Mark 6:40
So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties.
BSB
ASV
And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties.
KJV
And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties.
And they sat down in ranks,.... Or "beds": in such form as little beds are placed in a garden, or as rows of vines in a vineyard, in which form the scholars of the wise men sat in their schools: it is said (g), "R.
By hundreds, and by fifties - “That is,” says Mr. Wesley, “fifty in a rank, and a hundred in file. So, a hundred multiplied by fifty, made just five thousand.” But if they sat fifty deep, how could the disciples conveniently serve them with the bread and fish?
And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties--Doubtless this was to show at a glance the number fed, and to enable all to witness in an orderly manner this glorious miracle.
Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.
