Mark 8:8-9

8:8 Everyone ¹  ate and was satisfied, and they picked up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. 8:9 There were about four thousand ²  who ate. ³  Then he dismissed them. ⁴ 

Deuteronomy 8:3

8:3 So he humbled you by making you hungry and then feeding you with unfamiliar manna. ⁵  He did this to teach you ⁶  that humankind ⁷  cannot live by bread ⁸  alone, but also by everything that comes from the Lord’s mouth. ⁹ 

Deuteronomy 8:2

8:2 Remember the whole way by which he ¹⁰  has brought you these forty years through the desert ¹¹  so that he might, by humbling you, test you to see if you have it within you to keep his commandments or not.

Deuteronomy 4:42-44

4:42 Anyone who accidentally killed someone ¹²  without hating him at the time of the accident ¹³  could flee to one of those cities and be safe. 4:43 These cities are Bezer, in the desert plateau, for the Reubenites; Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan for the Manassehites.

The Setting and Introduction of the Covenant

4:44 This is the law that Moses set before the Israelites. ¹⁴ 

Psalms 145:15-16

145:15 Everything looks to you in anticipation, ¹⁵ 

and you provide them with food on a regular basis. ¹⁶ 

145:16 You open your hand,

and fill every living thing with the food they desire. ¹⁷ 

Matthew 14:20-21

14:20 They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the broken pieces left over, twelve baskets full. 14:21 Not counting women and children, there were about five thousand men who ate.

Matthew 15:37-38

15:37 They ¹⁸  all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. 15:38 Not counting children and women, ¹⁹  there were four thousand men who ate. ²⁰ 

Luke 9:17

9:17 They all ate and were satisfied, and what was left over ²¹  was picked up – twelve baskets of broken pieces.

John 6:12

6:12 When they were all satisfied, Jesus ²²  said to his disciples, “Gather up the broken pieces that are left over, so that nothing is wasted.”

[8:8]  ¹ tn Grk “They.”

[8:9]  ² sn The parallel in Matt 15:32-39 notes that the four thousand were only men, a point not made explicit in Mark.

[8:9]  ³ tn The words “who ate” are not in the Greek text but have been supplied for clarity.

[8:9]  ⁴ sn Mark 8:1-10. Many commentators, on the basis of similarities between this account of the feeding of the multitude (8:1-10) and that in 6:30-44, have argued that there is only one event referred to in both passages. While there are similarities in language and in the response of the disciples, there are also noticeable differences, including the different number present on each occasion (i.e., 5,000 in chap. 6 and 4,000 here). In the final analysis, the fact that Jesus refers to two distinct feedings in 8:18-20 settles the issue; this passage represents another very similar incident to that recorded in 6:30-44.

[8:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “manna which you and your ancestors did not know.” By popular etymology the word “manna” comes from the Hebrew phrase מָן הוּא (man hu’), i.e., “What is it?” (Exod 16:15). The question remains unanswered to this very day. Elsewhere the material is said to be “white like coriander seed” with “a taste like honey cakes” (Exod 16:31; cf. Num 11:7). Modern attempts to associate it with various desert plants are unsuccessful for the text says it was a new thing and, furthermore, one that appeared and disappeared miraculously (Exod 16:21-27).

[8:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “in order to make known to you.” In the Hebrew text this statement is subordinated to what precedes, resulting in a very long sentence in English. The translation makes this statement a separate sentence for stylistic reasons.

[8:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “the man,” but in a generic sense, referring to the whole human race (“mankind” or “humankind”).

[8:3]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew term may refer to “food” in a more general sense (cf. CEV).

[8:3]  ⁹ sn Jesus quoted this text to the devil in the midst of his forty-day fast to make the point that spiritual nourishment is incomparably more important than mere physical bread (Matt 4:4; cf. Luke 4:4).

[8:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[8:2]  ¹¹ tn Or “wilderness” (so KJV, NRSV, NLT); likewise in v. 15.

[4:42]  ¹² tn Heb “the slayer who slew his neighbor without knowledge.”

[4:42]  ¹³ tn Heb “yesterday and a third (day).” The point is that there was no animosity between the two parties at the time of the accident and therefore no motive for the killing.

[4:44]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the sons of Israel” (likewise in the following verse).

[145:15]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the eyes of all wait for you.”

[145:15]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and you give to them their food in its season” (see Ps 104:27).

[145:16]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “[with what they] desire.”

[15:37]  ¹⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[15:38]  ¹⁹ tc ‡ Although most witnesses (B C L W ˹³ 33 Ï f sy^s,p,h mae) read “women and children” instead of “children and women,” it is likely that the majority’s reading is a harmonization to Matt 14:21. “Children and women” is found in early and geographically widespread witnesses (e.g., א D [Θ Ë¹] 579 lat sy^c sa bo), and has more compelling internal arguments on its side, suggesting that this is the original reading. NA²⁷, however, agrees with the majority of witnesses.

[15:38]  ²⁰ tn Grk “And those eating were four thousand men, apart from children and women.”

[9:17]  ²¹ sn There was more than enough for everybody, as indicated by the gathering of what was left over.

[6:12]  ²² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.