Feeding the Five Thousand
Matthew 14:13-21
Matt.14.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- Ακουσας: VERB,aor,act,part,nom,sg,m
- δε: CONJ
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- Ιησους: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- ανεχωρησεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- εκειθεν: ADV
- εν: PREP
- πλοιω: NOUN,dat,sg,n
- εις: PREP
- ερημον: ADJ,acc,sg,m
- τοπον: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- κατ᾽ιδιαν·και: ADV
- ακουσαντες: VERB,aor,act,part,nom,pl,m
- οι: ART,nom,pl,m
- οχλοι: NOUN,nom,pl,m
- ηκολουθησαν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,pl
- αυτω: PRON,dat,sg,m
- πεζη: ADV
- απο: PREP
- των: ART,gen,pl,m
- πολεων: NOUN,gen,pl,f
Parallels
- Mark 6:31-33 (verbal): Close verbal and structural parallel: Jesus withdraws to a deserted place by boat and the crowds follow him on foot.
- Luke 9:10-11 (structural): Luke likewise describes Jesus withdrawing with the disciples to a deserted place (Bethsaida) and welcoming the crowds who followed.
- John 6:1-3 (structural): John records Jesus crossing to the other side of the Sea of Galilee and going up the mountain, with a large crowd following—setting the same movement that leads into the feeding narrative.
- Matthew 12:15 (thematic): Another Matthean instance of Jesus withdrawing from a place (here because of opposition), showing the recurring motif of withdrawal into solitude amid threats or crowds.
- Matthew 14:22 (structural): Within the same chapter Jesus has the disciples get into a boat and go ahead of him to the other side, linking the boat/withdrawal motif in this narrative sequence.
Alternative generated candidates
- When Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there by boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.
- When Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there by boat to a solitary place by himself; and when the crowds heard, they followed him on foot from the towns.
Matt.14.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- και: CONJ
- εξελθων: VERB,aor,act,part,nom,m,sg
- ειδεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- πολυν: ADJ,acc,sg,m
- οχλον: NOUN,acc,sg,masc
- και: CONJ
- εσπλαγχνισθη: VERB,aor,pass,ind,3,sg
- επ᾽αυτοις: PREP+PRON,dat,pl,m
- και: CONJ
- εθεραπευσεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- τους: ART,acc,pl,m
- αρρωστους: ADJ,acc,pl,m
- αυτων: PRON,gen,pl,3
Parallels
- Mark 6:34 (verbal): Same scene and wording: Jesus sees the crowd, is moved with compassion (σπλαγχνισθεὶς) and ministers to them; Mark preserves the immediate context and similar language.
- Luke 9:11 (structural): Parallel episode: Jesus receives the crowd, teaches about the kingdom and heals those in need—same sequence of compassion, teaching, and healing.
- Matthew 9:36 (verbal): Same Matthean theme and language of compassion on the crowds (σπλαγχνισθεὶς), emphasizing Jesus' pity for multitudes like sheep without a shepherd.
- Mark 6:56 (thematic): Related detail: people bring the sick to wherever Jesus goes and all are healed—echoes Matthew's note that he healed their sick.
- Matthew 15:32 (thematic): Another Matthean instance of Jesus' compassion for a crowd (εσπλαγχνίσθη) leading to concrete care (here feeding), showing a consistent compassion motif.
Alternative generated candidates
- When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
- When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he was moved with compassion for them and healed their sick.
