Mark 8:8 - Exposition

And they did eat, and were filled ( ἐχορτάσθησαν ). Wycliffe renders it, "were fulfilled;" according to the original meaning of "to fulfill," namely, "to fill full." And they took up, of broken pieces that remained over, seven baskets —as many as there were loaves. In the record of the other similar miracle, the number of baskets corresponded to the number of the disciples. Here, as in the former miracle, far more food remained after all were fed than the original supply on which our Lord exercised his miraculous power; for each basket would contain much more than one loaf. The Greek word here rendered "basket" ( σπυρίς ) is a different word from that used for "basket" in the record of the other miracle ( Mark 6:43 ). There it is κόφινος . The κόφινος was a hand-basket of stout wicker-work. The was a much larger basket, made of a more flexible material, perhaps "rushes," like our "frail." It was by means of such a basket, called in Acts 9:25 σπυρίς , but σαργάνη in 2 Corinthians 11:33 , that St. Paul was let down through a window at Damascus. This supplies another evidence, if it were needed, that these two recorded miracles took place on different occasions. Cornelius a Lapido mentions an opinion that the σπυρίς was double the size of the κόφινος , a large basket carried by two.