Quote:
Originally Posted by Daniel Ritchie  When Christ fed the 5000, the text only refers to the men (i.e. there were 5000 men, and the women and children); so it is conceivable that when Paul mentions a specific person being baptized, he means not only the individual, but also their family as well. |
Why are you assuming there were many (any?) women and children in this passage? The translation "besides" women and children (Mt 14:21) is an gloss of "choris" (meaning separate, apart from), and is only telling us it was a crowd of about 5000
men, not that there was an accompanying crowd of the families. There is no reason whatever to assume that had there been significant numbers of women and children there, they would not have been included in the count. The fact that these were crowds (cf. Mt 15:38) of mainly (if not exclusively) grown males is the POINT of what is related.
So, DR, respectfully, I do not think this passage makes the point you wish it too.
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Rev. Bruce G. Buchanan
ChainOLakes Presbyterian Church, CentralLake, MI
Made both Lord and Christ--Jesus, the Destroyer
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