Matt.14.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- οψιας: NOUN,gen,sg,f
- δε: CONJ
- γενομενης: VERB,pres,mid,part,gen,f,sg
- προσηλθον: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,pl
- αυτω: PRON,dat,sg,m
- οι: ART,nom,pl,m
- μαθηται: NOUN,nom,pl,m
- λεγοντες·Ερημος: VERB,pres,act,part,nom,pl,m
- εστιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- τοπος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- και: CONJ
- η: ART,nom,sg,f
- ωρα: NOUN,nom,sg,f
- ηδη: ADV
- παρηλθεν·απολυσον: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- τους: ART,acc,pl,m
- οχλους: NOUN,acc,pl,m
- ινα: CONJ
- απελθοντες: VERB,aor,act,ptc,nom,pl,m
- εις: PREP
- τας: ART,acc,pl,f
- κωμας: NOUN,acc,pl,f
- αγορασωσιν: VERB,aor,act,subj,3,pl
- εαυτοις: PRON,dat,pl,m
- βρωματα: NOUN,acc,pl,n
Parallels
- Mark 6:35-36 (verbal): Same scene in Mark's account: evening has come, the place is desolate, and the disciples urge Jesus to send the crowd away to buy food (very similar wording and sequence).
- Luke 9:12 (verbal): Luke's parallel to the feeding of the five thousand: the disciples tell Jesus to send the crowd into the villages to find food because it is late and the place is deserted (same concern and instruction).
- John 6:5-7 (thematic): John's lead‑in to the feeding miracle records Jesus asking where to buy bread and the disciples noting the impossibility of feeding so many—reflects the disciples' practical concern about food and the apparent lack of resources.
- Matt 15:32 (structural): Later Matthean feeding (four thousand) uses the same structural motif: Jesus, moved with compassion, the crowd is hungry, and the disciples urge sending them away—shows a repeated narrative pattern in Matthew of evening, hunger, and the disciples' response.
Alternative generated candidates
- When evening came, the disciples approached him and said, "This is a desolate place and the day is now far spent; send the crowds away so they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves."
- When evening came the disciples approached him and said that this is a deserted place and the day is already far spent; send the crowds away so they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.
Matt.14.16 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- δε: CONJ
- Ιησους: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- ειπεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- αυτοις·Ου: PRON,dat,pl,m+PART
- χρειαν: NOUN,acc,sg,f
- εχουσιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,pl
- απελθειν·δοτε: VERB,aor,act,inf+VERB,pres,act,imp,2,pl
- αυτοις: PRON,dat,pl,m
- υμεις: PRON,nom,pl,2
- φαγειν: VERB,aor,act,inf
Parallels
- Mark 6:37 (verbal): Direct verbal parallel — Jesus tells the disciples, in nearly identical language, 'You give them something to eat' during the feeding of the 5,000.
- Luke 9:13 (verbal): Close verbal and narrative parallel to Matthew; Luke records the same command to the disciples to provide food for the crowd in the feeding miracle.
- John 6:7 (allusion): Philip's practical objection about the insufficiency of bread echoes the disciples' inability to feed the crowd and frames the ensuing miracle of provision in John’s account.
- Matt.15:32 (thematic): A structurally parallel feeding miracle (the feeding of the 4,000) where Jesus again responds to the crowd's need with compassion and instructs provision—same theme of miraculous feeding.
- 2 Kings 4:42-44 (thematic): Old Testament precedent: Elisha miraculously multiplies bread to feed many, providing a prophetic/typological background for New Testament feeding miracles.
Alternative generated candidates
- But Jesus said to them, "They need not go away; you give them something to eat."
- Jesus answered that they need not go away; you give them something to eat.
Matt.14.17 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- οι: ART,nom,pl,m
- δε: CONJ
- λεγουσιν: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,pl
- αυτω·Ουκ: PRON,dat,3,sg+PART,neg
- εχομεν: VERB,pres,act,ind,1,pl
- ωδε: ADV
- ει: COND
- μη: PART
- πεντε: NUM,card
- αρτους: NOUN,acc,pl,m
- και: CONJ
- δυο: NUM,card
- ιχθυας: NOUN,acc,pl,m
Parallels
- Mark 6:38 (verbal): Close synoptic parallel to Matthew 14:17; the disciples report there are 'five loaves and two fish'—nearly identical wording in the feeding of the five thousand account.
- Luke 9:13 (verbal): Synoptic parallel where the disciples say they have 'no more than five loaves and two fish' (adding the remark about buying food), echoing the same insufficient resources motif.
