Nehemiah 7:73b-8:3, 5-18

The People Gathered to Hear the Law of Moses Read

When the seventh month came--the people of Israel being settled in their towns--8 1 all the people gathered together into the square before the Water Gate. They told the scribe Ezra to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD had given to Israel. 2 Accordingly, the priest Ezra brought the law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could hear with understanding. This was on the first day of the seventh month. 3 He read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law.

[4 The scribe Ezra stood on a wooden platform that had been made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand; and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hash-baddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam on his left hand.]

Ezra Reads with Interpretation

5 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. 6 Then Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people answered, "Amen, Amen," lifting up their hands. Then they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground. 7 Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, helped the people to understand the law, while the people remained in their places. 8 So they read from the book, from the law of God, with interpretation. They gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.

9 And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, "This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn or weep." For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. 10 Then he said to them, "Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our LORD; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." 11 So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, "Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved." 12 And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.

The Festival of Booths Celebrated (Cp Lev 23.33-43)

13 On the second day the heads of ancestral houses of all the people, with the priests and the Levites, came together to the scribe Ezra in order to study the words of the law. 14 And they found it written in the law, which the LORD had commanded by Moses, that the people of Israel should live in booths during the festival of the seventh month, 15 and that they should publish and proclaim in all their towns and in Jerusalem as follows, "Go out to the hills and bring branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make booths, as it is written." 16 So the people went out and brought them, and made booths for themselves, each on the roofs of their houses, and in their courts and in the courts of the house of God, and in the square at the Water Gate and in the square at the Gate of Ephraim. 17 And all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in them; for from the days of Jeshua son of Nun to that day the people of Israel had not done so. And there was very great rejoicing. 18 And day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read from the book of the law of God. They kept the festival seven days; and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly, according to the ordinance. (Nehemiah 7:73b-8:3, 5-18, NRSV)

On November 14, 2007 (Wednesday in the week of the Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost, references for the week of the Sunday closest to November 9, Year One), comments were repeated with editing and supplement from November 9, 2005 (Wednesday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 9, Year One); they are repeated again here with editing and supplement:

On Monday of this week (Nov. 9, 2009), when the reading was Nehemiah 9:1-15 (16-25), I noted that the context makes it appear to follow Ezra’s public reading of the law (Neh. 8:1-8, cf. vv. 9-12), and the celebration of the Festival of Booths (vv. 13-18). The narrator dates the reading of the law on the first day of the seventh month, Tishrei, or September-October. “When the seventh month came,” we are told, “the people of Israel being settled in their towns–all the people gathered together into the square before the Water Gate” (Neh. 7:73b-8:1a). Tamara Cohn Eskenazi says “the seventh month, September-October (see Ezra 3:1), [was] designated as a beginning of the new year in later Judaism. Lev. 23:23-24 and Num. 29:1-6 specify practices for this date without mention of reading the Torah (see ch. 8)” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., augmented, 2007, on Neh. 7:73). According to Hindy Najman, “This narrative’s use of exactly the same time description as Ezra 3:1 may indicate that the passage about the dedication of the altar and the passage about the reading of the Torah of Moses are to be read together” (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, on Neh. 7:72b [NJPS = Heb = NRSV 7:73b]-8:8). The “Water Gate,” she adds, was “on the east side of Jerusalem and directly opposite the Temple” (ibid., on 8:1). David J. A. Clines says, “The square before the Water Gate [was] on the east of the city, outside the temple area, where even ritually defiled citizens could be present” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Neh. 8:1).

