Matthew 14:17

Mat 14:17. Ἄρτους, loaves) obtained for the present exigency one by one.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat 14:17 . πέντε ἄρτους κ . δ . ἰχ · A very modest supply even for the disciple circle. They seem, under the influence of Jesus, to have been a care-free company, letting to-morrow look after itself. “Learn the philosophy of the Twelve, and how they despised food. Being twelve they had only so much, and they readily gave up these” (Chrysos., H. xlix.). Five loaves and two fishes, all that was known to be in that vast gathering.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 17. We have here but five loaves and two fishes.] When we are deeply conscious of our own necessities, we shall be led to depend on Jesus with a firmer faith. God often permits his servants to be brought low, that they may have repeated opportunities of proving the kindness and mercy of their gracious Lord and Master.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

And they say unto him,.... In order to excuse themselves, and to show the impossibility of feeding such a large number of people;

we have here but five loaves; and these barley ones, coarse bread;

and two fishes; small ones, which were dried and salted, and fit for present eating; which they either brought along with them for their own refreshment, or rather, were brought thither by a boy to sell, as is usual where a great concourse of people are got together: these words seem to be spoken by Andrew, Simon Peter's brother; who added, "but what are they among so many?" see Joh 6:8 not thinking of the power of Christ, who was able to multiply, and make this provision a sufficiency for the whole company.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

17 And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.

Ver. 17. And they say unto him, We have here] And were therefore ready to say with Nicodemus, "How can this be?" Christ hath said, "Give ye them to eat," to try them only, as St John {Joh 6:6} hath it. And upon trial, he found them full of dross, as appears by their answer. But the comfort is, he hath promised to try his people indeed, but not as silver, Isa 48:10; lest they should not bear any so exact a trial, as having more dross in them than good ore. And where he finds any the least grain of true grace, he cherisheth and enhanceth it, by a further partaking of his holiness. The disciples here were as yet very carnal, and spake as men, 1Co 3:3. They were ready to limit the Holy One, and say with those of old, "Can he prepare a table in the wilderness?" They measured him by their model, and looked, as Naaman did, upon Jordan with Syrian eyes. This was their fault, and must be our warning; that when we think of God, we shut out Hagar and set up Sarah, silence our reason and exalt our faith; which killeth and quelleth distrustful fear, and believes against sense in things invisible, and against reason in things incredible.

But five loaves and two fishes] Tyrabosco was hardly driven, when from these five loaves and two fishes he concluded seven sacraments: two, belike, of God’s making, and five of the baker’s. So Cenalis, Bishop of Auranches, would prove the Church of Rome the true Church, because it had bells by which their assemblies be ordinarily called together: but the Church of the Lutherans was reported to be congregated by claps of harquebuses {a} and pistols; and so makes a long antithesis, by the which he would make good, the bells are the makers of the true Church. As that bells do sound, the other crack: bells open heaven, the other hell, &c.

{a} The early type of portable gun, varying in size from a small cannon to a musket, which on account of its weight was, when used in the field, supported upon a tripod, trestle, or other ‘carriage’, and afterwards upon a forked ‘rest’. The name in German and Flemish meant literally ‘hook-gun’, from the hook cast along with the piece, ŒD

