SEV Biblia, Chapter 6:9
Un muchacho est aquí que tiene cinco panes de cebada y dos peces pequeos; ¿mas qu es esto entre tantos?
Clarke's Bible Commentary - John 6:9
Verse 9. There is a lad here] paidarion, a little boy, or servant, probably one who carried the apostles' provisions, or who came on purpose to sell his bread and fish. Five barley loaves] Barley scarcely bore one-third of the value of wheat in the east: see Rev. vi. 6. That it was a very mean fare appears from Ezek. xiii. 19, where the false prophetesses are said to pollute the name of God for handfuls of barley, i.e. for the meanest reward. And Plutarch, in Apoph. p. 174, speaking concerning the flight of Artaxerxes Mnemon, says he was reduced to such distress as to be obliged to eat barley bread. See Kypke. From this and other circumstances we may plainly perceive that the self-denying doctrine preached by Christ and his apostles was fully exemplified in their own manner of living.
Two small fishes] duo oyaria. The word of oyarion signifies whatever is eaten with bread, to perfect the meal, or to make it easy of deglutition, or to help the digestion. There is no word in the English language for it, which is a great defect. The inhabitants of Scotland, and of the north and north-west of Ireland, use the word kytshen, by which they express what ever is eaten with bread or potatoes, as flesh, fish, butter, milk, eggs, &c., no satisfactory etymology of which word I am able to offer. In the parallel places in the other three evangelists, instead of oyaria, icquav is used; so that the word evidently means fish in the text of St. John: see on chap. xxi. 5.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 9. There is a lad here , etc.] Who either belonged to Christ and his disciples, and was employed to carry their provisions for them; which, if so, shows how meanly Christ and his disciples lived; or he belonged to some in the multitude; or rather he came here to sell what he had got: which hath five barley loaves . The land of Canaan was a land of barley, as well as wheat, ( Deuteronomy 8:8); this sort of grain grew there in plenty, and was in much use; the Jews had a barley harvest, ( Ruth 1:22), which was at the time of the passover; for on the second day after the passover, the sheaf of the first fruits was waved before the Lord, which was of barley; hence the Targumist on the place just cited, paraphrases it thus; they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of the passover, and on the day the children of Israel began to reap the sheaf of the wave offering, which was of barley.
And it was now about the time of the passover, as appears from ( John 6:4), and had it been quite the time, and the barley sheaf had been waved, it might have been thought that these loaves were made of the new barley; but though barley was in use for bread among the Jews, as is evident, from the mention that is made of barley loaves and cakes, ( 2 Kings 4:42 Judges 7:13); yet it was bread of the coarsest sort, and what the meaner sort of people ate; (see Ezekiel 4:12). Yea, barley was used for food for horses and dromedaries, ( 1 Kings 4:28); and since therefore these loaves were, if not designed for the use of Christ and his twelve apostles, yet for some of his followers, and which they all ate of; it is an instance of the meanness and poverty of them: but however, they had better bread than this, even the bread of life, which is afterwards largely treated of in this chapter, which some of them at least ate of; and as our countryman Mr.
Dod used to say, brown bread and the Gospel are good fare: and it may be further observed, that the number of these loaves were but few; there were but five of them, for five thousand persons; and these do not seem to be very large ones, since one lad was able to carry them; and indeed, these loaves were no other than cakes, in which form they used to be made: and two small fishes ; there were but two, and these small; it is amazing, that five thousand persons should everyone have something of them, and enough: these fishes seem to be what the Jews call ynynwm , and which the gloss interprets small fishes: and by the word which is used of them, they seem to be salted, or pickled fishes, and such it is very probable these were; Nonnus calls them, icyuav optaleouv , fishes which were broiled, or perhaps dried in the sun; (see Luke 24:42). But what are they among so many ? everyone cannot possibly have a taste, much less any refreshment, still less a meal.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-14 - John relates the miracle of feeding the multitude, for its reference to the following discourse. Observe the effect this miracle had upon the people. Even the common Jews expected the Messiah to come into the world, and to be a great Prophet. The Pharisees despised them as no knowing the law; but they knew most of Him who is the end of the law Yet men may acknowledge Christ as that Prophet, and still turn a dea ear to him.
Greek Textus Receptus
εστιν 2076 5748 V-PXI-3S παιδαριον 3808 N-NSN εν 1520 A-NSN ωδε 5602 ADV ο 3739 R-NSN εχει 2192 5719 V-PAI-3S πεντε 4002 A-NUI αρτους 740 N-APM κριθινους 2916 A-APM και 2532 CONJ δυο 1417 A-NUI οψαρια 3795 N-APN αλλα 235 CONJ ταυτα 5023 D-NPN τι 5101 I-NSN εστιν 2076 5748 V-PXI-3S εις 1519 PREP τοσουτους 5118 D-APM
Vincent's NT Word Studies
9. A lad (paidarion). Diminutive. Only here in the New Testament. 28 Only John mentions the lad.Barley (kriqinouv). A detail peculiar to John. The word occurs in the New Testament only here and ver. 13. An inferior sort of bread is indicated by the term. Pliny and some of the Jewish writers describe barley as food fit for beasts. Suetonius speaks of a turgid rhetorician as a barley orator, inflated like barley in moisture: and Livy relates how cohorts which had lost their standards were ordered barley for food. Fishes (oyaria). The word occurs only here and at xxi. 9. The Synoptists use ijcquev. The A.V., small fishes, is intended to render the diminutive. 29 The word means anything that is eaten with bread, and may apply to meat generally, or to what is eaten with bread as a relish. Homer speaks of an onion as a relish (oyon) for drink ("Iliad," 11, 630). The term was applied to fish par excellence. Fish became among the Greeks a chief dainty to gourmands, so that Demosthenes describes a glutton and spendthrift as one who is extravagant in fish.
But what are they among so many? Peculiar to John, though the idea is implied in Luke ix. 13.
