in the same country, where the famine was, and he was starving: he went; it was his own choice, he took his own way; he went and told him his case, how he had spent all he had, and in what manner, and what condition he now was in; and he asked his advice and assistance: and he joined himself to him; he sat under his ministry, and became a member with him, and stuck close to him, as the word signifies; and was a stickler for him, and his principles: and he sent him into his field to feed swine ; he did not give him the least bit of bread to satisfy his hunger; nor did he say one word to him of Christ, the bread of life; nor did he advise him to go to his father's house, where there was bread enough, and to spare: but he sent him, into his fields; to work, to cleanse his heart, to reform his life, to fulfil the law, to perform the conditions of the covenant, to make his peace with God, and get an interest in his love and favour; and go through a round of duties continually, and all would be well: he sent him to feed swine there; to converse with self-righteous persons, who may be compared to swine, because of their selfishness; doing all they do for themselves, and not for God and his glory; because they prefer dung before pearls, their own righteousness before Christ, the pearl of great price; and live upon the husks of their own duties and never look upwards to heaven, as this creature does not, but always downwards on the earth; and though they were outwardly reformed, yet inwardly filthy, and often return to wallowing in the mire again: he sent him there also to gratify the selfish principles of nature; to please himself with his wisdom, righteousness, holiness, and other excellencies he fancied he had attained unto. In short, the expression shows the base employment of a self-justitiary amidst all his pretensions to religion and virtue: for feeding of swine was very disagreeable to the Jews, and with them scandalous; to whom the eating of swine's flesh was forbidden by the law of God, and the breeding of swine by their traditions; and this is said to be done in a country, out of Judea. Ver 16. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks , etc.] abwrj , the fruit of the Charub tree, as the Syriac version interprets it; and which the Jews say is hmhb lkam , the food of beasts: though, according to what is elsewhere said of it, it should be the food of men also.
It is said of R. Simeon ben Jochai, and his son, that they hid themselves in a cave for fear of the king, and a miracle was wrought for them, abwrj whl yrbya , a Charub tree was created for them, and a fountain of water; the one, as the gloss observes, was to eat the fruit of, and the other to drink of: but be they what they will, by them are meant, not worldly riches and honours, and carnal lusts and pleasures; though these are the principal things of the far country, of this world, or an unregenerate estate; and are greatly desired by carnal minds, and are but swine's meat, very mean food, yea, pernicious, empty, unsatisfying, and perishing; but these were the things this man had been desirous of, and lived upon before, and had ran through them, and had spent all his substance in the pursuit and enjoyment of them; and now he felt the gripes of a natural conscience for them, and found himself in want of something else: wherefore by these husks are meant works of righteousness done by men; which are like husks, external things, done only before men; empty things that have nothing within them; mere trash, and not food; and which can give no satisfaction; mere sordid food, fit only to be cast to dogs or swine; of an ill savour, hard to eat, and difficult digestion, and which affords no real nourishment; these this man greatly desired to fill his belly with: he found himself empty, and in want; as yet he had no thought of, at least not any desire after the bread in his father's house; but would fain have satisfied himself with his own doings, and have quieted his mind and conscience with a few external performances, a negative holiness, a legal repentance, and outward reformation: he laboured hard to make his own righteousness do; which was but striving to fill his belly with the east wind; and is what can never satisfy, because it is not answerable to the law and justice of God; and was no other than that the swine did eat , self-righteous persons, like himself; for such an one was now the publican and sinner become, though he did not continue so.
