John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 15:39
And he sent away the multitude,.... Dismissing them, either with a prayer for them, or with a suitable word of exhortation, to be thankful for the mercies, both spiritual and temporal, they had received, and behave agreeably in their lives and conversations: and took ship; being near the sea side, the sea of Galilee, and came into the coasts of Magdala: not far from Tiberias; for often mention is made of Magdala in the Talmud F19 T. Hieros. Sheviith, fol. 38. 4. Maaserot, fol. 50. 3.... read more
John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 15:38
And they that did eat, were four thousand men ,.... This number of men, as well as of the baskets of fragments, clearly shows this to be a distinct miracle from the former of this kind, recorded in Matthew 14:15 . There the number of men were five thousand, here four thousand; there the quantity of food was five loaves and two fishes, here seven loaves and a few fishes; there the number of the baskets of fragments was twelve, here seven; though the quantity might be as large; since the... read more