Translation commentary on Mark 6:44

Exegesis:

andres ‘men’: adult males, as distinguished from the women and children (cf. Mt. 14.21).

Translation:

One should not translate this sentence in such a form as to mean that only men ate, and that women and children were excluded (cf. Mt. 14.21). In some languages this requires one to say, ‘of those that ate the food there were five thousand men.’

Though loaves are specified in this verse, one is not to interpret that the five thousand had some of the loaves, but the fish was entirely too limited to go around. ‘Food’ is a not unwarranted substitution for loaves.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of Mark. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1961. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator's Notes on Mark 6:44

6:44

And there were five thousand men: Matthew 14:21 says that besides the five thousand men who ate the food, there were women and children there who also ate. But Mark did not mention the women and children. When you translate 6:44, you should use a term that refers to men, as most English versions do.

men: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as men refers to adult males who were married or were old enough to get married. It does not refer to younger male children.

In some languages the word for “men” may refer only to married men, while another word like “males” may refer to males of all ages, whether adults or children. If that is true in your language, you may need to use one or more terms that describe adult males (married or unmarried, but not children). For example:

unmarried-men and older-men

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