Mark 6:41

41. [1291][1292][1293][1294] omit αὐτοῦ after μαθηταῖς.

[1291] Codex Sinaiticus. 4th cent. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the Monastery of St Katharine on Mount Sinai. Now at St Petersburg. The whole Gospel, ending at Mark 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1911.

[1292] Codex Vaticanus. 4th cent., but perhaps a little later than א. In the Vatican Library almost since its foundation by Pope Nicolas V., and one of its greatest treasures. The whole Gospel, ending at Mark 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1889.

[1293] Codex Regius. 8th cent. An important witness. At Paris. Contains Mark 1:1 to Mark 10:15; Mark 10:30 to Mark 15:1; Mark 15:20 to Mark 16:20, but the shorter ending is inserted between Mark 16:8 and Mark 16:9, showing that the scribe preferred it to the longer one.

[1294] Codex Sangallensis. 9th or 10th cent. Contains the Gospels nearly complete, with an interlinear Latin translation. The text of Mark is specially good, agreeing often with CL. At St Gall.

41. λαβὼν τ. πέντε ἄρτους κ.τ.λ. Cf. λαβὼν ἄρτον εὐλογήσας ἔκλασεν κ. ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς (Mark 14:22). He is now the host (Luke 24:30), with His staff of servants, and with what in His hands was a sufficient supply of food, and as such He utters the usual blessing and directs everything. The gifts are His, bestowed, however, not directly, but through the Twelve, εὐσχημόνως καὶ κατὰ τάξιν, and herein we have the germ of Church organization.

ἀναβλέψας. In all three; cf. Mark 7:34; John 11:41.

εὐλόγησεν, In all three; Jn has the equivalent εὐχαριστήσας. Both verbs are used of the Eucharist (Mark 14:22-23). The “grace” at meals was virtually a thanksgiving; “Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, who bringest forth bread out of the earth.”

κατέκλασεν. He broke in pieces; zerbrach. Mt. has simply κλάσας, and all three, with Paul, have ἔκλασεν of the Eucharist. The compound occurs nowhere else in N.T. The breaking was part of the ceremony of saying grace and was done once (aor.). The breaking in pieces indicated the completeness of the munificence; διάθρυπτε πεινῶντι τὸν ἄρτον σου (Isaiah 58:7).

ἐδίδου. The giving continued (imperf.), either to each Apostle in turn, or to all of them as they returned for fresh supplies, if they did return. The manner of the multiplication is not revealed, and conjectures are futile. We are told that it “must have taken place in the hands of the Apostles.” “Must” is out of place in such matters. “His disciples” (A.V.) is as correct as “the disciples” (R.V.): cf. Mark 4:26; Mark 4:36; Mark 6:32. Note the πᾶσιν and the πάντες following. The disciples’ share in the work would impress the events on their memory (Euthym.), but they did not see its significance.