748
h 2 Kings iv. 43. Sam. xxi. 7. Tob. Vi. 2.
i Tob. ii. 1. Judith Kil. τη,
j Mt. xv. 36; XXVi. 27. Rom. xiv. 6, etc.
6 Ποιήσατε τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τῷ τόπῳ.
χίλιοι.
1 ανεπεσαν in all good MSS.
ἀλλὰ ταῦτα τί ἐστιν εἰς τοσούτους;”.
ἀνέπεσον οὖν ot ἄνδρες τὸν ἀριθμὸν ὡσεὶ 3
Vi.
μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ, ᾿Ανδρέας ὁ ἀδελφὸς Σίμωνος Πέτρου, 9. ''"Ἔστι τ Ἀπαιδάριον ἓν ὧδε, ὃ ἔχει πέντε ἄρτους κριθίνους καὶ δύο ὀψάρια -
10. Εἶπε δὲ ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς,
) ἀναπεσεῖν. ἦν δὲ χόρτος πολὺς ἐν
πεντακισ-
II. ἔλαβε δὲ τοὺς ἄρτους ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς, καὶ J εὐχαριστήσας διέδωκε τοῖς μαθηταῖς, οἱ δὲ μαθηταὶ ὃ τοῖς ἀνακειμένοις: ὁμοίως
2 woet in ATA Cyr.; ws in NBDL.
2 Τ.Ε. in NeD, but τοις µαθηταις, οι δε µαθηται omitted in Q*ABL 1, 33. The words apparently were added from the Synoptical Gospels.
fulness that it has already been given, i. 41, supplementing Philip’s judgment, ef. xii, 22, λέγει αὐτῳ, ‘says to Him ” [the dative still holds its place after λέγει, and has not quite given way, as in modern Greek, to πρός with accusative, cf. ver. 5). "Έστι παιδάριο ἓν ade. ‘“‘ There is here one little boy.” [ὲν is re- jected by modern editors. May it not have been rejected because unnecessary ? At the same time it must be borne in mind that although in Mt. (viii. 19 and xxvi. 69) eis is used as an indefinite article— as in German, French, etc.—it is not so used in John. The Vulgate has ‘est puer unus hic’. Meyer thinks it is inserted to bring out the meagreness of the resources, ‘‘ but one small boy ”’.J— Ver. 9. ὃ ἔχει . . . ddpia. The Synoptic account speaks of these pro- visions as already belonging to the ἀῑδοιρ]ες.-- κριθίνους, the cheapest kind of bread; see Ezek. xiii. 19, and the extraordinary profusion of illustrations in Wetstein, among which occurs one from the Talmud: ‘“ Jochanan dixit, hor- deum factum est pulchrum. Dixerunt ei: runcia equis et asinis’”; and from Livy, ‘“‘ Cohortibus, quae signa amiserant, hordeum dari jussit”’.—kat δύο ὀψάρια, in Mt. xiv. 17, tx@vas, see also John xxi. 1ο.---ὀψάριον is whatever is eaten with bread as seasoning or ‘“‘ kitchen,” hence, pre-eminently, fish. So Athenaeus, cited by Wetstein. In Numbers xi. 22 we have τὸ ὄψος τῆς θαλάσσης.- ἀλλὰ ταῦτα τί ἐστιν εἰς τοσούτους: exhibiting the helplessness of the disciples and in- adequacy of the means, as the background on which the greatness of the miracle may be seen.—Ver. 10. The moral ground for the miracle being thus pre- pared Jesus at once says, ποιήσατε τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἀναπεσεῖν. [For the form of speech cf. Soph., Philoct., 925, κλύειν «+ pe... wovet.] This order was
given for two reasons: (1) that there might be no unseemly crowding round Him and crushing out of the weaker ; and (2) that they might understand they were to have a full meal, not a mere bite they could take in their hand in passing. Obedience to this request tested the faith of the crowd. They trusted Jesus.— ἦν δὲ χόρτος πολὺς ἐν TO τόπῳ, “now there was much grass in the place,” con- trasting with the corn-iands and olive- yards of the opposite shore, where the large crowd could not easily have found a place to lie down. Mark rather brings out the contrast between the colours of the dresses and the green grass (vi. 39): ἐπέταξεν αὐτοῖς ἀνακλῖναι πάντας cup- πόσια συμπόσια ἐπὶ τῷ χλωρῷ χόρτῳ. καὶ ἀγέπεσαν πρασιαὶ πρασιαί, like beds of Πούεις.- -ἀνέπεσον [better ἀνέπεσαν] οὖν οἱ ἄνδρες . . . the men reclined, not counting women and children (χωρὶς γυναικῶν καὶ παιδίων, Mt. xiv. 21), in number about five thousand ; the women, though not specified, would take their places with the men. Some of the chil- dren might steal up to Jesus to receive from His own hand.—Ver. 11. Facing the vast and hungry crowd Jesus took up and gave thanks for the slender provision, ἔλαβε δὲ [better ἔλαβεν οὖν] τοὺς ἄρτους, the loaves already mentioned, καὶ εὖχα- ptoryioas [Phrynichus says εὐχαριστεῖν οὐδεὶς τῶν δοκίµων εἶπεν, ἀλλὰ χάριν εἰδέναι; and Rutherford says Polybius is the first writer who uses the word in the sense of ‘give thanks’’]. Pagans, by libation, or by throwing a handful on the household altar, gave thanks before a meal; Jews pronounced a blessing, ἁγιασμός or εὐλογία. (Luke xxiv. 30, Mt. xiv. το, and especially 1 Tim. iv. 4. See also Grotius’ note on Mt. xxvi. 27.) Having given thanks Jesus διέδωκε . . . τοῖς dvaxeipevors. The words added trom the Synopt'sts give a tuller account