In the seventh month, “all the people gathered together into the square before the Water Gate” (Neh. 8:1a), to hear the scribe Ezra read from “the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD had given to Israel” (v. 1b). According to Eskenazi,

The reconstruction culminates in this momentous event, as the community summons Ezra to bring the book of the law of Moses (8:1), i.e., the Torah. Ch. 8 signals the historical moment when the Pentateuch is publicly (re)introduced and receives communal sanction. Thus ch. 8 parallels Sinai in its impact as the receiving of God’s teachings by the entire people, transforming them int ‘the people of the Book.’ The account is no longer Nehemiah’s memoirs but an anonymous, third-person report. (op. cit., on 8:1-18)

Najman, however, includes Nehemiah 8 and 9 in Ezra’s memoir, separated by Ezra 9 and 10. She describes the memoirs as follows:

The first-person narratives are typically considered to be authentic autobiographical accounts of Ezra and Nehemiah. The third-person parts of the memoirs are attributed to the editors of the final version of Ezra-Nehemiah. The Ezra memoir is thought to consist of parts of Ezra and Nehemiah and should be ordered in the following manner: Ezra 7-8; Nehemiah 8; Ezra 9-10; Nehemiah 9. Nehemiah’s memoir is thought to consist of Nehemiah 1:1-7:72a [Heb. = 7:73a NRSV] (although some scholars have excluded 3:1-32 and 5:14-19 from the Nehemiah memoir); 11:1-2; 12:31-43; 13:4-31. (op. cit., in the Introduction to Ezra [and Nehemiah])

“Accordingly,” says the narrator, “the priest Ezra brought the law before the assembly; both men and women and all who could hear with understanding” (Neh. 8:2). This happened “on the first day of the seventh month,” says Najman, later known as Rosh Ha-Shanah, the New Year Festival (see also Lev. 23:23-25; Num. 29:1-6). The community here includes women,” she adds, “as in Deut. 1:12; contrast Exod. 19:14-15” (ibid., on 8:2). “The date for the reading,” says Eskenazi, “is September 444 or 443 (see 6:15)” (op. cit., on v. 2). The reference to “all who could hear with understanding,” says Clines, includes “older children” (op. cit., on v. 2). While this may refer to understanding the Hebrew text, it will appear that some required translation and/or interpretation (v. 8). “Ezra,” we are told, “read from it [i.e., from the law of Moses, v. 1] facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law” (v. 3).

The listed reading for today passes over verse 4, which says “The scribe Ezra stood on a wooden platform that had been made for the purpose,” and adds the names of thirteen men who stood beside him. “Rabbinic traditions,” says Najman,

state that the wooden platform upon which Ezra stood was the ?Temple Mount (e.g., t. Sot., 7:13; b. Yoma 69b; b. Sot. 40b-41a). The Rabbis state that the six people called to read publicly from the Torah scroll on the Day of Atonement represent the six people who stand at Ezra’s left and the six people who stand at Ezra’s right during the public reading of the Torah. (The Rabbis take Meshulam as another name for Zechariah, so there are six, not seven people [see b. Meg. 23a]). (op. cit., on v. 4)

“And Ezra opened the book,” says the narrator, “in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up” (v. 5). “When he opened it, i.e., unrolled the scroll,” says Eskenazi, “all the people stood up in veneration for God’s presence reflected in the book” (op. cit., on v. 5). According to Najman, “The Rabbis use this v. to illustrate correct conduct during the public reading of a Torah scroll. The people’s standing is understood to reflect complete silence. A contemporary reflection of this verse is seen in synagogue worship: When the Torah scroll is raised, the congregation rises” (op. cit., on v. 5). “Then,” we are told, “Ezra blessed the LORD (hvhy, YHWH), the great God, and all the people answered, ‘Amen, Amen (NmexA NmexA, ’āmēn ’āmēn),’ lifting up their hands. Then they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground” (v. 6). On the words, “Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God,” Najman says, “The Rabbis explain that the phrase the great God refers to Ezra’s use of the Tetragrammaton, the four letter name of God (YHVH) (b. Yoma 69b. By the rabbinic period pronouncing this name had become taboo, and it begins to fall out of use in post exilic texts” (ibid., on v. 6). According to Clines, “Amen [is] Hebrew for ‘It is firm, established,’ signifying the assent of the listeners” (op. cit., on v. 6). The next verse lists thirteen people, “Levites [who] helped the people to understand the law, while the people remained in their places” (v. 7). These were not the thirteen (or twelve) that were on the platform with Ezra (v. 4). “So they read from the book,” we are told, “from the law of God, with interpretation (wr!7pom4, m ^ephōrāš). They gave the sense (lk,W,, śekel), so that the people understood the reading” (v. 8 NRSV). According to Najman,

