Matthew 15:38

38 And they that did eat, were four thousand men, beside children and women.

Matthew 15:38 Meaning and Commentary

Matthew 15:38

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 ( Matthew 14:15-21 ) . 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.

Matthew 15:38 In-Context

36 And taking the seven loaves and the fishes, and giving thanks, he brake, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples gave to the people.

37 And they did all eat, and had their fill. And they took up seven baskets full, of what remained of the fragments.

38 And they that did eat, were four thousand men, beside children and women.

39 And having dismissed the multitude, he went up into a boat, and came into the coasts of Magedan.