καὶ

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 καὶ

   KAI

   and
2. sentence🔊 καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς Πόσους ἄρτους ἔχετε οἱ δὲ εἶπαν Ἑπτά καὶ ὀλίγα ἰχθύδια

   KAI LE-gei au-TOIS ho ee-ay-SOOS PO-sous AR-tous E-khe-te hoi de EI-pan hep-TA KAI o-LI-ga ikh-THY-di-a

   and he says to them the Jesus how many loaves you have the and said seven and a few small fish

Exegesis

The verse opens with the narrative connector kai legei autois ho Iesous {καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς | kaí lé-gei autoîs ho Iē-soûs} “and Jesus says to them,” where the present indicative legei functions as a historical present, heightening vividness in the ongoing story.

The answer Hepta kai oliga ichthydia {Ἑπτά καὶ ὀλίγα ἰχθύδια | heptá kaí olí-ga ikh-thý-di-a} coordinates the numeral hepta “seven” with the phrase oliga ichthydia “a few little fish,” in which the diminutive ichthydia underscores the small size of the fish and oliga minimizes their number. In English, the formal rendering preserves the simple connective “And” and the reporting verb “said,” while the dynamic version uses “Then” and “asked” to reflect the interrogative force and narrative flow. Both reconstructions make explicit that the “loaves” are loaves of bread and that the number and size of the fish are modest, mirroring the Greek emphasis on limited resources before the miracle of provision.