The Feeding of the Multitude

In one of the most famous scenes in the Gospels, Jesus feeds a crowd of 5000 people by miraculously multiplying an exceptionally small quantity of food. The Gospel says, taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people (Mark 6:41). But what were the actual words of the blessing recited by Jesus?

The Blessing Jesus recited

The word blessed in Hebrew is barakh (ברך), from the root BRK, meaning knee. When you recite a blessing, you are spiritually kneeling before God, declaring your total dependence on Him as the only source of life. The traditional berakha (blessing) that Jesus recited is the same one recited by Jews today before eating bread: 

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם הַמּוֹצִיא לֶחֶם מִן הָאָרֶץ

Barukh Ata Adonai Eloheynu Melekh HaOlam HaMotzi Lekhem Min HaAretz.

Blessed are You, Lord, King of the Universe who brings forth bread from the earth.