SEV Biblia, Chapter 14:20
Y comieron todos, y se saciaron; y alzaron lo que sobr de los pedazos, doce cestas llenas.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Matthew 14:20
Verse 20. They did all eat, and were filled] Little or much is the same in the hands of Jesus Christ. Here was an incontestable miracle-five thousand men, besides women and children, fed with five cakes and two fishes! Here must have been a manifest creation of substance-the parts of the bread were not dilated to make them appear large, nor was there any delusion in the eating-for they all ate, and were all filled. Here then is one miracle of our Lord attested by at least five thousand persons! But did not this creation of bread prove the unlimited power of Jesus? Undoubtedly: and nothing less than eternal power and Godhead could have effected it. They took up-twelve baskets] It was customary for many of the Jews to carry a basket with them at all times: and Mr. Wakefield's conjecture here is very reasonable:-"By the number here particularized, it should seem that each apostle filled his own bread basket." Some think that the Jews carried baskets in commemoration of their Egyptian bondage, when they were accustomed to carry the clay and stubble to make the bricks, in a basket that was hung about their necks. This seems to be what Sidonius Apollinaris refers to in the following words, Epist. vii. 6. Ordinis res est, ut, (dum in allegorica versamur AEgypto) Pharao incedat cum diademate, Israelita cum COPHINO.
These words of Alcimus Avitus, lib. v. 30, are to the same effect:- Servitii longo lassatam pondere plebem, Oppressos cophinis humeros, attritaque collo It appears that a basket about the neck, and a bunch of hay, were the general characteristic of this long enslaved and oppressed people in the different countries where they sojourned.
Juvenal also mentions the BASKET and the hay:-Cum dedit ille locum, cophino faenoque relicto, Arcanam Judaea tremens mendicat in aurem Sat vi. 542 A gypsy Jewess whispers in your ear] Her goods a basket, and old hay her bed, She strolls, and telling fortunes, gains her bread Dryden And again, Sat iii. xiii. -Nunc sacri fontis nemus, et delubra locantur Judaeis, quorum cophinus, faenumque supellex Now the once hallowed fountain, grove, and fane, Are let to Jews, a wretched, wandering train, Whose wealth is but a basket stuff'd with hay Gifford The simple reason why the Jews carried baskets with them appears to be this:-When they went into Gentile countries, they carried their own provision with them, as they were afraid of being polluted by partaking of the meat of heathens. This also obliged them probably to carry hay with them to sleep on: and it is to this, in all likelihood, that Juvenal alludes.
After five thousand were fed, twelve times as much, at least, remained, as the whole multitude at first sat down to! See the note on Luke ix. 16.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 20. And they did all eat , etc.] Christ and his twelve disciples, and the five thousand men, with the women and children, of the five loaves and two fishes; everyone had their portion, and were filled ; they were satisfied, they had a full meal, they had enough, and to spare; (see 2 Chronicles 31:10) which the Targumist paraphrases thus. And Azariah said unto him, who was appointed chief over the house of Zadok, and said, from the time that they began to separate the offering, to bring it into the sanctuary of the Lord, y[bw ylka , we have eat and are filled, and have left much; for the word of the Lord hath blessed his people, and what is left, lo! it is this plenty of good.
The Jews used not to reckon it a meal, unless a man was filled, and account it an ill sign, if nothing was left: but here was fulness, and more left than was first had; which was gathered up, either for the use of the poor, or reserved for after service; teaching us liberality to the needy, and frugality, not to waste that which is left. And they took up of the fragments that remained, twelve baskets full ; according to the number of the disciples, every man had his basket full. It may be inquired, where they could have so many baskets in the wilderness?