- John 6:9 (verbal): John's account names a boy who has 'five barley loaves and two fish,' preserving the same numbers and supplying the owner of the food in the feeding narrative.
- Matt.15:34 (structural): Parallel feeding miracle in Matthew (the feeding of the four thousand) where the disciples again report limited provisions—'seven loaves and a few little fish'—showing the recurring structural motif of apparent insufficiency before miraculous multiplication.
Alternative generated candidates
- They replied, "We have only five loaves and two fish here."
- They replied that they had only five loaves and two fish.
Matt.14.18 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- δε: CONJ
- ειπεν·Φερετε: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg+VERB,pres,act,imp,2,pl
- μοι: PRON,dat,sg,1
- ωδε: ADV
- αυτους: PRON,acc,pl,m
Parallels
- Mark 6:38 (verbal): Mark records essentially the same command—'Bring them here to me'—in the feeding-of-the-5000 scene, matching Matthew’s brief imperative.
- Mark 6:41 (structural): Mark narrates the immediate sequence after the request: Jesus takes the loaves, gives thanks, breaks them, and distributes them—paralleling Matthew’s context and action that follows 'bring them to me.'
- Luke 9:16 (structural): Luke parallels the same sequence (taking the loaves, giving thanks, breaking and distributing), showing the common Lukan/Matthean tradition for the feeding miracle.
- John 6:11 (structural): John recounts Jesus taking the loaves and distributing them after the boy’s loaves and fish are presented—another close parallel in the Johannine account of the feeding tradition.
Alternative generated candidates
- He said, "Bring them here to me."
- He said, 'Bring them here to me.'
Matt.14.19 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- και: CONJ
- κελευσας: VERB,aor,act,part,nom,sg,m
- τους: ART,acc,pl,m
- οχλους: NOUN,acc,pl,m
- ανακλιθηναι: VERB,aor,pass,inf
- επι: PREP
- του: ART,gen,sg,n
- χορτου: NOUN,gen,sg,m
- λαβων: VERB,aor,act,ptcp,nom,sg,m
- τους: ART,acc,pl,m
- πεντε: NUM,card
- αρτους: NOUN,acc,pl,m
- και: CONJ
- τους: ART,acc,pl,m
- δυο: NUM,card
- ιχθυας: NOUN,acc,pl,m
- αναβλεψας: VERB,aor,act,part,nom,sg,m
- εις: PREP
- τον: ART,acc,sg,m
- ουρανον: NOUN,acc,sg,m
- ευλογησεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- και: CONJ
- κλασας: VERB,aor,act,part,nom,sg,m
- εδωκεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- τοις: ART,dat,pl,m
- μαθηταις: NOUN,dat,pl,m
- τους: ART,acc,pl,m
- αρτους: NOUN,acc,pl,m
- οι: ART,nom,pl,m
- δε: CONJ
- μαθηται: NOUN,nom,pl,m
- τοις: ART,dat,pl,m
- οχλοις: NOUN,dat,pl,m
Parallels
- Mark 6:41 (verbal): Same feeding-of-the-5,000 scene: Jesus 'took the five loaves and the two fish, looked up to heaven, blessed, broke, and gave to them'—close verbal and syntactical parallel to Matthew's wording.
- Luke 9:16 (verbal): Parallel account of the miracle with the same sequence—taking the loaves, giving thanks/blessing, breaking them, and distributing to the disciples/crowd—sharing key verbal elements.
- John 6:11 (verbal): John's version likewise records Jesus taking the loaves, giving thanks, and distributing them to those seated (and similarly the fish), echoing Matthew's language and actions.
- 1 Corinthians 11:24 (structural): Paul's Eucharistic formula—'he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it'—mirrors the same verbs and ritual structure found in Matthew's description, linking the miracle language to later liturgical tradition.
