Luke 9:16

16 Then he took the five loaves and the two fish, looked up to heaven, and blessed the food. He broke the loaves apart and kept giving them to the disciples to give to the crowd.

Luke 9:16 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 9:16

Then he took the five loaves and the two fishes
Into his hands, being brought him by the disciples from the lad that had them:

and looking up to heaven:
to his Father there, from whom all the mercies and blessings of life come;

he blessed them;
either asked, or commanded a blessing on them, that they might multiply and increase, that there might be a sufficiency for all the people, and that, they might be nourishing to them. Beza observes, that in his most ancient copy, it is read, "he blessed upon them"; which perfectly agrees with the Jewish way of speaking, (tph le Kdb) "he that blesseth upon the bread"; (Nyyh le Krb) "he that blesseth upon the wine"; and so upon the fruits of trees, and upon the fruits of the earth, and upon other things ^F19;

and brake;
the loaves, and divided the fishes into parts:

and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude;
as they sat in ranks, and in their distinct companies.

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FOOTNOTES:

F19 Misn. Beracot, c. 6. sect. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7.

Luke 9:16 In-Context

14 (There were about five thousand men.) Then he told his disciples, "Have them sit in groups of about fifty."

15 So they did this.

16 Then he took the five loaves and the two fish, looked up to heaven, and blessed the food. He broke the loaves apart and kept giving them to the disciples to give to the crowd.

17 All of them ate as much as they wanted. When they picked up the leftover pieces, they filled twelve baskets.

18 Once when Jesus was praying privately and his disciples were with him, he asked them, "Who do people say I am?"