Five and Two, this combination of numbers is found in the Old and New Testament, and in narrations and parables. A young lad’s lunch is the main course for this study, but the side dishes and appetizers are just as important.
In a sermon I heard recently, it was noted that the early Church Fathers liked to interrupt the New with the Old and assign meanings to things; really things have not changed that much. St. Augustine of Hippo has the first recorded use of five and two with the Feeding of the 5,000. He saw the five loaves of bread as the Five Books of Moses and the two fish as the Psalms and Prophets. That is not a bad interpretation, and I am sure St. Augustine worked that into his commentary very well. Is that the only way to look at those numbers in that story?
No; here are a few other ways to look at that number combination.
- A mother or aunt overpacked a young lad’s lunch; since he did not eat all of it, he shared it with his uncles and Jesus.
- Five can represent grace, provision, and readiness. Two may represent unity, truth confirmed by witnesses, or divine order.
- The first use of this combination is in Genesis 45:6 and there it is associated with famine. Well, that idea does not really work here.
- Numbers 7 has this pair of numbers used several times in association with a sacrifice for the individual tribes. That might be a real stretch.
- Judges 20:45 uses these numbers in describing how many Benjamites were killed.
- 1 Samuel 25:18 list the amounts of provisions Abigail prepared to stop David and his men from killing off her husband’s household. This one is more in line of suppling provisions.
In my study I noticed a contributor named I. M. Rite who focused on one explanation and dismissed any other insight to these numbers. I think he got his version from his favorite preacher, The Right Reverend Wright. Well, Jesus used these numbers in several of His parables so we should look at them.
- Matthew 25:15 has bags of gold being assigned to trusted servants who were to use this wealth to increase their master’s holdings.
- Luke 7:41 has two people owing a man some money; one owed 500 and the other 50.
- Luke 12:6 teaches us about five sparrows being sold for two pennies.
- Luke 12:52 has a family of five divide into groups of two and three.
Yes, there are other examples of five and two. The translation you search in may give you more or less verses to look at, so try several.
This post is like the leftovers the disciples picked up; they were good food and should not be wasted, but they looked a little different than what was packed in that lunch. My point, STUDY, go Berean, and do not put God in your little box. His Word fits nicely in-between the covers of my Bible, but as soon as I open it ‘my world’ fills up and overflows. Sounds like provision and witness to me.
Mark's Bible Study 