Berean Bible

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Luke

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9

:

13

“

And He said to them, “You give to them to eat.” But they said, “There are no more than five loaves to us, and two fish, unless we, having gone, should buy food for all this people.”

Lexicon

Verse part Definition: Part of speech: Strong's: Greek: Transliteration:
they said, Answer, bid, bring word, command. H3004 εἶπαν eipan
give To offer, give; to put, place. V-AMA-2P H1325 δότε dote
no No, not. Adv H3756 οὐκ ouk
than Or, than. Conj H2228 ἢ ē
five Five. Adj-NMP H4002 πέντε pente
loaves Bread, a loaf, food. N-NMP H740 ἄρτοι artoi
two Two. Adj-NMP H1417 δύο duo
Analysis:

Two: Two divergent opinions

The classic example for the number "two" is found in Matthew chapter 26. There, Yeshua says to His disciples,

"You know that after two days comes the Passover, and the Son of Man will be given over for crucifixion."  Matthew 26:2

The phrase "after two days" is somewhat meaningless because after two days can mean three or more days. The period is unspecified. The reason for such ambiguous language is because the purpose of the number two in this passage is not solely numerical. This means that the text is not intending to provide the reader with some definite information concerning a time period. Rather, the purpose of the number two in this context is one of the numerological meanings of the number two.  Often the number two relates to two divergent opinions. In the aforementioned verse, the author wants to inform the reader that there are two very different understandings for this coming Passover. Yeshua wants to emphasize that He is going up to Jerusalem in order to die as the true Passover sacrifice. Even though Yeshua states this emphatically, the disciples did not receive this. In fact, the disciples did not perceive at all what was going to take place during Passover in regard to Yeshua. In other words, Yeshua and the disciples have two divergent opinions concerning the Passover.

This same principle is also found in the Hebrew Bible (Old Covenant). In the book of Amos one reads,

"Can two walk together without them having agreed" Amos 3:3

The word which was translated into English with the phrase "them having agreed" is נועדו. The root of this word is יעד, which relates to a specific destination. The word which precedes this word is בלתי and in this context the word implies a change to the condition. In other words, had there not been a change in the condition, then the two could not walk together, i.e. they could not have arrived at the common destination.

The concept of divergent or different is also seen in the book of Genesis. In speaking about the sun and moon one reads, "And God made two great lights…" (Genesis 1:16). Obviously the sun and moon are very different, as one is a source of light, while the latter just reflects light. Also in the book of Genesis, one encounters the account of the flood. Here Noah is commanded to bring onto the ark two sorts of each type of animal. In this passage, the two relates to two different (or divergent) kinds of the same sort, i.e. male and female. 

Likewise, two angels came to Sodom, demonstrating that the people of Sodom had a very different way of living from that of the Law of God. Once again, the reader should not assume that every occurrence of the number two in the Bible demands this interpretation. However, one will find in a great majority of Biblical passages, the reader will be assisted in arriving at the proper interpretation, when he considers this divergent quality for the number two. 

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fish, A fish. N-NMP H2486 ἰχθύες ichthues
unless If. Conj H1487 εἰ ei
. . . If not, unless, whether at all. IntPrtcl H3385 μήτι mēti
having gone, To travel, journey, go, die. V-APP-NMP H4198 πορευθέντες poreuthentes
should buy To buy. V-ASA-1P H59 ἀγοράσωμεν agorasōmen
food Food of any kind. N-ANP H1033 βρώματα brōmata
all All, the whole, every kind of. Adj-AMS H3956 πάντα panta
this This; he, she, it. DPro-AMS H3778    
people.” (a) a people, characteristically of God's chosen people, first the Jews, then the Christians, (b) sometimes, but rarely, the people, the crowd. N-AMS H2992 λαὸν laon

Parallel Verses

Removed text
Added text
Berean Bible And He said to them, “You give to them to eat.” But they said, “There are no more than five loaves to us, and two fish, unless we, having gone, should buy food for all this people.”
King James Bible And He But he said to unto them, “You give to Give ye them to eat.” But eat. And they said, “There are We have no more than but five loaves to us, and two fish, unless we, having gone, fishes; except we should go and buy food meat for all this people.”
Hebrew Greek English And But He said to them, “You "You give to them something to eat.” But eat!" And they said, “There are "We have no more than five loaves to us, and two fish, unless we, having gone, should perhaps we go and buy food for all this these people.”"
New American Standard Bible 1995 And But He said to them, “You "You give to them something to eat.” But eat!" And they said, “There are "We have no more than five loaves to us, and two fish, unless we, having gone, should perhaps we go and buy food for all this these people.”"