Mark 6:42

6:42 They all ate and were satisfied,

Mark 3:20

Jesus and Beelzebul

3:20 Now ¹  Jesus ²  went home, and a crowd gathered so that they were not able to eat.

Mark 6:44

6:44 Now ³  there were five thousand men ⁴  who ate the bread. ⁵ 

Mark 8:8

8:8 Everyone ⁶  ate and was satisfied, and they picked up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full.

Mark 2:26

2:26 how he entered the house of God when Abiathar was high priest ⁷  and ate the sacred bread, ⁸  which is against the law ⁹  for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to his companions?” ¹⁰ 

Mark 6:37

6:37 But he answered them, ¹¹  “You ¹²  give them something to eat.” And they said, “Should we go and buy bread for two hundred silver coins ¹³  and give it to them to eat?”

Mark 5:43

5:43 He strictly ordered that no one should know about this, ¹⁴  and told them to give her something to eat.

Mark 6:36

6:36 Send them away so that they can go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy something for themselves to eat.”

Mark 8:2

8:2 “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have already been here with me three days, and they have nothing to eat.

Mark 8:1

The Feeding of the Four Thousand

8:1 In those days there was another large crowd with nothing to eat. So ¹⁵  Jesus ¹⁶  called his disciples and said to them,

Mark 11:14

11:14 He said to it, ¹⁷  “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it. ¹⁸ 

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 14:12

The Passover

14:12 Now ¹⁹  on the first day of the feast of ²⁰  Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, ²¹  Jesus’ ²²  disciples said to him, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?” ²³ 

Mark 14:14

14:14 Wherever he enters, tell the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?”’

[3:20]  ¹ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[3:20]  ² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:44]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate a somewhat parenthetical remark by the author.

[6:44]  ² 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.

[6:44]  ³ 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.

[8:8]  ¹ tn Grk “They.”

[2:26]  ¹ tn A decision about the proper translation of this Greek phrase (ἐπὶ ᾿Αβιαθὰρ ἀρχιερέως, ejpi Abiaqar ajrcierew") is very difficult for a number of reasons. The most natural translation of the phrase is “when Abiathar was high priest,” but this is problematic because Abiathar was not the high priest when David entered the temple and ate the sacred bread; Ahimelech is the priest mentioned in 1 Sam 21:1-7. Three main solutions have been suggested to resolve this difficulty. (1) There are alternate readings in various manuscripts, but these are not likely to be original: D W {271} it sy^s and a few others omit ἐπὶ ᾿Αβιαθὰρ ἀρχιερέως, no doubt in conformity to the parallels in Matt 12:4 and Luke 6:4; {A C Θ Π Σ Φ 074 ˹³ and many others} add τοῦ before ἀρχιερέως, giving the meaning “in the days of Abiathar the high priest,” suggesting a more general time frame. Neither reading has significant external support and both most likely are motivated by the difficulty of the original reading. (2) Many scholars have hypothesized that one of the three individuals who would have been involved in the transmission of the statement (Jesus who uttered it originally, Mark who wrote it down in the Gospel, or Peter who served as Mark’s source) was either wrong about Abiathar or intentionally loose with the biblical data in order to make a point. (3) It is possible that what is currently understood to be the most natural reading of the text is in fact not correct. (a) There are very few biblical parallels to this grammatical construction (ἐπί + genitive proper noun, followed by an anarthrous common noun), so it is possible that an extensive search for this construction in nonbiblical literature would prove that the meaning does involve a wide time frame. If this is so, “in the days of Abiathar the high priest” would be a viable option. (b) It is also possible that this phrasing serves as a loose way to cite a scripture passage. There is a parallel to this construction in Mark 12:26: “Have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush?” Here the final phrase is simply ἐπὶ τοῦ βάτου (ejpi tou batou), but the obvious function of the phrase is to point to a specific passage within the larger section of scripture. Deciding upon a translation here is difficult. The translation above has followed the current consensus on the most natural and probable meaning of the phrase ἐπὶ ᾿Αβιαθὰρ ἀρχιερέως: “when Abiathar was high priest.” It should be recognized, however, that this translation is tentative because the current state of knowledge about the meaning of this grammatical construction is incomplete, and any decision about the meaning of this text is open to future revision.

[2:26]  ² tn Grk “the bread of presentation.”

[2:26]  ³ sn Jesus’ response to the charge that what his disciples were doing was against the law is one of analogy: “If David did it for his troops in a time of need, then so can I with my disciples.” Jesus is clear that on the surface there was a violation here. What is not as clear is whether he is arguing a “greater need” makes this permissible or that this was within the intention of the law all along.

[2:26]  ⁴ sn See 1 Sam 21:1-6.

[6:37]  ¹ tn Grk “answering, he said to them.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant, but the syntax of the sentence has been changed for clarity.

[6:37]  ² tn Here the pronoun ὑμεῖς (Jumeis) is used, making “you” in the translation emphatic.

[6:37]  ³ sn The silver coin referred to here is the denarius. A denarius, inscribed with a picture of Tiberius Caesar, was worth approximately one day’s wage for a laborer. Two hundred denarii was thus approximately equal to eight months’ wages. The disciples did not have the resources in their possession to feed the large crowd, so Jesus’ request is his way of causing them to trust him as part of their growth in discipleship.

[5:43]  ¹ sn That no one should know about this. See the note on the phrase who he was in 3:12.

[8:1]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[8:1]  ² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:14]  ¹ tn Grk “And answering, he said to it.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant and has not been translated.

[11:14]  ² sn Mark 11:12-14. The incident of the cursing of the fig tree occurs before he enters the temple for a third time (11:27ff) and is questioned at length by the religious leaders (11:27-12:40). It appears that Mark records the incident as a portent of what is going to happen to the leadership in Jerusalem who were supposed to have borne spiritual fruit but have been found by Messiah at his coming to be barren. The fact that the nation as a whole is indicted is made explicit in chapter 13:1-37 where Jesus speaks of Jerusalem’s destruction and his second coming.

[14:12]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[14:12]  ² tn The words “the feast of” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied for clarity.

[14:12]  ³ sn Generally the feast of Unleavened Bread would refer to Nisan 15 (Friday), but the following reference to the sacrifice of the Passover lamb indicates that Nisan 14 (Thursday) was what Mark had in mind (Nisan = March 27 to April 25). The celebration of the Feast of Unleavened Bread lasted eight days, beginning with the Passover meal. The celebrations were so close together that at times the names of both were used interchangeably.

[14:12]  ⁴ tn Grk “his”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:12]  ⁵ sn This required getting a suitable lamb and finding lodging in Jerusalem where the meal could be eaten. The population of the city swelled during the feast, so lodging could be difficult to find. The Passover was celebrated each year in commemoration of the Israelites’ deliverance from Egypt; thus it was a feast celebrating redemption (see Exod 12). The Passover lamb was roasted and eaten after sunset in a family group of at least ten people (m. Pesahim 7.13). People ate the meal while reclining (see the note on table in 14:18). It included, besides the lamb, unleavened bread and bitter herbs as a reminder of Israel’s bitter affliction at the hands of the Egyptians. Four cups of wine mixed with water were also used for the meal. For a further description of the meal and the significance of the wine cups, see E. Ferguson, Backgrounds of Early Christianity, 523-24.