The exact meaning of each of these words is uncertain, though together they reflect the idea that the Torah text cannot simply be read and understood in a straightforward way, an idea that is particularly prominent within rabbinic culture. [Of] translating it [she says], Rabbinic interpretation understands the Heb. ‘Meforash’ [wr!7pom4] to refer to the Targum, the Aramaic translation of the verse, which was recited in public along with the verse. Unable to understand the Heb. text, the returnees required both Aramaic translation and interpretation (b. Meg. 3a; b. Ned. 37b; Gen. Rab. 36:8). (op. cit., on v. 8).

The translation into Aramaic here is apparently the beginning of the Jewish practice of reading the scripture in Hebrew and providing a translation (targum), cf. Ezra 4:7, where certain people “write to King Artaxerxes of Persia; the letter was written in Aramaic and translated (MGAr4tum4U, ûm ^ethurgām) into Aramaic.” The NRSV text note a says “Heb adds [the last two words] in Aramaic, indicating that 4:8-6:18 is in Aramaic. Another interpretation is The letter was written in the Aramaic script and set forth in the Aramaic language.”

We are informed that “Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said (rm,xy0o8va, wayyō’mer) to all the people, ‘This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn or weep.’ For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law” (v. 9). “This,” says Clines, “is the only evidence that Ezra and Nehemiah were contemporaries; and since the verb said [rm,xy0o8va, wayyō’mer] is singular it seems likely that Nehemiah, who was the governor should be deleted as a mistaken scribal addition” (op. cit., on v.9). Perhaps so, but what about the Levites who are also mentioned? Eskenazi says, “Nehemiah . . . and Ezra together represent political and religious leadership. . . . Ezra and Nehemiah emphasize that the Torah is ultimately a source of joy” (op. cit., on v. 9). Najman puts it this way: “The people celebrate the first of Tishri, a holy and joyful festival. Cf. the response following the laying of the foundations of the Temple in Ezra 3:10-13. Nehemiah’s attitude is that this reenacted revelation must be characterized by joy, not mourning, as in 2 Kings 22:11, or fear, as in the Sinai revelation (Exod. ch. 19)” (op. cit., on 8:9-12). “Then,” we are told, “he [apparently Nehemiah, in the present text; but Ezra, if Clines suggestion is valid] said to them, ‘Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our LORD and do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength” (v. 10). “The people should celebrate the new moon festival as they were planning to,” says Clines, “and send portions to the poor and foreigners (as prescribed in Deut 26:12-13)” (op. cit., on v. 10). “ So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, ‘Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved.’ And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them” (vv. 11-12).

“On the second day,” says the narrator, “the heads of ancestral houses of all the people, with the priests and the Levites, came together to the scribe Ezra in order to study the words of the law” (v. 13). Compare “the first day” (v. 2). Eskenazi says, “The people take initiative to study and implement the Torah” (op. cit., on v. 13). “And they found it written in the law, which the LORD had commanded by Moses, that the people of Israel should live in booths during the festival of the seventh month, and that they should publish and proclaim in all their towns and in Jerusalem as follows, ‘Go out to the hills and bring branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make booths, as it is written” (vv. 14-15). For the command of Moses, Najman refers to “Exod. 13:16; 34:22; Le3v. 23:33-43; Num. 29:1-38 (op. cit., on v. 14). And she adds:

These four species (olive trees, pine trees, myrtles, palms and [other] leafy trees) differ from the four species (palm, myrtle, willow, etrog) understood from later tradition based on Lev. 23:40 (see 2 Macc. 10:7; Josephus Ant. 3.10.4; m. Sukkah 4:1-7; Lev. Rab. 30:15; b. Sukkah 12a and 38a, where the Rabbis attempt to resolve this inconsistency). Most remarkable, rabbinic tradition suggests that these four species should be taken in hand, while here, perhaps based on the contiguity of Lev. 23:40, 42, they are used for constructing the booths. (ibid., on v. 15)

