Or pig, a stout-bodied, short-legged omnivorous mammal, family Suidae. Swine are “unclean animals” in the OT, because they have cloven hooves but no ruminant stomach (Lev 11:7; Deut 14:8). The low estate to which the prodigal son fell is signified by his occupation as a swineherd (Luke 15:15; Luke 15:16). Pigs also figure in the story in (Matt 8:28-34), where Jesus heals two men by allowing their demons to occupy a herd of swine that then rushes headlong into the Gadarene Lake. The proverbial foolishness of “throwing pearls before swine” has its origin in (Matt 7:6), while the saying “like a gold ring in a pig’s snout” stems from (Prov 11:22).
