Matthew 14:13 - Exposition

When Jesus heard of it (cf. Matthew 14:12 , note), he departed. (For the form of the sentence, see Matthew 4:12 ; Matthew 12:15 .) Thence by ship; in a boat (Revised Version); Matthew 8:23 . Into a desert place apart. Defined in John 6:3 as "the mountain;" in Luke 9:10 as "a city called Bethsaida." The spot appears to have been in part of the plain El-Batiha, which is at the northcast corner of the Sea of Galilee on the Gaulonitis side of the Jordan, and in which stood Bethsaida-Julias. Mark 6:45 implies that there was a second Bethsaida on the western side of the lake, which, though not alluded to by Josephus, is expressly spoken of in John 12:21 , and is probably referred to in all the other passages of the New Testament where the name Bethsaida occurs. And when the people ( the multitudes, Revised Version) had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities. The fact that it was near a feast time ( John 6:4 , the Passover, if the text be right; and cf. infra, John 6:19 , note) perhaps accounts for the multitudes being so large. Some at least would be on their way up to Jerusalem.