can anyone,anywhere tell me for sure what number is ment in th bibleby legon?

Question

i may have misspeled again here, buti,m refreing to the instance where christ "threw thedemon out of the posessed man and the demon said his name was legon or lecan. no one has ever ben able to give me a concrete answer.

Answer 1

The word used in the Greek is "legeon" (actually this is a Latin word that has been incorporated into the language) which is a reference to a unit in the Roman army --the size of which differed at various points in history -- in the time of Augustus seems to have consisted of 6826 men (i.e. 6100 foot soldiers, and 726 horsemen). Different sources give different figures.

Some scholars would say that Mark's use of this term fits with other anti-Roman imperalistic statements --called cryptograms --a sort of code, or another subtle layer of interpretation in the text. For example:

In 1st-century Palestine, the Roman political-economic religious system was far too powerful to challenge directly without endangering those who had already been marginalized. Criticisms thus had to be coded so that they appeared harmless to the oppressors, while transmitting revolutionary expectations to those "who have ears to hear and eyes to see." Beneath the literal meaning of this miracle story resides a hidden meaning which serves both to critique the reigning socio-political order and to offer the promise of a new age. These subversive messages are compressed in verbal images that Beck refers to as "cryptograms." The key cryptograms in this particular miracle story are "legion" and "pigs." People who cooperate with the Roman occupiers would have been viewed as out of their right minds, indeed, as dead to the community. Such a person would appear as one "possessed" by a Roman "legion," a word which refers to a division of between two and six thousand soldiers. The exorcism at Gerasa couples these oppressors with the beasts whose behavior the Romans imitate. These "pigs" are wild, vulgar, and ritually unclean. They defile the land, and so Jesus offers a sign that they will be sent back to the sea from which they came. The story is thus told to resist the occupying powers and to convey hope in the face of oppression. Here we have a religious polemic that is pivotal for the survival of the besieged. There are, of course, numerous examples of this kind of polemic in the apocryphal writings." From http://solly.anabaptist.co.uk/2006/07/20/an-humble-call-to-protestants-to-incite-greater-self-criticism-and-wider-inclusivity-amongst-that-people-and-those-they-disagree-with/

Answer 2

Legion was not his actual name, it referred to his being possessed by many demons.
Possibly the chief one of these demons caused this man to say that his name was Legion. The fact that in the first century C.E. Roman legions usually consisted of 6,000 men may give some indication of the large number of demons involved.
So fierce were the demon-possessed man and his companion that no one dared to pass the area where they had their dwelling among the tombs.

Answer 3

The phrase is "Their number is legion." It simply means that there are lots of them.

You have to remember that you are reading this in English -- and the KJV is well known for using poetic constructs to get the message out. It is doubtful that Jesus actually used that word.

The word Legion refers to the basic unit of the Roman Army -- which contained between 5000 and 6000 men. The idea is that if you were facing a legion -- you were facing a mighty army.

Answer 4

The term is "legion"
A legion was unit of the Roman Army and was typically around 5000-6000 men.
The demon said "We are legion because we are many" in other words the man was possessed by a whole lot of demons.

Answer 5

Roman legions had 1000-2000 men in late Imperial times.

Answer 6

The name "Legion" is not to be taken literally since it refers to a force of at least 6000. It implies "many"; a large number. A number sufficient to be cruel and destructive in a life.

Answer 7

The man who was possessed, and Christ asked the name of who possessed him, and THEY said legion for we are many!

Legion: 5000-6000 men in the republican period of Rome

So it could be that many Devils that possessed the man!

Answer 8

The name Legion here is simply used to denote "many." No actual number is ever specified and wouldn't be relevant anyway.

Answer 9

Legion

Mark 5:9 And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.

Answer 10

a legion is a large group of demons