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

In the relation of this story by the other evangelists there is no difference in what is material; the others relate some circumstances more, as that they sat down on the grass, and by fifties, one saith, by hundreds and by fifties, & c.; but they all agree in the quantity of the provision, five loaves and two fishes; the number of the persons fed, five thousand (only one addeth, besides women and children); and in the number of the baskets full of fragments; and in our Saviour’s lifting up his eyes to heaven, and blessing them. These are the main things observable in this history. In the history of the miracle, as there is no difference between the evangelists to be reconciled, so there is no difficulty to be explained. It is a plain relation of a matter of fact, by which our Lord evidently showed himself to be the Son of God, God blessed for ever, for he must in this necessarily exert a creating power: here must be a production of a substance or being out of a not being, or it had not been possible that five thousand men (besides women and children) should have been fed with five loaves and two fishes; and therefore some think that it is said that Christ blessed the loaves as he blessed the living creatures, Gen 1:22; but we have not here the following words, Be fruitful and multiply, which inclines me rather to think, that the blessing mentioned here, upon his lifting up of his eyes to heaven, was a begging God’s blessing upon their food, himself thereby paying the homage of his human nature to his Father, and teaching us, according to that, 1Ti 4:4,5, to receive the good creatures which God’s providence affords us for our nourishment with thanksgiving, sanctifying them by prayer. By this miracle, and others of the like nature, our Saviour took from the unbelieving Jews all manner of cavil and exception to his works. Though devils might by compact give place one to another, and some exorcists of their own might seem to cast them out, yet none ever pretended to multiply bread and fish, to such a proportion as this, that such a quantity of either should feed such a number, and leave such a remainder. This history like wise further instructs us, both concerning the low condition of Christ and his disciples, their faith in the word of Christ, and our duty, and safety in depending upon his providence while we are doing of our duty, and minding the things of the kingdom of God, and obeying the will of God. St. John observeth the fruit of this miracle, Joh 6:14, Those men, when they had seen the miracle which Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

17. They say — Andrew in particular speaks for the rest, that the food is carried by a lad. So that a boy carries the rations of more than five thousand persons. These barley-loaves were an inferior kind of food. Tholuck quotes in proof the Talmud. “Jochanan says: The barley has become beautiful. The reply is: Say that to the horses and asses.” The loaves were a large thin cake or biscuit made probably of barley, about half an inch thick, to be broken and not cut. We never read of bread being cut in Scripture but always broken.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And they say unto him, We have here (wde) but five loaves, (Mat_4:3, note) and two fishes. (Mat_7:9, note) St. Matthew omits the question, "Shall we go and buy?" etc., which comes in Mark and Luke, and essentially in John (ver. 5).

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Note here, what a poor and slender provision the Lord of the whole earth has for his household and family; five loaves, and those barley; two fishes, and they small: teaching us, that these bodies of ours must be fed, but not pampered. Our belly must not be our master, much less our God. We read but twice that Christ made any entertainments, and both times his guests were fed with loaves nad fishes, plain fare and homely diet. The end of food is to sustain nature, we stifle it with gluttonous variety: meat was ordained for the belly, the belly for the body, the body for the soul, and the soul for God.

Observe farther, as the quality of the victuals was plain and coarse, so the quantity of it was small and little: five loaves and two fishes. Well might the disciples say, What are these among so many? The eye of sense and reason sees an impossibility of those effects which faith can easily apprehend, and divine power more easily produce.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

17. We have here but five loaves and two fishes. It was Andrew (John 6:8) who spoke. The loaves here were of barley meal made into small, thin cakes, baked hard on the side of the oven, so as to be broken.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

17. οὐκ ἔχομεν κ.τ.λ. St John more definitely; ἔστιν παιδάριον ὧδε ὃ ἔχει πέντε ἄρτους κριθίνους, καὶ δύο ὀψάρια (Mat 6:9). Barley bread (ἄρτους κριθίνους), for which the classical word is μᾶζα, was the food of the very poorest. It seems probable that the English word mass is traceable to μᾶζα, a eucharistic significance having been given to this miracle from very early times. The ἄρτοι were a kind of biscuit, thin and crisp cakes which could be broken, hence κλάσας, κλάσματα, see note, ch. Mat 6:30. Cp. Juv. 14:67, ‘quanto porrexit murmure panem | vix fractum.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

17.] δότε αὐτοῖς ὑμεῖς φ., which is common to the three first Evangelists, is considerably expanded in the more detailed account of John, vv. 3-7; it was Andrew who spoke in our ver. 17, and the five loaves and two fishes were brought by a lad: Joh 6:8, Joh 6:9. They were barley loaves and (salt) fish; ibid. And we have (perhaps, but see note there) the vast concourse accounted for in John by the fact that the Passover was at hand, and so they were collected on their journey to Jerusalem.

See a very similar miracle in 2Ki 4:42-44; only then there were twenty barley loaves and an hundred men. See also Num 11:21, Num 11:22.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

17. And they say to Him, We have not here save five loaves, and two fishes.]

(M)

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.