Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding.

Feeding there, on the mountain slope, was a great herd of swine.

Now on the mountain side there was a great herd of pigs getting their food.

And in that place, near the mountain, there was a great herd of swine, feeding.

There was a large drove of pigs close by, feeding on the hillside;

A great herd of swine - See the notes on Matthew 8:30.

Now there was there nigh unto the (e) mountains a great herd of swine feeding.
(e) This whole country is for the most part very hilly, for the mountains of Galeed run through it.

Now there was there, nigh unto the mountains,.... Where this man often was, Mark 5:5 according to Beza, the mountains of Galaad, which ran through that country, or the mountains that surrounded Tiberias. Some copies, as the Alexandrian copy and others, read "at", or "about the mountain", in the singular number. The Vulgate Latin and Arabic versions read, "about the mountain". The Syriac and Ethiopic, "at the mountain"; so in Luke 8:32,
a great herd of swine feeding; on one side of the mountain, or mountains; it may be called a great one, for there were about two thousand hogs in it.

Now there was there, nigh unto the mountains--rather, "to the mountain," according to what is clearly the true reading. In Matthew 8:30, they are said to have been "a good way off." But these expressions, far from being inconsistent, only confirm, by their precision, the minute accuracy of the narrative.
a great herd of swine feeding--There can hardly be any doubt that the owners of these were Jews, since to them our Lord had now come to proffer His services. This will explain what follows.

Mountain side. At Gersa the mountain rises near the sea.
A great herd of swine. Either the property of Gentiles, or of Jews who disobeyed the law of Moses for gain.