Eskenazi notes that “the fast of the Day of Atonement (set for the tenth of the month in Lev. 23:26-32) is not mentioned” (op. cit., on v. 14). “So the people went out and brought them,” says the narrator, “and made booths for themselves, each on the roofs of their houses, and in their courts and in the courts of the house of God, and in the square at the Water Gate and in the square at the Gate of Ephraim” (v. 16). After this preparation, “all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in them; for from the days of Jeshua son of Nun to that day the people of Israel had not done so. And there was very great rejoicing” (v. 17). According to Clines, “The festival of Booths had always been celebrated, as far as we know (Judg. 21:19; 1 Sam. 1:3; Ezra 3:4); the novelty now was apparently that all Israel could celebrate it together in one place, last possible when they were camped by Gilgal with Joshua (though Josh. 5:10 speaks of Passover and not specifically of Booths)” (op. cit., on Neh. 8:17). We are told that Ezra “read from the book of the law of God” day by day throughout the festival, which “they kept . . . seven days,” and also that, “on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly, according to the ordinance” (v. 18; cf. Lev. 23:36). According to Tamara Cohn Eskenazi, “Deut. 31:10-13 demands public readings of the Torah on Sukkot only every seventh year. As a result of chs. 8-9, public reading became a weekly feature of Jewish worship” (on Neh. 8:18).

or Nehemiah 5:1-19 (alternative reading, Presbyterian and Lutheran traditions)

For the text and comments of this reading see the text and comments of Sunday, November 1, 2009, ten days ago.

Revelation 18:21-24

21 Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,

"With such violence Babylon the great city

will be thrown down,

and will be found no more;

22 and the sound of harpists and minstrels and of flutists and trumpeters

will be heard in you no more;

and an artisan of any trade

will be found in you no more;

and the sound of the millstone

will be heard in you no more;

23 and the light of a lamp

will shine in you no more;

and the voice of bridegroom and bride

will be heard in you no more;

for your merchants were the magnates of the earth,

and all nations were deceived by your sorcery.

24 And in you was found the blood of prophets and of saints,

and of all who have been slaughtered on earth." (Revelation 18:21-24, NRSV)

As noted yesterday, comments for Revelation 18:15-24 of November 10, 2008 (Monday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 9, Year Two) were based on earlier comments as noted there. Today’s reading is the final portion, Revelation 18:21-24, and the following comments are based on relevant earlier comments.

Following the lamenting over the downfall of Babylon, that is, Rome, by “the kings of the earth” (Rev. 18:9), the merchants (v. 11) and the mariners (v. 17), the rejoicing of the “saints and apostles and prophets” is described, “For God has given judgment for you against her” (v. 20). “Then,” says John, “a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,

With such violence Babylon the great city

will be thrown down,

and will be found no more. (Rev. 18:21, NRSV)

Bruce M. Metzger says that 18:21-24 presents “symbolic action representing the total destruction of the city (Jer. 51:63-64)” (NOAB, 2^nd ed., on Rev. 18:21-24; cf. Jean-Pierre Ruiz, NOAB, 3^rd ed., augmented, 2007, on Rev. 18:21-14). The Jeremiah text says, “When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it, and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates, and say ‘Thus shall Babylon sink, to rise no more, because of the disasters that I am bringing on her’ ” (Jer. 51:63-64). The resemblance is evident, of course, but the mighty angel’s stone is “like a great millstone” and presents a more violent image. David E. Aune makes a similar reference, calling it “a symbolic prophetic action” adapted from the Jeremiah text (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Rev. 18:21). The poetic lines which follow announce that the music of celebration, harpists, minstrels, flutists and trumpeters, will be silent, and artisans will not be found (Rev. 18:22). Lamp light will be gone, as will “the voice of bridegroom and bride” (v. 23a). The city is accused of having merchants who dominated the world’s commerce; they “were the magnates of the earth,” and they deceived the nations “by your sorcery” (v. 23b). John's final indictment comes in verse 24: “And in you (‘Gk. her,’ NRSV text note a) was found the blood of the prophets and of saints, / and of all who have been slaughtered on earth.” According to Aune, “The martyrs' prayer is answered (see 6:10)” (op. cit., on v. 20).

