λεγεών

From the study of Matthew 26:53

Range of meaning

A borrowed Latin military term (legio): the main heavy-infantry formation of the Roman army. Under Augustus and Tiberius a legion had roughly 5,000–6,000 men on paper, often fewer in practice, with a small cavalry attachment. By extension it could mean any very large organised body.

Against the English

All the major English versions say 'legions', which keeps the Roman military image. The NLT turns it into a general 'thousands of angels', which keeps the size but loses the picture of an organised army.

How it drifted

In modern English 'legion' mostly survives as a vague word for 'very many' ('their number is legion', from the KJV of Mark 5:9) or in names like 'the American Legion'. Many readers no longer picture the Roman legion, the unit that held the world Jesus' hearers lived in.

Used elsewhere in the period

Greek writers of the Roman period (e.g. Plutarch, Polybius' equivalent terms, Josephus who usually says tagma) use the Latin-derived word or equivalents for Roman legions. It also passed into Aramaic and later rabbinic Hebrew as ligyon. In the Gospels it appears only here and in the demon's name 'Legion' (Mark 5:9, 15; Luke 8:30), where it likewise suggests an occupying force.

From the study of Mark 5:15

Range of meaning

A Latin loanword (legio): a Roman legion, about 5,000–6,000 soldiers plus support troops. In wider use it meant a very large, organised host (Matt 26:53, 'twelve legions of angels').

Against the English

Translations keep 'legion'. BSB and NIV expand it to 'the legion of demons'. NASB puts 'legion' in quotation marks to show it is a name.

How it drifted

In modern English 'legion' mostly means 'a great many' ('their numbers are legion'). That sense partly comes from this very passage via the KJV. For first-century hearers the word first meant Roman soldiers: occupation, discipline, overwhelming force.

Used elsewhere in the period

Latin legio appears in Greek writing of the Roman period, for example in Plutarch, and in inscriptions. The Legio X Fretensis, based in Syria in the first century and later at Jerusalem, used a boar among its emblems. That fact is part of a debate (see debates).