Mark

6:30-44

The journey to God's mountain, 6:1-10:52

1. Growing discontent, 6:1-7:37

iv] The feeding of the 5,000

The disciples, wearied by the Galilean mission, draw aside "to a quiet place", to "rest" in the shepherd's care. Yet, the crowds follow, and so Jesus, having "compassion on them", "began teaching them many things". In the wilderness the people find the sustenance of eternal rest, for as Moses, under God, fed the children of Israel in the wilderness, so Jesus similarly feeds "sheep without a shepherd" in a "solitary place." In the feeding of the 5,000 Jesus reveals himself as Israel's faithful shepherd.

The significance of the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand is open to some debate. It may just be an act of divine power prompted by Jesus' "compassion." Yet, it is more likely a "sign", a revelation of the mystery, a proclamation that "the kingdom of God is at hand."

Messianic fulfilment is the revelationary aspect of the miracle, and this is expressed in Jesus' role as shepherd to the people of Israel, a people who are "like sheep without a shepherd." As Moses, under the hand of God, sustained Israel in the wilderness, so Jesus, in a "deserted place", feeds the people of Israel. He sustains them with the bread of life, both spiritual and physical - he taught them "many things", "and all ate and were filled."

Cranfield underlines this fulfilment motif quoting Qoheleth Rubba on Ecclesiastes 1:9, "As the first Redeemer caused manna to descend, so shall also the last Redeemer cause manna to descend." Lane expresses a similar fulfilment motif when he writes "in contrast to the drunken debauchery of the Herodian feast, Mark exhibits the glory of God unveiled through the abundant provision of bread in the wilderness where Jesus is Israel's faithful shepherd."

France, on the other hand, reminds us that applying the "sign" value of a miracle is by no means clear cut. He sees the sign as "a foretaste of the messianic banquet, an introduction to the communal life of the kingdom of God." We should also note that the miracle has often been used to teach Christ's divinity, although Mark does not seem to draw out this conclusion.

Setting - The apostles report on their mission and, given the press of the crowds, Jesus decides to take them away for a break / a debrief, v30-31.

oiJ apostoloi (oV) "the apostles" - Cranfield notes that the word is derived from the Hebrew meaning "authorized agent or representative." The sense here is possibly not technical, so "the missionaries", Taylor.

sunagontai (sunagw) pres. pas. "gathered" - coming, gathering together. Historic present. "After the apostles returned to Jesus", CEV.

aphggeilan (apaggellw) aor. "reported" - they announced, reported, told the news. "Told him all about what they had done and taught", Barclay.

autw/ dat. pro. "to [him]" - Dative of indirect object.

gar "then, because" - for, since. Expressing cause/reason; "because".

hsan oiJ ercomenoi kai oiJ uJpagonteV "[many] people were coming and going" - the ones coming and the ones going. The two participles, along with the imperfect verb to-be, form a periphrastic imperfect construction; "because there were many people spending time with Jesus."

fagein (esqiw) aor. inf. "to eat" - The infinitive is complementary, completing the sense of the verb "have opportunity".

deute "come with me" - come. "With me" is understood.

autoi kat idian "by yourselves" - yourselves privately, alone. "apart by yourselves", Cranfield.

erhmon adj. "a quiet place" - Here not the noun "desert", but rather a "deserted, lonely place"

anapausasqe (anapauw) imperf. "get [some] rest" - rest, refresh [a little].

Introduction - the quiet break for Jesus and his disciples turns into a major teaching occasion when it is invaded by crowds of people, v32-24. Taylor and others identify the "wilderness place" as the north-east side of the lake.

kat idian "by themselves" - privately.

en + dat. "in [a boat]" - Expressing space/sphere.

eidon aor. "saw" - Cranfield suggests that "many" is the subject, as NIV, but possibly an impersonal verb, "people saw", in which case "many" would be the subject of "recognized". "The people saw them going, and many recognized them", Weymouth.

uJpagontaV (uJpagw) pres. part. "leaving" - going. The participle forms a dependent statement of perception expressing what they saw, namely, "the disciples and Jesus leaving for some R&R"

epegnwsan (epiginwskw) aor. "recognized" - knew. Possibly "knew / worked out where they were going."

sunedramon (suntrecw) aor. "ran" - ran together. Used of people running to a place and gathering there.

pezh/ adv. "on foot" - on foot. As opposed to going by boat; "ran by land"

prohlqon (proercomai) aor. "got [there] ahead of [them]" - they arrived ahead of, came ahead of, arrived before. "Got there first", CEV.

exelqwn (exercomai) aor. part. "when Jesus landed" - having gotten out, come out. "Jesus" understood. The participle is adverbial and probably forms a temporal clause as NIV; "when Jesus disembarked", Barclay.

