Section XVIII.

[1] 1192    Matt. xiv. 1; Luke ix. 7b.At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus, and all the things which came to pass at his hand; 1193    Mark vi. 14b.and he marvelled, for he had obtained excellent [2] information concerning him.1194    There can be little doubt that this is the meaning of the Arabic.  There is nothing like it in the Peshitta; the Curetonian is of course lacking; but the phrase in the Sinaitic is very similar.  1195    Luke ix. 7c.And some men said that John the Baptist was risen [3] from among the dead; 1196    Luke ix. 8a; Matt. xvi. 14b.and1197    Here begins verse 8a in Greek. others said that Elijah had appeared; and others, Jeremiah; [4] and others, that a prophet of the old prophets was risen; 1198    Luke ix. 8b; Mark vi. 15b.and others said that he [5] was a prophet like one of the prophets.  1199    Mark vi. 16; Matt. xiv. 2b.Herod said to his servants, This is John the Baptist, he whom I beheaded; he is risen from among the dead:  therefore mighty [6] [Arabic, p. 70] works result from him.  1200    Mark vi. 17.For Herod himself had sent and taken John, and cast him into prison, for the sake of Herodias his brother Philip’s wife, whom he [7] had taken.  1201    Mark vi. 18.And John said to Herod, Thou hast no authority to take the wife of thy [8] brother.  1202    Mark vi. 19.And Herodias avoided him and wished to kill him; and she could not.  [9] 1203    Mark vi. 20.But Herod feared John, for he knew that he was a righteous man and a holy; and [10] he guarded him, and heard him much, and did, and obeyed him with gladness.  1204    Matt. xiv. 5.And he wished to kill him; but he feared the people, for they adhered to him as the [11] prophet.  1205    Mark vi. 21.And there was a celebrated day, and Herod had made a feast for his great men on the day of his anniversary,1206    Perhaps appointment (cf. Moesinger, p. 165; but Isho‘dad [Harris, Fragments, p. 65] and the Brit. Mus. text of Ibn-at-Tayyib’s Commentary have the ordinary reading). and for the officers and for the chief men [12] of Galilee.  1207    Mark vi. 22.And the daughter of Herodias came in and danced in the midst of the company, and pleased Herod and those that sat with him.  And the king said to the [13] damsel, Ask of me what thou wilt, and I will give it thee.  1208    Mark vi. 23.And he sware unto her, [14] Whatsoever thou shalt ask, I will give it thee, to the half of my kingdom.  1209    Mark vi. 24.And she went out, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask him?1210    Or simply ask.  She said unto her, The [15] head of John the Baptist.  1211    Mark vi. 25.And immediately she came in hastily to the king, and said unto him, I desire in this hour that thou give me on a dish the head of John [16] the Baptist.  1212    Mark vi. 26.And the king was exceeding sorry; but because of the oath and the [17] guests he did not wish to refuse her.  1213    Mark vi. 27.But immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded that he should bring the head of John:  and he went and cut off [18] the head of John in the prison, 1214    Mark vi. 28.and brought it on a dish, and delivered it to the [19] damsel; and the damsel gave it to her mother.  1215    Mark vi. 29.And his disciples heard, and came [Arabic, p. 71] and took his body, and buried it.  1216    Matt. xiv. 12b.And they came and told1217    Or, to tell. Jesus what [20] had happened.  1218    Luke ix. 9.And for this cause Herod said, I beheaded John:  who [21] is this, of whom I hear these things.  And he desired to see him.  1219    Matt. xiv. 13a; John vi. 1b.And Jesus, when he heard, removed thence in a boat to a waste place alone, to the other side of the sea of the Galilee of Tiberias.1220    A misunderstanding or slavish reproduction of the Syriac.  The Brit. Mus. text of Ibn-at-Tayyib’s Commentary has of Galilee, Tiberias.

