Five Thousand Fed

The words

1. Barley

   John specifies barley for the boy’s five loaves, then names the same grain when the leftovers are gathered; Mark, Luke and Matthew give five loaves without naming a grain.

   Did you know?

   In a separate account about Elisha, 2 Kings describes twenty barley loaves set before a hundred men; that story also ends with food left over.

   John 6:9, 13 (opens a new tab) · Mark 6:38 (opens a new tab) · Luke 9:13 (opens a new tab) · Matthew 14:17 (opens a new tab) · 2 Kings 4:38–44 (opens a new tab)

2. Companies

   Groups of people.

   Mark says Jesus tells the people to sit down by companies on the grass; the following verse gives the group sizes as hundreds and fifties.

   Mark 6:39–40 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Mark 6:30-44 (opens a new tab)

3. Desert Place

   A secluded place.

   In Mark, Jesus takes the disciples by boat toward a desert place to rest. The NET renders this an isolated place; Mark later describes green grass at the meal.

   Mark 6:31–32, 39 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Mark 6:30-44 (opens a new tab)

4. Distributed

   Shared out; handed around.

   John’s KJV describes Jesus giving the loaves to the disciples and the disciples passing them to those seated; Mark likewise has the disciples set the bread before the people.

   John 6:11 (opens a new tab) · Mark 6:41 (opens a new tab)

5. Fifties

   Luke records Jesus telling the disciples to seat the people by fifties in a company; the NET says about fifty each. Mark names fifties alongside hundreds.

   Luke 9:14 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Luke 9:10-17 (opens a new tab) · Mark 6:40 (opens a new tab)

6. Fragments

   Broken pieces left over.

   John places the gathering of fragments after the people are filled and gives Jesus’s instruction that nothing be lost; the NET calls these the broken pieces left over.

   John 6:12–13 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: John 6:1-15 (opens a new tab)

7. Green Grass

   Mark specifies green grass where the people sit in groups; John says there was much grass in the place, and Matthew also describes the crowd sitting on grass.

   Mark 6:39 (opens a new tab) · John 6:10 (opens a new tab) · Matthew 14:19 (opens a new tab)

8. Hundreds

   Mark describes the seated groups in hundreds and fifties, then counts about five thousand men who ate; Matthew explicitly places women and children outside that count.

   Mark 6:40, 44 (opens a new tab) · Matthew 14:21 (opens a new tab)

9. Leisure

   Time available for something.

   Before the feeding, Mark explains the invitation to rest: people were continually coming and going, leaving Jesus and the apostles no leisure even to eat; the NET says no time to eat.

   Mark 6:30–32 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Mark 6:30-44 (opens a new tab)

10. Loaves

    Mark first records five loaves and two fish as the provision found by the disciples; Jesus then looks to heaven, blesses and breaks the bread, and gives it to them to serve.

    Mark 6:38, 41 (opens a new tab)

11. Pennyworth

    A coin’s worth, here.

    Mark’s disciples ask about buying two hundred pennyworth of bread; Philip in John says that sum would be insufficient. NET notes identify denarii, each worth roughly a laborer’s daily wage.

    Mark 6:37 (opens a new tab) · John 6:7 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Mark 6:30-44 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: John 6:1-15 (opens a new tab)

12. Ranks

    Rows or groups, here.

    Mark uses ranks for the seated arrangement and immediately gives hundreds and fifties as the sizes; the NET describes the people reclining in groups.

    Mark 6:40 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Mark 6:30-44 (opens a new tab)

13. Small Fishes

    John’s KJV calls the boy’s fish two small fishes, while Mark simply gives two fishes; John says Jesus distributes fish as well as bread, as much as the people want.

    John 6:9, 11 (opens a new tab) · Mark 6:38 (opens a new tab)

14. Tiberias

    John identifies the sea of Galilee as the sea of Tiberias before describing the crowd and the meal; the verse gives two names for the same body of water.

    John 6:1 (opens a new tab)

15. Twelve Baskets

    All four accounts give twelve baskets after the people have eaten. John specifies fragments of the five barley loaves, while Mark includes remaining fish as well as broken bread.

    Mark 6:42–43 (opens a new tab) · John 6:12–13 (opens a new tab) · Luke 9:17 (opens a new tab) · Matthew 14:20 (opens a new tab)