Mark 6:38 How many loaves do you have?

Spoken to: 

Apostles

Many people followed Jesus into the desert and are hungry. Jesus tells his followers to feed them.

KJV: 

Mark 6:38 How many loaves have ye? go and see.

NIV : 

Mark 6:38  “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.”

LISTENERS HEARD: 

How much bread do you have? . Go away. See.

MY TAKE: 

We never know how much we have.

GREEK (Each Word Explained Bottom of Page): 

GREEK ORDER: 

Πόσους      ἔχετε             ἄρτους; ὑπάγετε   ἴδετε.
How much do you have bread ?  Go away. See.

LOST IN TRANSLATION: 

The word translated as "loaves" here is the same word translated as "bread" throughout the Gospels.  Jesus uses the "go" verb to mean "go away" rather than simply "go." There is no "and" between the "go" and "see."    It is added to make a verbal statement more like a written sentence.  The versions in Matthew 15:34 or Mark 8:5 do not have the commands to "go" and "see." The :"see" is the word that means "know" once it has been done.

In Greek, this looks like Jesus is answering a series of questions here. He asks "How much do you have?" Then it is like he was asked, "How much what?" He says, "Bread." Then he gets, "I don't know," So, finally, he tells them to go and look.

# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES: 

3
  • CW --Confusing Word -- The "loaves" is the common word usually translated as "bread."
  • CW --Confusing Word -- The "go" does not capture the word's specific meaning of "go away" or "depart."
  • OS -- Outdated Source -- The Greek word translated as "and" existed in the KJV Greek source but not the source we use today.

# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES: 

3
  • CW --Confusing Word -- The "loaves" is the common word usually translated as "bread."
  • CW --Confusing Word -- The "go" does not capture the word's specific meaning of "go away" or "depart."
  • IW - Inserted Word -- The word "and" doesn't exist in the source.

EACH WORD of KJV : 

How many  -  The Greek adjective translated as "how many" means "[of number] of what quantity," [in distance] "how far," [of time] "how long," [of value] "how much", "how great", "how many," and "how much."

loaves  - (CW) The word translated as "loaves" means "small loaf or cake of bread". It is more like a slice of bread today. In every part of the chapter, the word translated both as "bread" and "loaves" is the same in Greek. It describes a thin 1/2 inch thick round or loaf of wheat bread, meant to be torn into pieces and not cut. It was closer to a flour tortilla than a modern loaf of bread.

have  - The word translated as "have" means "to possess" or "to keep" but it isn't used in the same way as a "helper" verb that the English "have" is. It means to have in you possession or at hand.

ye?  - This comes from the second-person, plural form of the previous verb.

Go --  (CW) "Go" is a Greek verb that means literally "go under" or "bring under," and Jesus uses it to mean "go away" and "depart."

and  -- (OS) There is nothing in the Greek that can be translated as "and" in the source we use today but it does exist in the source that the KJV translators used.

see  - . The word translated as "see" means primarily "to see" and is used to mean "know' as we use the word "see" to mean "know" in English.

EACH WORD of NIV : 

How many  -  The Greek adjective translated as "how many" means "[of number] of what quantity," [in distance] "how far," [of time] "how long," [of value] "how much", "how great", "how many," and "how much."

loaves  - (CW) The word translated as "loaves" means "small loaf or cake of bread". It is more like a slice of bread today. In every part of the chapter, the word translated both as "bread" and "loaves" is the same in Greek. It describes a thin 1/2 inch thick round or loaf of wheat bread, meant to be torn into pieces and not cut. It was closer to a flour tortilla than a modern loaf of bread.

have  - The word translated as "have" means "to possess" or "to keep" but it isn't used in the same way as a "helper" verb that the English "have" is. It means to have in you possession or at hand.

ye?  - This comes from the second-person, plural form of the previous verb.

Go --  (CW) "Go" is a Greek verb that means literally "go under" or "bring under," and Jesus uses it to mean "go away" and "depart."

and  -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "and" in the Greek sourceIW - Inserted Word -- The word "and" doesn't exist in the source.

see  - . The word translated as "see" means primarily "to see" and is used to mean "know' as we use the word "see" to mean "know" in English.

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV : 

Πόσους [19 verses] (adj pl masc acc) "How many" is from posos, which means "of what quantity," [in distance] "how far." [of number] how many," [of time] "how long," [of value] "how much", "how great", "how many," and "how much."

ἔχετε  [181 verses](verb 2nd pl pres ind act) "Have" is from echo, which means "to have", "to hold", "to possess", "to keep", "to have charge of", "to maintain", "to hold fast", "to bear", "to keep close", "to keep safe," and "to have means to do."

ἄρτους [32 verses](noun pl masc acc) "Bread" is from artos, which means specifically a "cake of whole wheat bread," and generally "loaf," and "bread."ἔχετε; (verb 2nd pl pres ind act) "Have" is from echo, which means "to have", "to hold", "to possess", "to keep", "to have charge of", "to maintain", "to hold fast", "to bear", "to keep close", "to keep safe," and "to have means to do."

ὑπάγετε [47 verses](verb 2nd pl pres ind act) "Go" is from hypago. which means "to lead under", "to bring under", "to bring a person before judgment", "to lead on by degrees", "to take away from beneath", "to withdraw", "to go away", "to retire", "to draw off," and "off with you."

ἴδετε. [166 verses](verb 2nd pl pres ind act) "See" is from eido, which is another word that means "to see", "to examine," and "to know." It has more the sense of understanding.

Wordplay: 

The word Christ uses for "see" here also is often used to mean "know."

Related Verses: 

Possible Symbolic Meaning: 

Bread, wine, and house are the central to Christ's symbolism representing our temporal world: bread for the physical, wine for the mental, and the house for the emotional aspects of our lives. Unlike our mental or emotional life, aspect of our physical life can be counted and measured. Our physical possessions can be held, protected, and kept safe at least temporarily until it spoils, a topic Christ deals with elsewhere.

Bread, like wine, is Christ's symbol for transformation. The seed creates the plant. The plant duplicates the seed into grain. The grain becomes dough. Dough becomes bread. Bread is converted to body. The physical world exists in a process of transformation. Everything is temporary. Everything is limited.

Transformation is also multiplication. Through the cycle, the seed is duplicated, yielding fruit on good ground, in Christ's words, a hundred fold. The miracle of the physical world is that though each stage is temporary, it is productive.

Unimportant Opinions and Imaginings: 

Bread, wine, and house are the central to Christ's symbolism representing our temporal world: bread for the physical, wine for the mental, and the house for the emotional aspects of our lives. Unlike our mental or emotional life, aspect of our physical life can be counted and measured. Our physical possessions can be held, protected, and kept safe at least temporarily until it spoils, a topic Christ deals with elsewhere.

Bread, like wine, is Christ's symbol for transformation. The seed creates the plant. The plant duplicates the seed into grain. The grain becomes dough. Dough becomes bread. Bread is converted to body. The physical world exists in a process of transformation. Everything is temporary. Everything is limited.

Transformation is also multiplication. Through the cycle, the seed is duplicated, yielding fruit on good ground, in Christ's words, a hundred fold. The miracle of the physical world is that though each stage is temporary, it is productive.

Front Page Date: 

Apr 21 2023