Jesus Feeding the Thousands

I wish everyone a happy start to the holiday season. My family and I watched a movie entitled 'Joshua' last night. It was great. It has a story line where someone walks into a small town and he just starts helping everyone around. And through his work and help, others join in, and through this he starts transforming lives. It is billed as a movie about Jesus' Second Coming, but it is not anything like what this connotes. Instead, it is a great example of what lives with faith looks like. We recommend it!

Today's topic is a discussion of the different Greek words used for 'baskets" in the Gospel stories on Jesus feeding the thousands with loaves of bread and a few fish. Yes, this is the sort of family I have, where a Thanksgiving celebration often brings up a discussion involving the Bible. And this year, my cousin's husband Bob brought out that in the miracles of Jesus feeding thousands with a few loaves and fish, that different Greek words were used for the 'baskets' used to pick up the left over portion afterwards. In the miracle of 5,000 being fed with 5 loaves and three fish (described in Matthew 14:20-21, Mark 6:43-44, Luke 9:14-17, and John 6:10-13), there were 12 'baskets' of leftover food that was gathered. The Greek word used in the story of the 5,000 being fed is kophinos – which means large baskets. While in the other similar miracle of 4,000 being fed (described in Matthew 15:37-38 and Mark 8:8-9) with seven loaves and a few fish, there were seven 'baskets' left over and gathered. Here, the Greek word used by the Gospel writers is spyris – which means large hampers. This is the sort of a hamper large enough to hold a person. See, Acts 9:23-25 - (ESV), where Paul is lowered in a spyris (or a large hamper to escape): 23 When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him, 24 but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him, 25 but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket. Thus, the Gospel writers were showing that even though fewer people were being fed in the story of Jesus feeding 4,000 people, there were larger baskets / hampers of food left over. This use of different words used was later kept when Jesus spoke to the disciples about the two different miracles in Mark 8:19-20: (ESV): 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets (i.e., kophinos) full of broken pieces did you take up?" They said to him, "Twelve." 20 "And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets (i.e., spyris) full of broken pieces did you take up?" And they said to him, "Seven."

Here is how one commentator describes the difference:    … The distinction between the feeding of the four thousand and of the five thousand is emphasized by the Gospel writers' use of Gk. Kophinos (Strong's Greek #2894) for basket in the former miracle (Mt. 14:20; 16:9; Mk. 6:43; 8:19; Lk. 9:17; Jn. 6:13), but Gk. Spyris(Strong's Greek #4711) in the latter (Mt. 15:37; 16:10; Mk. 8:8, 20). Both words denote a hamper, kophinos appearing elsewhere in a Jewish context, and spyris, in which Paul was lowered from the wall of Damascus, being the larger (Acts 9:25…) from, A. R. Millard, New Bible Dictionary (3rd ed.) (125). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press.

There was also another comment that I thought was worth passing along from J. H. Smith, comment on the feeding of the 4,000 in the 'New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge':

This was another incontestable miracle—four thousand men, besides women and children (Mt 15:28), fed with seven loaves (or rather cakes) and a few small fishes! Here there must have been a manifest creation of substance—for they all ate, and were filled.

I liked this Comment not only because it stresses the importance of the miraculous nature of the creation of the food enough to feed thousands (more than 4,000 (because the women and children were not counted.) But also because instead of using 'loaves' J. H. Smith thinks 'cakes' is a better description of what Jesus actually used. To me, 'cakes' seems something smaller, and again emphasizes the amazing nature of the miracle.

From these stories I praise Jesus who is concerned about making sure that our needs are met. May God bless you this week in the sure and increasing knowledge of His love for you. /s/Tom Wolff