What Old Testament events parallel the miraculous feeding in Mark 6:44?

Old Testament Parallels to the Feeding of the Five Thousand (Mark 6:44)

• Exodus 16 – Manna in the Wilderness

– “Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘I will rain down bread from heaven for you.’ ” (Exodus 16:4)

– Israel’s vast crowd is daily filled by food no one produced themselves, prefiguring Jesus’ crowd fed by bread He multiplies.

• Numbers 11 – Quail in the Wilderness

– “Now a wind went out from the LORD and drove quail in from the sea; it brought them down all around the camp.” (Numbers 11:31)

– Meat provided where resources were absent highlights God’s power to satisfy physical hunger miraculously.

• 2 Kings 4:42-44 – Elisha Feeds a Hundred

– “They will eat and have some left over.” (v. 43)

– Twenty barley loaves become sufficient for one hundred men, foreshadowing Jesus multiplying five loaves for five thousand with leftovers.

• 1 Kings 17:8-16 – Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath

– “The jar of flour will not be exhausted and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD sends rain on the face of the earth.” (v. 14)

– Continuous supply from a meager store mirrors Jesus’ creation of abundance from scarcity.

• Psalm 78:19-25 – “Bread of Heaven”

– “They ate the bread of angels; He sent them food in abundance.” (v. 25)

– The psalm recalls manna while anticipating God’s further provision through His Messiah.