Mat 26:53 he would not give me more than twelve l of angels
Mark 5:9; Luke 8:30 what’s your name? ..l called me
Legion (Gr. leguion or legueon, both forms appear in manuscripts; from Lat. legio). 1. In a non-military and secondary sense – which had entered not only Greek but also Rabbinic Hebrew – it refers to a large company. Thus it is used in the NT with reference to a host of angels (Mat 26:53) and a host of unclean spirits (probably so called to emphasize their number or power), one of whose victims was healed by Jesus ( Mark 5:9, 15; Luke 8:30). 2. In non-biblical Roman usage, a military term for the main division of the Roman army in NT times, made up of about 6,000 men, with a smaller unit of cavalry (about 120 horsemen). The regular soldiers were Roman citizens, but a roughly equal number of auxiliary forces, made up of provincials, were added to each legion. The legion was under the command of a legatus (in Egypt, a praefectus), and was divided into 10 companies; each company* or cohort was subdivided into 3 maniples, and each maniple into 2 centuries, commanded by a centurion (Mar 15:39, 44, 45). 311. Rock inscription at the Nahr el-Kelb, Lebanon, recording the repair of the road by the Third Gallic Legion. However, the legion’s name was expunged shortly after a mutiny.
Source: Evangelical Bible Dictionary
group of Roman soldiers made up of ten cohorts whose number varied, but which in the New Testament era amounted to about six thousand. Jesus claimed to have twelve legions of angels, Mt 26, 53.
Digital Bible Dictionary, Grupo C Service & Design Ltda., Colombia, 2003
Source: Digital Bible Dictionary
The largest basic unit in the Roman army that included the infantry and cavalry. A full infantry division consisted of about 6,000 Roman soldiers. Each division was further divided into ten companies, and each company was subdivided into six centuries. The term legion in the NT represents a very high number (Mat 26:53; Mar 5:9, Mar 5:15; Luk 8:30).
Source: Hispanic World Bible Dictionary
Abundant and indeterminate number of spirits or people: Mar 5:9 Luc 8:30, Mat 26:53.
Legion of Mary: One of the largest secular organizations of the Catholic Church, founded in Dublin in 1921. Led by the Virgin Mary, they are dedicated to bringing souls to Christ by living in holiness, and exercising practical charity towards all.
Christian Bible Dictionary
Dr. J. Dominguez
http://bible.com/dictionary/
Source: Christian Bible Dictionary
Military term of Roman origin. He designates the grouping of ten companies (or cohorts) of five hundred to six hundred men. The company, in turn, was divided into groups of one hundred men, the so-called “centuries”. One l., therefore, was equivalent to five thousand or six thousand soldiers. In addition to these were the so-called auxiliary troops. On his way to the cross Jesus spoke that he could ask his Father for him † œmore than twelve l. of angels† (Matt 26:53), or more than seventy-two thousand angels. In popular parlance, however, “legion” was simply used to indicate a large number of people. When Jesus asked the name of a demon tormenting a man, the answer was: “L. my name is, because we are many† (Mar 5:9; Luc 8:30).
Source: Christian Bible Dictionary
type, EXER
vet, Main body of the Roman army (Wars 3:4, 2). At first, the legion was made up of 3,000 infantry and horsemen. From the year 100 BC until the fall of the empire, it had between 5,000 and 6,200 soldiers. At this time the legion was composed of 10 cohorts, and each of them was made up of three maniples; each maniple was made up of two centuries (cf. Mt. 27:27). They were commanded by tribunes and centurions (Wars 3:5, 3; Acts 21:31, 32; 23:23). Under the empire there were six tribunes and sixty centurions per legion. The term legion is sometimes a term designating a large number (Mt. 25:53; Mr. 5:9). The insignia of the legion originally represented the eagle and four other animals. From the year 104 BC only the eagle remained (Pliny, Hist. Nat. 10:4). The first centurion was its bearer. The emblem, in general, also carried a small image of the emperor. Pontius Pilate introduced these images into Jerusalem, thereby provoking a revolt of the Jews (Ant. 18:3, 1; Wars 2:9, 2). The eagle was the ensign of the legion as a whole, but the cohorts and centuries each had their own ensign, smaller and of various shapes.