[22] 1221    Mark vi. 33a.And many saw them going, and knew them, and hastened by land1222    cf. Syriac versions and margin of R.V. from all the cities, and came thither beforehand; 1223    John vi. 2b.for they saw the signs which he was doing on the [23, 24] sick.  1224    John vi. 3.And Jesus went up into the mountain, and sat there with his disciples.  1225    John vi. 4.And [25] the feast of the passover of the Jews was near.  1226    John vi. 5a.And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and saw great multitudes coming to him.  1227    Mark vi. 34b.And he was moved with compassion for them, for [26] they were like sheep that were without a shepherd.  1228    Luke ix. 11b.And he received them, and spake to them concerning the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.

[27] 1229    Matt. xiv. 15a.And when the evening approached,1230    Or, came. his disciples came to him, and said unto [28] him, 1231    Mark vi. 36.The place is desert, and the time is past; send away the multitudes of the people,1232    cf. the addition in the Sinaitic Syriac. that they may go to the towns and villages which are around us, and buy for [29] themselves bread; for they have nothing to eat.  1233    Matt. xiv. 16.But he said unto them, They have [30] no need to go away; give ye them what may be eaten.  1234    Matt. xiv. 17a.They said unto him, We have not here enough.  1235    John vi. 5b.He said unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread that these may eat?  [31, 32] 1236    John vi. 6.And he said that proving him; and he knew what he was resolved to do.  1237    John vi. 7.Philip said [Arabic, p. 72] unto him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread would not suffice them after1238    Probably a mistaken rendering of the ordinary Syriac reading. [33] every one of them hath taken a small amount.  1239    John vi. 8.One of his disciples said unto [34] him (namely, Andrew the brother of Simon Cephas), 1240    John vi. 9.Here is a lad having five loaves [35] of barley and two fishes:  but this amount, what is it for all these?  1241    Luke ix. 13b; considerably changed.But wilt thou that we go and buy for all the people what may be eaten? for we have no more [36] than these five loaves and the two fishes.  1242    John vi. 10b; and Luke ix. 14b, 15a.And the grass was plentiful in that place.  Jesus said unto them, Arrange all the people that they may sit down on the grass, [37] fifty people in a company.  1243    Mark vi. 40.And the disciples did so.  And all the people sat down [38] by companies, by hundreds and fifties.  1244    Matt. xiv. 18.Then Jesus said unto them, Bring hither [39] those five loaves and the two fishes.  1245    Mark vi. 41a.And when they brought him that, Jesus took the bread and the fish, and looked to heaven, and blessed, and divided, and gave to [40] his disciples to set before them; 1246    Matt. xiv. 19b.and the disciples set for the multitudes the bread [41] and the fish; and they ate, all of them, and were satisfied.  1247    Matt. xiv. 20a; John vi. 12.And when they were satisfied, he said unto his disciples, Gather the fragments that remain over, that nothing [42] be lost.  1248    John vi. 13.And they gathered, and filled twelve baskets with fragments, being those that remained over from those which ate of the five barley loaves and the two [43] fishes.  1249    Matt. xiv. 21.And those people who ate were five thousand, besides the women and children.  [44] [Arabic, p. 73] 1250    Mark vi. 45.And straightway he pressed his disciples to go up into the ship, and that they should go before him unto the other side to Bethsaida, while he [45] himself should send away the multitudes.  1251    John vi. 14.And those people who saw the sign which [46] Jesus did, said, Of a truth this is a prophet who hath come into the world.  1252    John vi. 15.And Jesus knew their purpose to come and take him, and make him a king; and he left them, and went up into the mountain alone for prayer.

[47, 48] 1253    John vi. 16.And when the nightfall was near, his disciples went down unto the sea, and sat1254    cf. Syriac versions. in a boat, and came to the side of Capernaum.  1255    John vi. 17.And the darkness came on, and Jesus [49] had not come to them.  1256    John vi. 18.And the sea was stirred up against them by reason of a violent [50] wind that blew.  1257    Matt. xiv. 24.And the boat was distant from the land many furlongs, and they were much damaged by the waves, and the wind was against them.