Christ's lambs and sheep do not eat such food, nor will, nor can they, only swinish, selfish persons; this is suitable to their nature, they eat it, and live upon it; which shows them to be unrenewed, and that their taste is not changed. And no man gave unto him : not the husks, though this is the sense of the Arabic version, which renders it, neither did he obtain them; and so it seems to be ours and others: but these were at hand, which he might have taken himself, and did; nor is it reasonable to think he should wait to have them given him by another; or that he should be restrained from them; but it is to be understood of bread, or proper food, and that no man gave that unto him: and the words, as Calvin observes, may be read causally, for no man gave to him; and so are a reason why he craved husks, because no man gave him any bread: the citizen, or legal preacher, to whom he joined himself, gave him none; nor the swine, the self-righteous persons, to whom he was sent, and with whom he conversed, gave him none; he had nothing under the ministry, nor in conversation, that was proper food to him; there were nothing but these husks that presented, and he tried to satisfy himself with them; and indeed none but Christ can give the true bread, the bread of life, to those that are hungry, and in want.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 11-16 - The parable of the prodigal son shows the nature of repentance, and the Lord's readiness to welcome and bless all who return to him. It full sets forth the riches of gospel grace; and it has been, and will be while the world stands, of unspeakable use to poor sinners, to direc and to encourage them in repenting and returning to God. It is bad, an the beginning of worse, when men look upon God's gifts as debts due to them. The great folly of sinners, and that which ruins them, is, being content in their life-time to receive their good things. Our firs parents ruined themselves and all their race, by a foolish ambition to be independent, and this is at the bottom of sinners' persisting in their sin. We may all discern some features of our own characters in that of the prodigal son. A sinful state is of departure and distanc from God. A sinful state is a spending state: wilful sinners misemplo their thoughts and the powers of their souls, mispend their time an all their opportunities. A sinful state is a wanting state. Sinner want necessaries for their souls; they have neither food nor raimen for them, nor any provision for hereafter. A sinful state is a vile slavish state. The business of the devil's servants is to make provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof, and that is n better than feeding swine. A sinful state is a state constan discontent. The wealth of the world and the pleasures of the sense will not even satisfy our bodies; but what are they to precious souls A sinful state is a state which cannot look for relief from an creature. In vain do we cry to the world and to the flesh; they have that which will poison a soul, but have nothing to give which will fee and nourish it. A sinful state is a state of death. A sinner is dead i trespasses and sins, destitute of spiritual life. A sinful state is lost state. Souls that are separated from God, if his mercy preven not, will soon be lost for ever. The prodigal's wretched state, onl faintly shadows forth the awful ruin of man by sin. Yet how few ar sensible of their own state and character!
Greek Textus Receptus
και 2532 CONJ πορευθεις 4198 5679 V-AOP-NSM εκολληθη 2853 5681 V-API-3S ενι 1520 A-DSM των 3588 T-GPM πολιτων 4177 N-GPM της 3588 T-GSF χωρας 5561 N-GSF εκεινης 1565 D-GSF και 2532 CONJ επεμψεν 3992 5656 V-AAI-3S αυτον 846 P-ASM εις 1519 PREP τους 3588 T-APM αγρους 68 N-APM αυτου 846 P-GSM βοσκειν 1006 5721 V-PAN χοιρους 5519 N-APM
Vincent's NT Word Studies
15. Joined himself (ekollhqh). The verb means to glue or cement. Very expressive here, implying that he forced himself upon the citizen, who was unwilling to engage him, and who took him into service only upon persistent entreaty. "The unhappy wretch is a sort of appendage to a strange personality" (Godet). Compare Acts ix. 26. Wyc., cleaved. See, also, on Acts v. 13.To feed swine. As he had received him reluctantly, so he gave him the meanest possible employment. An ignominious occupation, especially in Jewish eyes. The keeping of swine was prohibited to Israelites under a curse.
Robertson's NT Word Studies
15:15 {Joined himself} (ekolleqe). First aorist passive of kollaw, an old verb to glue together, to cleave to. In the N.T. only the passive occurs. He was glued to, was joined to. It is not necessary to take this passive in the middle reflexive sense. {The citizens} (twn politwn). Curiously enough this common word citizen (polites from polis, city) is found in the N.T. only in Luke's writings (#15:15; 19:14; Ac 21:39) except in #He 8:11 where it is quoted from #Jer 38:34. {To feed swine} (boskein coirous). A most degrading occupation for anyone and for a Jew an unspeakable degradation.
