Mark 8:7

7 And they had a few small fish, and [after] giving thanks for them, he said to set these [before them] also.

Mark 8:7 Meaning and Commentary

Mark 8:7

And they had a few small fishes
Which they also acquainted Christ with, and brought out unto him:

and he blessed, and commanded to set them also before [them].
It looks, by this account, as if the fishes were blessed, and brake, and distributed separately, alter the blessing, breaking, and distribution of the bread; and so the Syriac version renders it, "upon whom also he blessed"; and the Persic thus, "and he also blessed the fishes"; but, according to Matthew they were both blessed, and brake, and distributed together, as it is highly reasonable to suppose they were both ate together; (See Gill on Matthew 15:36).

Mark 8:7 In-Context

5 And he asked them, "How many loaves do you have?" So they said, "Seven."

6 And he commanded the crowd to recline for a meal on the ground, and taking the seven loaves, [after he] had given thanks he broke [them] and began giving [them] to his disciples so that they could set [them] before [them]. And they set [them] before the crowd.

7 And they had a few small fish, and [after] giving thanks for them, he said to set these [before them] also.

8 And they ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the broken pieces that were left, seven baskets [full].

9 Now there were about four thousand. And he sent them away.

Footnotes

• [a]. *Here "[after]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("giving thanks") which is understood as temporal