Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 15:38
And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children.
Verse 38. Four thousand] Let the poor learn from these miracles to trust in God for support. Whatever his ordinary providence denies, his miraculous power will supply.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
And they that did eat, were four thousand men,…. This number of men, as well as of the baskets of fragments, clearly shows this to be a distinct miracle from the former of this kind, recorded in Mt 14:15. There the number of men were five thousand, here four thousand; there the quantity of food was five loaves and two fishes, here seven loaves and a few fishes; there the number of the baskets of fragments was twelve, here seven; though the quantity might be as large; since the word here used for a basket is not the same as there, and designs one of a larger size:
besides women and children; who were not taken into the account, though they ate as well as the men, and whose number might be very large.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
‘And those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.’
Those who ate were about four thousand men, as well as women and children. Again the counting of ‘the men’ suggests an assembly of ‘the congregation of Israel’, those who had met before the Lord. As we have seen, they ‘glorified the God of Israel’. And as mentioned above the ‘four’ indicates that they represent the nations. But the mention of the women and children indicates that all were include within His provision. All were participating in the Messianic banquet that Jesus had introduced by His coming.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
38 And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children.
Ver. 38. And they that did eat ] See Trapp on “ Mat 14:21 “ Herein was the majesty of the miracle, that there was no proportion between the men and the meat.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Reciprocal: Mat 14:20 – and they took Mat 16:10 – General Mar 6:42 – General Luk 9:17 – eat Joh 6:12 – they
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
5:38
No disrespect was intended by the writer in giving the number of men and only an indefinite reference to the women and children. In old times it was the custom to list families and other groups of human beings according to the men only.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mat 15:38. Four thousand, instead of five thousand. In this case the material miracle seems not to have been so great, as respects the number fed and the fragments remaining. All these variations, which show no gradation between the miracles, and betray no special design, prove that the Evangelists give true accounts of two distinct miracles.