Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to set before the people. – Mark 6:41
Yearning for Simplicity:
In a deserted place, over five thousand men gathered to hear the words of Jesus. As the day was coming to an end and mealtime approached, all they had were five loaves of bread and two fish. At that moment, Jesus performed a miracle with them, feeding the multitude until they were satisfied. This event is specifically referred to as the miracle of the five loaves and two fish.
Creating enough food for over five thousand people with just a small amount of bread and fish is a task far more difficult than giving out winning lottery numbers. It’s about creating something out of nothing. How astonishing must that have been? The people who witnessed it at the time must have felt the same way. Afterwards, they went around searching for Jesus.
This story, known as the feeding of the five thousand, appears in all the Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—but the aftermath is recorded only in the Gospel of John. According to this account, Jesus taught the people who sought him out as follows:
“I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” – John 6:26–27
The lesson from the miracle of the loaves and fishes is not to seek the material miracle but to see the miraculous signs. In other words, one should have seen it as a sign guiding the way of life or as a signpost indicating life’s goals
In English, “fish” can be used to express both singular and plural. Typically, “fish” is used in both singular and plural forms when referring to one type of fish, while “fishes” is used to refer to multiple types of fish. In this case, it appears “fish” is used since it refers to two fish, but it is understood to be of the same type.
Let’s revisit our hypothesis regarding articles.
Hypothesis:
When we want to indicate the characteristics of a noun, we use it without an article. When it means one chosen at random among many, we use the indefinite article “a,” and when it is chosen based on some criterion (selected) among many, we use the definite article “the.”
The definite article “the” is used to indicate something specific before a noun. Unlike the indefinite article, which is only placed before countable nouns, “the” can be used before both singular and plural forms of all nouns. The crucial question is, “In what cases can it be used?” This is not easy for those for whom English is not their native language. However, let’s examine English Bible verses with the hypothesis that the article “the” is used only when referring to something selected among many. “The” refers to the selected ones.
In the examples above, “the five loaves,” “the two fish,” “the disciples,” “the people” refer to specific bread, fish, disciples, and people already known to the reader. Being known implies they are selected among many. When you say “Close the door!” it means to close a specific door, not just any door, hence “the” is used. If one were to say “Close a door,” it could create confusion about which door inside a house to close.
The definite article is used before a noun modified by superlatives, ordinal numbers, “only,” “next,” “same,” etc., to indicate that the noun refers to a specific person or object. This is because it is a comparison expression, naturally indicating something selected among many.
“And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.”
When performing an action on a body part, it is expressed as “preposition+the+body part” since it refers to a specific part of someone’s body, not just any person’s body part.
“Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation. – Genesis 21:18)”
Proper nouns generally do not take the definite article. Therefore, the proper noun “God” does not have an article and is capitalized to distinguish it from other “gods.” However, “the sun,” “the moon,” “the earth,” “the world,” “the universe,” “the sky,” which are singular in the world but used as common nouns, take “the” to indicate selection.
“The north,” “the south,” “the east,” “the west,” “the right,” “the left,” which indicate directions, also take the definite article. They are selected from among many directions. However, “the Alps,” “the United States,” “the Philippines,” “the Netherlands,” “the Smiths,” which are plural proper nouns such as mountain ranges, countries, family names, etc., take the article. The reason is that they designate a specific selection among many. “The Smiths” refers to a specific family among many people with the name Smith. “The United States” indicates a country formed from specific states among many in the world. “The Netherlands” refers to a country made from land lying below (nether) the sea level.
Why do “the Nile,” “the Mediterranean,” “the Suez Canal,” “the Pacific,” “the Sahara,” names of rivers, straits, canals, seas, deserts, take the definite article? These too are names given to a selection among many existing ones. Rivers, seas, and deserts exist in many places on Earth. Among these, one river and one desert have been given the names the Nile River and the Sahara Desert, respectively.
Ships (“the Mayflower”), trains (“the Saemaul”), and public buildings (“the White House,” “the British Museum”) take the definite article, but names of stations, airports, harbors, parks (Seoul Station, Heathrow Airport, Hyde Park) do not. This can also be explained by the concept of “selection.” There are countless ships, trains, and buildings. Specific ones are selected and given names. Since they are selected, they must take the definite article. In contrast, stations, airports, harbors, parks are not as numerous as rivers, deserts, ships, trains, buildings. Stations, airports, harbors, parks are man-made and given unique names, thus they are proper nouns. The principle is that proper nouns do not take the definite article.
The definite article “the” is used to turn adjectives indicating human characteristics, such as “good,” “rich,” “young,” etc., into nouns that refer to people of that category. For example, “the rich” means “rich people.” It refers to selecting the rich from many people. Thus, “the rich” usually becomes plural.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. – Matthew 5:3″
The first part of the hypothesis about articles was that “when we want to show the characteristics of a noun, we use it without an article.” This means that if a noun appears without an article, it should be interpreted as indicating characteristics. For example, articles are not used before names of meals, sports games, diseases, academic departments, or seasons because they indicate characteristics.
“As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease. – Genesis 8:22″
“A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” – Matthew 8:2″
When indicating means of transportation using the preposition “by” such as “by car,” “by bus,” “by boat,” “by train,” “by plane,” articles are not used. This can be understood as indicating the purpose attribute rather than the physical characteristics of the mode of transportation.
“When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. – Mark 5:21″
Note that using “on” or “in” conveys the meaning of being on or inside something, such as “on foot,” “on horseback,” “on the train,” “on a bike,” “in a taxi.”
“We went on ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos, where we were going to take Paul aboard. He had made this arrangement because he was going there on foot. – Acts 20:13”
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