Source: New Illustrated Bible Dictionary
In the vulgar sense, it refers to a crowd, a large group. Among the Romans it was a select military body led by commands organized in an escalating manner.
In imperial times a legion had about 6,000 foot soldiers and about 120 on horseback, whose officers were always Roman. It was commanded by a tribune and was made up of lower units, maniples, and cohorts.
In the Gospel the term legion is sometimes applied to the numerous demons that inhabited the possessed Gerasa (Lk. 8. 30; Mk. 5.9 and 15) and Jesus spoke of legions alluding to the good angels who could put themselves at his command. disposition (Mt. 26.53) It is evident that the term is used by Roman influence.
Pedro Chico González, Dictionary of Catechesis and Religious Pedagogy, Editorial Bruño, Lima, Peru 2006
Source: Dictionary of Catechesis and Religious Pedagogy
The legion, the most important Roman military unit, was composed in imperial times of 6,000 foot soldiers and 120 cavalry. In the gospels it is used as a synonym for crowd (Mt 26,53; Mc 5,9. 15; Lk 8,30). -> co; governor; praetorium.
MNE
FERNANDEZ RAMOS, Felipe (Dir.), Dictionary of Jesus of Nazareth, Editorial Monte Carmelo, Burbos, 2001
Source: Dictionary of Jesus of Nazareth
Name by which one of the two demon-possessed whom Christ Jesus encountered in the region to the E. of the Sea of Galilee identified himself. However, his real name was obviously not Legion, but rather referred to him being possessed by many demons. Possibly the chief of these demons made the man say that his name was Legion. Seeing that in the 1st century CE Roman legions typically numbered 6,000 men, this may give an idea of the large number of demons that possessed this man. The possessed man and his companion were so ferocious that no one dared to pass through the area where they sheltered among the tombs. Under demonic influence, the man who identified himself as Legion walked naked, screamed day and night, and cut himself with stones. All the efforts that had been made to bind him, even with shackles and chains, had been in vain. However, Christ Jesus delivered this man and his companion from the power of demons. Then the demons took possession of a herd of pigs and caused them to rush down the cliff into the Sea of Galilee, and all the pigs died in its waters. (Mt 8:28-34; Mr 5:1-20; Lu 8:26-39; see PIG; GADARENES.)
See more details regarding the Roman legions in ARMY (Roman Army).
Source: Dictionary of the Bible
legion (legiwvn, 3003), which is also spelled legeon, legion. It appears in Mat 26:53, of angels; in Mc 5.9,15, and Luk 8:30, of demons. Among the Romans, a legion was primarily an elected (from layman, to choose) body of soldiers divided into ten companies, and ranging from 4,200 to 6,000 men (Gr. speira, see COMPAí’IA). In the times of our Lord it was a complete army of infantry and cavalry, up to 5,000 men. The legions were not introduced to Judea until the Jewish war broke out (AD 66), as they had previously been used in the frontier provinces of the empire. Therefore, in the NT use of this term the meaning has its other more general meaning of a very large number.¶
Source: Vine New Testament Dictionary
The word gr. legion (from lat. legion) appears four times in the NT. It constituted the main division of the Roman army, and included between 4,000 and 6,000 men. It was divided into ten cohorts, each of which had six centuries. Sometimes he was given a small cavalry detachment (wing) of about 120 men. in the ss. By I AD there were normally three or four legions on duty in Syria, but very few legionnaires were seen in Palestine until the start of the first Jewish revolt in 66 BC; formerly auxiliary cohorts had kept order. In the NT this term is used to suggest a large number, as in Mt. 26.53 (about the angels) and in Mark 5.9, 15; Lc. 8.30 (for the demons that possessed the Gadarene demoniac).
RPG
Douglas, J. (2000). New Biblical Dictionary: First Edition. Miami: United Bible Societies.
Source: New Bible Dictionary