πρὸς�. Comp. John 4:27; John 16:17. They refrain from pressing Him with their difficulty.

ἤνεγκεν. Emphatic: ‘Surely no one hath brought Him anything to eat.’ This would be specially unlikely among Samaritans. Another instance of dulness as to spiritual meaning. In John 2:20 it was the Jews; in John 3:4 Nicodemus; in John 4:11 the Samaritan woman; and now the disciples. ‘What wonder that the woman did not understand the water? The disciples do not understand the food!’ (Augustine). Comp. John 11:12; John 14:5. These candid reports of what tells against the disciples add to the trust which we place in the narratives of the Evangelists.

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Old Testament