It is not likely, that everyone of the apostles had a basket with him; it is indeed not improbable, but that they might be furnished with them from some in the company, who might bring provisions with them, either for their own use, or to sell; (see John 6:9) but perhaps the reason why they were so easily supplied with such a number of baskets in a desert place, might be a custom which the Jews had of carrying baskets with hay and straw, in commemoration of what they did in Egypt; when they were obliged to carry bricks in baskets, and to go about and pick up straw in baskets to make bricks; hence the Epigrammatist calls a Jew, cistifer, a basket bearer, or carrier; and Juvenal laughs at these people, as if all their household goods lay in a basket, and a little hay, or straw: it is said of R. Siraeon, that when he went to the school, anx lyq , he carried a basket on his shoulders f856 ; the gloss suggests, it was to sit upon; but a basket is not very proper for a seat; very likely it was for the above reason: such a custom will account for it, how such a number of baskets could be come at in the wilderness.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 13-21 - When Christ and his word withdraw, it is best for us to follow, seeking the means of grace for our souls before any worldly advantages. The presence of Christ and his gospel, makes a desert not only tolerable but desirable. This little supply of bread was increased by Christ' creating power, till the whole multitude were satisfied. In seeking the welfare of men's souls, we should have compassion on their bodie likewise. Let us also remember always to crave a blessing on our meals and learn to avoid all waste, as frugality is the proper source of liberality. See in this miracle an emblem of the Bread of life, whic came down from heaven to sustain our perishing souls. The provisions of Christ's gospel appear mean and scanty to the world, yet they satisf all that feed on him in their hearts by faith with thanksgiving.
Greek Textus Receptus
και 2532 CONJ εφαγον 5315 5627 V-2AAI-3P παντες 3956 A-NPM και 2532 CONJ εχορτασθησαν 5526 5681 V-API-3P και 2532 CONJ ηραν 142 5656 V-AAI-3P το 3588 T-ASN περισσευον 4052 5723 V-PAP-ASN των 3588 T-GPN κλασματων 2801 N-GPN δωδεκα 1427 A-NUI κοφινους 2894 N-APM πληρεις 4134 A-APM
Vincent's NT Word Studies
20. Were filled (ecortasqhsan). See on Matt. v. 6.Baskets (kofinouv). Wyc., coffins, a transcription of the Greek word. Juvenal, the Roman satirist, describes the grove of Numa, near the Capenian gate of Rome, as being "let out to the Jews, whose furniture is a basket (cophinus) and some hay" (for a bed), "Sat." iii. 14. These were small hand-baskets, specially provided for the Jews to carry levitically clean food while travelling in Samaria or other heathen districts. The word for basket used in relating the feeding of the four thousand (Matthew xv. 37) is spuriv, a large provision-basket or hamper, of the kind used for letting Paul down over the wall at Damascus (Acts ix. 25). In Matthew xvi. 9, 10, Christ, in alluding to the two miracles, observes the distinctive term in each narrative; using kofinouv in the case of the five thousand, and spuridav in the other. Burgon ("Letters from Rome") gives a drawing of a wicker basket used by the masons in the cathedral at Sorrento, and called coffano. He adds, "Who can doubt that the basket of the gospel narrative was of the shape here represented, and that the denomination of this basket exclusively has lingered in a Greek colony, where the Jews (who once carried the cophinus as a personal equipment) formerly lived in great numbers?"
Robertson's NT Word Studies
14:20 {Were filled} (ecortasqesan). Effective aorist passive indicative of cortazw. See #Mt 5:6. From the substantive cortos grass. Cattle were filled with grass and people usually with other food. They all were satisfied. {Broken pieces} (twn klasmatwn). Not the scraps upon the ground, but the pieces broken by Jesus and still in the "twelve baskets" (dwdeka kofinous) and not eaten. Each of the twelve had a basketful left over (to perisseuon). One hopes that the boy (#Joh 6:9) who had the five loaves and two fishes to start with got one of the basketsful, if not all of them. Each of the Gospels uses the same word here for baskets (kofinos), a wicker-basket, called "coffins" by Wycliff. Juvenal (_Sat_. iii. 14) says that the grove of Numa near the Capenian gate of Rome was "let out to Jews whose furniture is a basket (_cophinus_) and some hay" (for a bed). In the feeding of the Four Thousand (Matthew and Mark) the word sfuris is used which was a sort of hamper or large provisions basket.
