The Fish in the Feeding of the Multitude Are Likely Later Additions

In the Feeding of the Five Thousand, Jesus reportedly fed roughly five thousand men (plus uncounted children and women) with meat from two fish and five loaves of bread (Matt 14:13–21, Mark 6:30–44, Luke 9:10–17, John 6:1–15). Likewise, in the Feeding of the Four-Thousand, Jesus reportedly fed roughly four thousand men (plus uncounted children and women) with meat from a few small fish and seven loaves of bread (Matt 15:32–39; Mark 8:1–10). However, there is strong evidence that the fish in both accounts are later additions.

Numerous Early Church Figures Mention Only Bread (No Fish) in Reference to the Feeding of the Multitude

In Against Heresies (2.22.3; 2.24.4), the early church father, Irenaeus (c. AD 130–c. 202), implied that the five thousand were fed with just bread, with no mention of fish. Likewise, the early church father Gregory Nazianzen (c. AD 329–390) implied that the five thousand were fed with just bread, with no mention of fish (Oration 43.35). In Demonstratio Evangelica (3.4), the church historian Eusebius of Caesarea (c. AD 260–339) also indicated that the five thousand were given only bread to eat. Also, the Christian apologist Arnobius (AD 255–330), in Against the Heathen (1.46), suggested that Jesus fed the five thousand with bread, without any mention of fish. Similarly, Saint Theodore of Heraclea (AD 281–319) implied in Fragmenta in Mattheaum that the feeding of the five thousand and the four thousand miracles contained only loaves (no fish). Likewise, Saint Ephrem the Syrian (c. AD 306–373), in Hymns on the Nativity (Hymn III), says that the five thousand and the four thousand were fed with only bread (no mention of fish). Additionally, Saint Jerome (c. AD 342–420) implied that the five thousand (Letter 108.13) and the four thousand were fed with only bread and no fish (Letter 48.14). Finally, Saint Augustine (AD 354–430), the famous early church father, implied in On Christian Doctrine (1.1) and Tractates on the Gospel of John (91.2) that only bread (no fish) was at the feedings of the five thousand and the four thousand. These ancient commentaries describe the feedings of the four and five thousand as containing only bread, with no mention of fish, suggesting that the fish were a later addition to the biblical accounts. Thus, the fish within the feeding of the five thousand (Matt 14:13–21, Mark 6:30–44, Luke 9:10–17, John 6:1–15) and the feeding of the four thousand (Matt 15:32–39; Mark 8:1–10) are likely later additions and therefore can be considered inauthentic and thus unauthoritative.

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