esplagcnisqh (splagcnizomai) aor. pas. "he had compassion [on them]" - he had compassion, felt sorry, had pity. "Pity which expresses itself in active assistance", Cranfield. "His heart went out to them", REB.

epi + acc. "on [them]" - Spacial.

oJti "because [they were like sheep]" - that. Causal, "because", as NIV. cf. Num.27:17, 1Ki.22:17, Ezk.34:5.

wJV "like" - as. Comparative.

mh exonta (ecw) pres. part. "without [a shepherd]" - not having [a shepherd]. The participle is adjectival limiting "sheep"; "they were as sheep which did not have a shepherd."

didaskein (didaskw) pres. inf. "teaching" - to teach. The infinitive is complementary, completing the sense of the verb "he began". The need of the "crowd / multitude / people" is that they be taught. The word takes priority over signs.

polla "many things" - Probably adjectival, as NIV, but possibly adverbial, "much"; "he proceeded to teach them at length", Moffatt.

The miracle of the feeding of the five thousand, v35-44. The miracle is presented in three parts: i] The scene is set for the miracle with a discussion between Jesus and his disciples, v35-38; ii] then the miracle itself follows, v39-42; iii] finally the effect of the miracle is detailed - the people ate and were full and still there was an abundance of food left over, v43-44.

genomenhV (ginomai) gen. aor. part. "[by this time] it was [late in the day]" - [alrady hour much] was coming, approaching. A temporal genitive absolute participle construction used to express a period or point of time; "when it grew late", ESV. "It was getting late in the afternoon", "as the day wore on", Phillips.

proselqonteV (prosercomai) aor. part. + dat. of persons "[his disciples] came to" - [the disciples] having come. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "were saying"; "his disciples came to to him and said."

autw/ dat. pro. "him" - Dative of direct object after the participle "was coming to / approaching."

oJti "-" - that. Here introducing a dependent statement of direct speech expressing what the disciples said.

erhmoV adj. "a remote place" - deserted. Serving as a noun, "deserted place."

hdh "it's already" - by now, already. "It's" understood.

wJra pollh "very late" - hour much = a late hour.

apoluson (apoluw) aor. imp. "send [them] away" - send away, dismiss / divorce / release, set free.

iJna + subj. "so" - that ...... [they may buy]. Forming a purpose clause, "in order that".

apelqonteV (apercomai) aor. part. "they can go to" - having departed, gone away. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the main verb "they may buy". Virtually redundant, cf. Moffatt.

touV kuklw/ "the surrounding" - surrounding, around, nearby. Adverb used as a substantive.

eJautoiV dat. reflex. pro. "themselves" - Dative of interest, advantage; "for themselves."

ti "something [to eat]" - The interrogative pronoun used as the substantive object "something" (the Gk. adjusted by Matt. & Lk.), which is controlled by the subjunctive verb "may buy", and further modified by the infinitive "to eat" which functions as an object complement.

umeiV "you" - Emphatic. "Give them some food, yourselves", Moffatt; "I mean you", Boring.

dhnariwn diakosiwn gen. "that would take eight months of a man's wages!" - of two hundred denarii. Genitive of price. "It would take almost a years wage", CEV.

apelqonteV (apercomai) aor. part. "are we to go ...?" - having gone, departed. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the main verb "they may buy". "Are we to go and buy ..."

agoraswmen (agorazw) aor. subj. "spend that much" - may we buy. A deliberative subjunctive.

dwsomen (didwmi) fut. "give" - will we give. The future used to express purpose, "in order to give", although the varient subjunctive is better grammar.

posouV pro. "how many" - how much, how many. "How much bread do you have?", CEV.

artouV (oV) "loaves" - bread. Here probably "barley bread" and it would most likely be flat bread. Bread served as the main staple of a meal with the fish, dried / salted, serving virtually as a condiment. The bread has often been taken as a symbol of teaching with the number five representing the five books of Moses. An Aramaic mind would naturally conjure up such symbolism, although the idea adds little to the revelational intention of the miracle - see introductory notes.

autoiV dat. pro. "[he asked]" - [he said] to them. Dative of indirect object.

uJpagete idete imp. "go and see" - "The two imperatives have a very decisive tone", Taylor.

gnonteV (ginwskw) aor. part. "when they found out" - having known. The participle is adverbial, probably forming a temporal clause, as NIV.

icquaV (uV uoV) "fish" - Here possibly cooked fish, or more likely, dried, or pickled fish.

autoiV dat. pro. "[Jesus directed] them" - Dative of direct object / complement.