- Psalm 78:24 (thematic): Speaks of God providing 'meat' or 'bread from heaven' for Israel (manna); thematically parallels Jesus' miraculous provision of bread for the crowd as divine sustenance.
Alternative generated candidates
- And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, blessed them, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowd.
- And he made the people sit down on the grass; then taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven, blessed them, broke them, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples to the crowds.
Matt.14.20 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- και: CONJ
- εφαγον: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,pl
- παντες: ADJ,nom,pl,m
- και: CONJ
- εχορτασθησαν: VERB,aor,pass,ind,3,pl
- και: CONJ
- ηραν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,pl
- το: ART,nom,sg,n
- περισσευον: NOUN,acc,sg,n
- των: ART,gen,pl,m
- κλασματων: NOUN,gen,pl,n
- δωδεκα: NUM,acc,pl,m
- κοφινους: NOUN,acc,pl,m
- πληρεις: ADJ,acc,pl,m
Parallels
- Mark 6:43 (verbal): Mark's parallel account of the feeding of the 5,000 uses similar wording about all eating and the twelve baskets of leftover fragments.
- Luke 9:17 (verbal): Luke records the same miracle: everyone ate and was satisfied, and the disciples gathered twelve baskets of fragments—closely parallel to Matthew's detail.
- John 6:12-13 (verbal): John's narrative of the feeding includes Jesus' command to gather the fragments and the disciples collecting twelve baskets, matching Matthew's emphasis on abundance and preservation of leftovers.
- Matt.15:37 (structural): The feeding of the 4,000 in Matthew provides a structural parallel—another large-scale provision miracle with baskets of leftovers (seven here), highlighting a recurring motif of abundance and disciples collecting remains.
- 2 Kings 4:42-44 (thematic): Elisha's miracle of feeding a hundred with twenty loaves and gathering leftovers serves as an Old Testament thematic precursor—divine miraculous provision with surplus collected after a communal meal.
Alternative generated candidates
- They all ate and were satisfied; and they gathered up the fragments that remained, twelve baskets full.
- And they all ate and were satisfied; and they gathered up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over.
Matt.14.21 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- οι: ART,nom,pl,m
- δε: CONJ
- εσθιοντες: VERB,pres,act,part,nom,pl,m
- ησαν: VERB,impf,act,ind,3,pl
- ανδρες: NOUN,nom,pl,m
- ωσει: ADV
- πεντακισχιλιοι: NUM,nom,pl,m
- χωρις: PREP
- γυναικων: NOUN,gen,pl,f
- και: CONJ
- παιδιων: NOUN,gen,pl,n
Parallels
- Mark 6:44 (verbal): Mark's account of the feeding of the five thousand uses virtually the same wording and number—about five thousand men, besides women and children (direct parallel to Matthew's report).
- Luke 9:14–17 (structural): Luke narrates the same feeding miracle (the sequence of Jesus blessing, breaking, and distributing the loaves) and gives the same crowd estimate of about five thousand men, besides women and children, paralleling Matthew's structure and details.
- John 6:10–11 (verbal): John's Gospel records the feeding of the five thousand and explicitly notes the number (about five thousand men) and the act of Jesus giving thanks and distributing the loaves—corresponding closely to Matthew's summary of those who ate.
- Matt.15:32–38 (thematic): Matthew's account of the separate feeding of the four thousand uses the same narrative formula ('those who ate were... men, besides women and children'), showing a thematic and verbal pattern in reporting Jesus' two multitudes-fed miracles, though with a different crowd size.
Alternative generated candidates
- Those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
- And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
When Jesus heard of it, he withdrew by boat privately to a lonely place; but when the crowds heard of it, they followed him on foot from the towns.
When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a lonely place and the hour is late; send the crowds away so they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves." But Jesus said to them, "They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat."
They answered him, "We have here only five loaves and two fish."
He said, "Bring them here to me." And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, gave thanks, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples; and the disciples distributed them to the crowd.
All ate and were satisfied, and they gathered up the leftover fragments—twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish.
Those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.