This critique of “Babylon” and prediction of her fall may, by analogy, apply to cities and corporate structures that defy God’s righteousness and turn themselves into machines for the oppression and destruction of human life. But it is set in the context of the ultimate struggle between the powers of light and the powers of darkness which, though we customarily refer them to the end of time, were rearing their ugly heads in the late first century of the Christian era. The technologies available to the powers of darkness now, unfortunately, have grown considerably more dangerous in our time.

Should we who live in a world of consumer goods undreamed of even by the Roman elite take something of a warning from this indictment for their fixation on such luxuries? The good life with its amenities is not a bad thing in and of itself, but it becomes deadly when it is gained at the expense of oppressed peoples, slaves and working conditions that border on slavery. The God who pronounced such judgment on the ancient “Babylon” still lives, and is still in control, even in an age of modern Babylons.

Matthew 15:29-39

Jesus Cures Many People (Mk 7.31-37)

29 After Jesus had left that place, he passed along the Sea of Galilee, and he went up the mountain, where he sat down. 30 Great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the mute, and many others. They put them at his feet, and he cured them, 31 so that the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.

Feeding the Four Thousand (Mk 8.1-10)

32 Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way." 33 The disciples said to him, "Where are we to get enough bread in the desert to feed so great a crowd?" 34 Jesus asked them, "How many loaves have you?" They said, "Seven, and a few small fish." 35 Then ordering the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36 he took the seven loaves and the fish; and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 37 And all of them ate and were filled; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. 38 Those who had eaten were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39 After sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan. (Matthew 15:29-39, NRSV)

On June 10, 2008 (Tuesday in the week of the Sunday closest to June 8, Year Two), comments were repeated from November 14, 2007 (Wednesday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 9, Year One), when comments were repeated from June 13, 2006 (Tuesday in the week of Trinity Sunday, Year Two), when comments were combined with revision from June 8, 2004 (Tuesday of the week of Trinity Sunday, Year Two) in an email sent June 7, 2004 for June 7-13, and from November 9, 2005 (Wednesday of the week of the Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost, Year One). The comments were used again on June 10, 2007 (the Sunday closest to June 8, Year One), with further revision and supplement. The combined and revised comments are repeated again here. For recent comments on Mark’s version, see the Archives for July 31 and August 1, 2009 (Friday and Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to July 27, Year One):

The two stories in the reading from Matthew have parallel accounts in Mark, as presented in the separate file, Healings and the Feeding of the Four Thousand. These are preceded by the account of Jesus’ encounter with the Syrophoenician, or Canaanite, Woman (Mk. 7:24-30; Mt. 15:20-21). Mark gives details of Jesus’ return. “Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis” (Mk. 7:31), but Matthew simply reports that “After Jesus had left that place, he passed along the Sea of Galilee, and he went up the mountain, where he sat down” (Mt. 15:29). For Mark the setting is clearly in Gentile territory, “the Decapolis,” but this is not clear in Matthew’s version, though he briefly notes that the crowd “praised the God of Israel” (v. 31). Matthew presents a brief summary of many healings by Jesus. “Great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the mute, and many others. They put them at his feet, and he cured them” (Mt. 15:30; cf. the summary in Mt. 4:23-25, which sets the scene, so to speak, for the Sermon on the Mount). In the present instance, Matthew notes the crowd’s amazement, for, as he says, “the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel” (v. 31).

At this point Mark tells the story of a single healing. Whether this represents focus on one of the many healings reported by Matthew, or a separate incident, there are some common elements. The setting is near the Sea of Galilee, though, as noted above, Mark puts it in the Decapolis, east and southeast of the Sea. The man whom Jesus heals in Mark’s account is deaf with “an impediment in his speech” (Mk. 7:32; cf. “the mute,” Mt. 15:30). By including several details of the healing, Mark gives an account that is nearly twice as long as Matthew’s. It is unusual in the Gospels to record such details as when Jesus “put his fingers into his ears, and  . . .  spat and touched his tongue” (Mk. 7:33), or Jesus’ use of the Aramaic word Ephphatha, “Be opened” (v. 34).

