Whereas in 14.21 the number of men are said to have been “about five thousand,” the Greek text here says specifically four thousand. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, on the assumption that the number was intended to be a round number instead of a precise number, translates “about four thousand men.”

Those who ate were four thousand men can be expressed in different ways: “The number of men who ate was four thousand” (Good News Translation), “There were four thousand men who ate,” or “Four thousand men had eaten.”

Besides women and children may be translated as a separate sentence: “Many women and children also ate” or “This does not count the women and children who ate.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .