Mark 6:40

In ranks. Verse 39 refers particularly to the organization of each individual “company,” whereas here the reference is to the orderly arrangement of the various companies in relationship to one another. Order was apparent both in the arrangement of individuals within each group, and in the arrangement of the groups themselves.

By hundreds, and by fifties. The orderly arrangement of so large a throng probably was necessary in order that all might witness the miracle, the better to appreciate its significance, and that all might be reached readily with the “bread ... from heaven” they were about to receive.