anaklinai (anaklinw) aor. inf. "to have [all] the people sit down" - to recline, lean upon, lie down [everyone]. The infinitive forms a dependent statement of indirect speech, expressing the content of Jesus' command, "he commanded that everyone lie/sit down. In the active this verb is causative, "cause to sit down." "Jesus told his disciples to make the people sit down on the green grass", CEV.

sumposia sumposia "in groups" - party, group by party, group. The two words together produce a distributive sense denoting groups of people eating together.

epi + dat. "on" - upon. Spacial. The people sit upon "green" grass, possibly drawing on the symbolism of the blossoming of the desert in the new age of the kingdom.

anepesan (anapiptw) aor. "they sat down" - they reclined at table.

prasiai prasiai "in groups" - garden beds. The ordered rows of a garden bed is used to describe the way the crowd sat. Again, the repetition of the noun produces a distributive sense. "They sat down in ordered groups", possibly "squares", NJB.

kata eJkaton kai kata penthkonta "of hundreds and fifties" - So most translations, but possibly "a hundred rows of fifty", Manson, or "a great rectangle, a hundred by fifty", Moule. The numbering of the groups alludes to the numbering of Israel in the wilderness, cf. Ex.7:4, 13:18, 18:21, 25.

labwn (lambanw) aor. part. "taking" - having taken. The two participle, "having taken" and "having looked up" are attendant circumstance, expressing action accompanying the main verb "he blessed". The series of verbs, took, gave thanks, broke, gave, fit with account of the Lord's Supper, 14:22. The words may just fit with the normal actions of a family meal, but may also be alluding to the Lord's Supper and thus further reinforcing the symbolism of the coming eschatological banquet represented in this feeding miracle.

anableyaV (anablepw) aor. part. "looking up" - having looked up. Expressing an attitude of prayer.

euloghsen (eulogew) "he gave thanks" - he blessed. Taylor argues that the verbs eulogew and eucaristew take the same meaning when used of a prayer said over food, "the act is of thanksgiving to God." This interchangeability of both words is not accepted by the majority of translators, so for example, "he looked up to heaven and said the blessing", Barclay; so to NJB, REB, NAB, NRSV, CEV, Moffatt, Weymouth, Goodspeed, Williams.

autouV "-" - Varient "them", so he gave thanks over the bread, or blessed the bread, although if Jesus is offering a blessing, rather than a thanksgiving, then "the Lord" is the understood object - eg. "blessed art thou, O Lord." So, "blessed the food", CEV, is unlikely, rather "said a blessing", NJB. None-the-less, "gave thanks", NIV, is preferred.

edidou (didwmi) imperf. "he gave them" - he was giving, distributing. The imperfect, being durative/imperfective, expresses "successive distributions", Taylor.

touV maqhtaiV (hV ou) dat. "to [his] disciples" - Dative of indirect object. See Metzger for variant "his".

iJna + subj. "-" - that [they might set the loaves before the people]. Expressing purpose, "in order that".

emerisen (merizw) aor. "he [also] divided [the two fish]" - he divided, distributed. "He divided the two fish among them all", Phillips.

pasin dat. adj. "among them all" - to all = everyone. Dative of indirect object; "distributed it to everyone."

ecortasqhsan (kortazw) aor. pas. "were satisfied" - they were filled, satisfied. This was no symbolic meal; it was the real thing and therefore a miracle; "they ate until they could eat no more", Barclay.

kofinwn (oV) gen. "[twelve] basket[fulls]" - [they collected fragment] of twelve baskets [full, complete]. The genitive is adjectival, epexegetic / appositional, limiting by definition "fragments / broken pieces"; "amounting to twelve full baskets." A strong wicker basket is intended.

klasmata (a atoV) "broken pieces" - [twelve baskets] fragments, pieces. Matthew and Luke rework this awkward clause, "they picked up the leftovers of the fragments, twelve baskets full", Matt.21:20b. Although we cannot be sure, this is not an exercise in environmental care where all the scraps are picked up by the disciples, rather, the collected food represents the uneaten portions not yet distributed (the scraps would be left for the birds!!). The point is, there was an abundance of food, more than enough, and unlike the collected manna during the wilderness wanderings, this bread may be collected and kept (implied). Again, messianic imagery is intended.

apo + gen "-" - [and] from [the fish]. The sense being that some from the fish was included in the collected food that remained - an Aramaic construction; "besides pieces of the fish", Weymouth.

andreV (anhr androV) "the men" - men. The word is used to define adult males, other than women and children. Rather sexist, but the point being that there were many more than 5,000 people present.

oiJ fagonteV (esqew) aor. part. "who had eaten" - the ones having eaten. The participle functions as a substantive; "those who had eaten."

Mark Introduction

lectionarystudies.com