Mark 8:9

8:9 There were about four thousand ¹  who ate. ²  Then he dismissed them. ³ 

Mark 2:6

2:6 Now some of the experts in the law ⁴  were sitting there, turning these things over in their minds: ⁵ 

Mark 6:44

6:44 Now ⁶  there were five thousand men ⁷  who ate the bread. ⁸ 

Mark 9:4

9:4 Then Elijah appeared before them along with Moses, ⁹  and they were talking with Jesus.

Mark 14:56

14:56 Many gave false testimony against him, but their testimony did not agree.

Mark 12:20

12:20 There were seven brothers. The first one married, ¹⁰  and when he died he had no children.

Mark 14:4

14:4 But some who were present indignantly said to one another, “Why this waste of expensive ¹¹  ointment?

Mark 1:16

1:16 As he went along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, Simon’s brother, casting a net into the sea (for they were fishermen). ¹² 

Mark 6:34

6:34 As Jesus ¹³  came ashore ¹⁴  he saw the large crowd and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So ¹⁵  he taught them many things.

Mark 14:40

14:40 When he came again he found them sleeping; they could not keep their eyes open. ¹⁶  And they did not know what to tell him.

Mark 15:40

15:40 There were also women, watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, ¹⁷  and Salome.

Mark 2:15

2:15 As Jesus ¹⁸  was having a meal ¹⁹  in Levi’s ²⁰  home, many tax collectors ²¹  and sinners were eating with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him.

Mark 2:18

The Superiority of the New

2:18 Now ²²  John’s ²³  disciples and the Pharisees ²⁴  were fasting. ²⁵  So ²⁶  they came to Jesus ²⁷  and said, “Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples don’t fast?”

Mark 4:1

The Parable of the Sower

4:1 Again he began to teach by the lake. Such a large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the lake and sat there while ²⁸  the whole crowd was on the shore by the lake.

Mark 6:31

6:31 He said to them, “Come with me privately to an isolated place and rest a while” (for many were coming and going, and there was no time to eat).

Mark 10:32

Third Prediction of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection

10:32 They were on the way, going up to Jerusalem. ²⁹  Jesus was going ahead of them, and they were amazed, but those who followed were afraid. He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them what was going to happen to him.

¹ sn The parallel in Matt 15:32-39 notes that the four thousand were only men, a point not made explicit in Mark.

² tn The words “who ate” are not in the Greek text but have been supplied for clarity.

³ 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.

⁴ tn Or “some of the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.

⁵ tn Grk “Reasoning within their hearts.”

⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate a somewhat parenthetical remark by the author.

⁸ tn The Greek word here is ἀνήρ, meaning “adult male” (BDAG 79 s.v. 1). According to Matt 14:21, Jesus fed not only five thousand men, but also an unspecified number of women and children.

⁹ tc Many good mss (Ì⁴⁵ א D W Θ Ë^1,13 28 565 700 2542 lat sa) lack τοὺς ἄρτους (tous artous, lit. “the loaves” [here translated “the bread”]). On the other hand, just as weighty mss (A B L 33 2427 Ï) have the words. Although a decision is not easy, the most satisfactory explanation seems to be that scribes were more prone to delete than to add the words here. They may have been puzzled as to why “the bread” should be mentioned without a corresponding mention of “fish.” Since neither Matt 14:21 or Luke 9:17 explicitly mention the bread, a desire for harmonization may have motivated the copyists as well. On the other hand, D and W are prone to longer, explanatory readings. Since they both lack the words here, it is likely that their archetypes also lacked the words. But given Mark’s pleonastic style, the good witnesses with “the bread,” and a reasonable explanation for the omission, “the bread” is most likely part of the original text of Mark.

¹⁰ sn Commentators and scholars discuss why Moses and Elijah are present. The most likely explanation is that Moses represents the prophetic office (Acts 3:18-22) and Elijah pictures the presence of the last days (Mal 4:5-6), the prophet of the eschaton (the end times).

¹³ tn Grk “took a wife” (an idiom for marrying a woman).

¹⁶ tn The word “expensive” is not in the Greek text but has been included to suggest a connection to the lengthy phrase “costly aromatic oil from pure nard” occurring earlier in v. 3. The author of Mark shortened this long phrase to just one word in Greek when repeated here, and the phrase “expensive ointment” used in the translation is intended as an abbreviated paraphrase.

¹⁹ sn This is a parenthetical comment by the author.

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

²³ tn Grk “came out [of the boat],” with the reference to the boat understood.

²⁴ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “So” to indicate this action is the result of Jesus’ compassion on the crowd in the narrative.

²⁵ tn Grk “because their eyes were weighed down,” an idiom for becoming extremely or excessively sleepy (L&N 23.69).

²⁸ sn In Matt 27:56 the name Joses is written as Joseph.

³¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³² tn Grk “As he reclined at table.”

³³ tn Grk “his.”

³⁴ sn The tax collectors would bid to collect taxes for the Roman government and then add a surcharge, which they kept. Since tax collectors worked for Rome, they were viewed as traitors to their own people and were not well liked.

³⁴ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

³⁵ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

³⁶ sn See the note on Pharisees in 2:16.

³⁷ sn John’s disciples and the Pharisees followed typical practices with regard to fasting and prayer. Many Jews fasted regularly (Lev 16:29-34; 23:26-32; Num 29:7-11). The zealous fasted twice a week on Monday and Thursday.

³⁸ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “So” to indicate that in the narrative this question happened as a result of the fasting of John’s disciples and the Pharisees.

³⁹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³⁷ tn Grk “and all the crowd.” The clause in this phrase, although coordinate in terms of grammar, is logically subordinate to the previous clause.

⁴⁰ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.