After Matthew’s brief summary account of Jesus’ healings, he comes to the Feeding of the Four Thousand. Matthew and Mark give similar accounts of the Feeding of the Four Thousand (Mt. 15:32-39; Mk. 8:1-10). This and the earlier Feeding of the Five Thousand (Mt. 14:13-21; Mk. 6:32-44; Lk. 9:10b-17; Jn. 6:1-15) remind us of God’s feeding of the Israelites in the wilderness, as John’s version of the earlier feeding reminds us (in the Bread of Life discussion, Jn. 6:26-59). Dale C. Allison, Jr., points out that Matthew’s second feeding account adds to the narrative:

The gathering of the crowds, the healing of the sick (cf. 11:5), the allusion to Isa. 35:5-6 (vv. 30-1), the compassionate feeding of many, and the mountain setting together recall OT prophecies about Mount Zion (see Donaldson [Jesus on the Mountain, a Study in Matthean Theology], 1985). So the second feeding shows us that the eschatological expectations associated with Zion have come to fulfillment in Jesus. (The Oxford Bible Commentary, 2001, p. 864, on Mt. 15:29-39).

Some wonder why there are two stories so similar in the Gospels, the Feeding of the Five Thousand, found in all four Gospels, and the Feeding of the Four Thousand found only in Matthew and Mark. Krister Stendahl favors a suggestion that the Feeding of the Four Thousand refers to the Gentiles. He says that E. Lohmeyer “strengthens this view by reference to the seven baskets = the seven deacons (Ac. 6:1ff.) over against the twelve baskets in 14:20 = the twelve disciples (as representatives of the twelve tribes of Israel)” (Peake’s Commentary on the Bible, 1962, reprint 1972, sec. 686 m, p. 787 on Mt. 15:32-39). In any case, the feeding represents Jesus’ response to human need, “I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat” (Mt. 15:32). For an extensive discussion of the relationship between the Feeding of the 5000 and the Feeding of the 4000, see the comments on Mark 8:1-10 in the archive file for August 1, 2009 (as noted above).

After studying what indications of dates and a time sequence there are in this part of the Gospels, William Barclay concludes that there was a six-month interval between the Feeding of the Five Thousand (Mt. 14:15-21) and the Feeding of the Four Thousand (Mt. 15:32-39) (The Gospel of Matthew, Daily Study Bible, 2^nd ed., 1975, vol. 2, pp. 125-126, on Mt. 15:29-39). He describes the scene of the latter as follows:

Many scholars think that the feeding of the five thousand and the feeding of the four thousand are different versions of the same incident; but that is not so. As we have seen, the date is different; the first took place in the spring, the second in the summer. The people and the place are different. The feeding of the four thousand took place in Decapolis [“ten cities’] . . . On this occasion there would be many Gentiles present, perhaps more Gentiles than Jews. It is that fact that explains the curious phrase in verse 31, “They glorified the God of Israel.” To the Gentile crowds this was a demonstration of the power of the God of Israel. There is another curious little hint of difference. In the feeding of the five thousand the baskets which were used to take up the fragments are called kophinoi; in the feeding of the four thousand they are called sphurides. The kophinos was a narrow-necked, flask-shaped basket which Jews often carried with them, for a Jew often carried his own food, lest he should be compelled to eat food which had been touched by Gentile hands and was therefore unclean. The sphuris was much more like a hamper; it could be big enough to carry a man, and it was a kind of basket that a Gentile would use. (Ibid., p. 126, on Mt. 15:29-39)

It almost seems that, in spite of himself, Matthew, who indicates that Jesus’ ministry was only to Jews (cf. Mt. 10:5-6; 15:21-28), inevitably pictures Jesus as ministering to Gentiles, including the Canaanite woman and the crowds in the Decapolis (cf. Mk.15:31)

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net