Luke 9:16

16 And taking the five loaves and the two fish, [and] looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them and began giving [them] to the disciples to set before 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.


FOOTNOTES:

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

Luke 9:16 In-Context

14 (For there were about five thousand men.) So he said to his disciples, "Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each."
15 And they did so, and had [them] all sit down.
16 And taking the five loaves and the two fish, [and] looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them and began giving [them] to the disciples to set before the crowd.
17 And [they] all ate and were satisfied, and what was left over was picked up by them--twelve baskets of broken pieces.
18 And it happened that while he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, saying, "Who do the crowds say [that] I am?"

Footnotes 3

  • [a]. *Here "[and]" is supplied before the participle ("looking up") in keeping with English style
  • [b]. *The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here ("began giving")
  • [c]. *The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here ("began to speak")
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