8:1 In those days the multitude being very great, and having nothing to eat, Yehoshua (יהושע) called His Talmidim [to him], and said to them,
8:2 I have rachmei shomayim (compassion) on the multitude, because they have now been with Me three days, and have nothing to eat:
8:3 And if I send them away fasting to their own batim, they will faint by the way: for divers of them came from far.
8:4 And His Talmidim answered Him,
From whence can a man satisfy these [men] with lechem here in the wilderness?
8:5 And He asked them:
How many loaves have ye?
And they said, Seven.
8:6 And He commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and He took the sheva krikrot (loaves), and He made the bracha, and brake, and gave to His Talmidim to set before [them]; and they did set [them] before the people.
8:7 And they had a few small fishes: and He made the Bracha, and commanded to set them also before [them].
8:8 So they did eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken [meat] that was left seven baskets.
8:9 And they that had eaten were about four yousand: and He sent them away.
8:10 And straightway He entered into a ship with His Talmidim, and came into the parts of Dalmanoutha (Magadan).
8:11 And the Prushim came forth, and began to question with him, seeking of Him a sign from heaven, tempting Him.
8:12 And He sighed deeply in His spirit, and saith:
Why doth this generation seek after a sign?
Truly I say to you:
There shall no sign be given to this generation.
8:13 And He left them, and entering into the ship again departed to the other side.
8:14 Now [the Talmidim] had forgotten to take lechem, neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf.
And Yehoshua (יהושע) charged them, saying:
Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Prushim, and [of] the leaven of Herodes.
8:16 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, [It is] because we have no lechem.
8:17 And when Yehoshua (יהושע) knew [it],
He said to them: Why reason you, because you have no lechem?
Perceive you not yet, neither understand?
Have you your heart yet hardened?
Having eyes, see you not?
And having ears, hear you not?
And do you not remember?
8:19 When I brake the five kikrot among five yousand, how many baskets full of fragments took you up?
They say to him, Twelve.
8:20 And when the seven among four yousand, how many baskets full of fragments took you up?
And they said, Seven.
8:21 And Yehoshua (יהושע) said to them:
How is it that you do not understand?
8:22 And He cometh to Beit-Tzaidah; and they bring a blind man to Him, and besought Him to touch him.
8:23 And He took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when He had spit on his eyes, and put His hands upon him, He asked him if he saw ought.
8:24 And He looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.
8:25 After that He put [his] hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.
8:26 And He sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell [it] to any in the town.
8:27 And Yehoshua (יהושע) went out, and His Talmidim, into the towns of Kaisaria Philippos:
and by the way He asked His Talmidim, saying to them: Whom do men say that I am?
8:28 And they answered, Yochanan the Immerser: but some [say], Eliyahu; and others, One of the Neviim.
8:29 And Yehoshua (יהושע) said to them:
But whom say you that I am?
And Kefa answereth and said to Him:
"You art Mashiach."
8:30 And Yehoshua (יהושע) charged them that they should tell no man of him.
8:31 And He began to teach them, that Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the Zekenim, and [of] the Rashei haKohanim , and Sofrim, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
8:32 And He speak that saying openly. And Kefa took Him, and began to rebuke Him.
8:33 But when He had turned about and looked on His Talmidim, He rebuked Kefa, saying:
Get you behind Me, satan: for you savourest not the things that be of Elohim, but the things that be of men.
8:34 And when He had called the people [to him] with His Talmidim also, He said to them:
Whosoever will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his stauros (stake), and follow Me.
8:35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for My sake and the Good News's, the same shall save it.
8:36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
8:37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
8:38 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall Son of man be ashamed, when He cometh in the glory of His Father with the set apart messengers.
It is plain, then, that Dalmanoutha was near Magdala, which was probably the Greek name of one of the many Migdols (i.e., watch-towers) on the western side of the lake of Gennesaret. It has been identified in the ruins of a village about a mile from Magdala, in the little open valley of 'Ain-el-Barideh, "the cold fountain," called el-Mejdel, possibly the "Migdal-el" of Josh. 19:38.
Beit-Tzaida - came from the root word tzayadim meaning House of hunters (Yirmeyahu 16:16)- dayagim (fisherman). "I will send for many fishers" There are two verses in the Brit Hadashah that fulfill this verse: Matityahu 4:19 And He said to them, Follow * Me, and I will make you fishers of men. Mark 1:17 And Yehoshua (יהושע) said to them, Come you after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.
8:1-9 This miracle resembles the feeding of the five yousand, yet notice the differences in the chart below:
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THE FIVE THOUSAND |
THE FOUR THOUSAND |
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1. The people were Yehudim (see Yochanan 6:14-15). |
1. The people were probably Goyim (they lived in Decapolis). |
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2. The multitude had been with Yehoshua (יהושע) one day (Markos 6:35) |
2. This crowd had been with Yehoshua (יהושע) three days (8:2). |
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3. Yehoshua (יהושע) used five loaves and two fish (Mattityahu 14:17) |
3. Yehoshua (יהושע) used seven loaves and a few small fish (8:5, 7). |
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4. Five yousand men, plus women and children were fed (Mattityahu 14:21). |
4. Four yousand men, plus women and children were fed (Mattityahu 15:38). |
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5. The surplus filled twelve hand baskets (Mattityahu 14:20) |
5. The surplus filled seven wicker baskets or hampers (8:8). |