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LEGION
A unit of the Roman army. In NT times the standard size of the legion was 6,000 men, to which some 120 cavalry were added.
Because it represented a large body of men, the word “legion” came to be used symbolically for an indefinitely large number; this use occurs four times in the NT. In the story about the demoniac in the country of the Gerasenes, Jesus asked the man, “What is your name?” and the reply was, “My name is Legion, for we are many” (Mk 5:9, 15; Lk 8:30; cf. Mt 12:45; Lk 8:2, which speak of a number of demons possessing a single individual).
Another use of the word is in Matthew 26:53, where at the time of Jesus’ arrest one of those with him drew his sword to defend his Master. Jesus forbade such action, saying, “Don’t you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands [legions] of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly?” (NLT; see mg). Thus he spoke of the vast number of angels that could be summoned to his aid.
The word “legion” is never used in the NT in its military sense, but either of the spiritual powers of evil that oppose men (cf. Eph 6:12) or of the spiritual powers that can be summoned to their aid (cf. Heb 1:14).
See also Warfare.