Demographic Nuances in the Miracle Narratives
From the perspective of religious and historical context, this question can be interpreted as follows. Many gospel texts describe the miracle of feeding the multitude, clearly indicating that among the five thousand counted, only men were included, while women and children were not counted. This does not necessarily reflect neglect or a simplistic view of women and children; rather, it mirrors the social conventions of that time and the peculiarities of the counting method used.When analyzing these narratives, it is important to consider that in the first century, the number of participants was typically determined based on their social or civic status, and men were often regarded as those who could be officially counted. Thus, mentioning only men emphasizes not so much the exclusion of women and children as it does the methods of demographic accounting and narrative style characteristic of that culture. Moreover, this numerical distinction enhances the dramatic effect and perceived scale of the feeding miracle, since including women and children would have significantly increased the total number of those in need.Supporting citation(s):"Everyone ate and was satisfied; and the leftovers filled twelve baskets. And all who ate numbered about five thousand — and this is only the count of men, not counting women and children." (source: link txt)"The evangelists note that this was the miracle of feeding the hungry: there were five loaves and two fish. Jesus blessed and broke them. This miracle occurred in Galilee, and the number of people who ate totaled five thousand — only men, not counting women and children." (source: link txt)Thus, the question of why the miracle accounts do not mention Jesus 'feeding' women and children can be understood as a reflection of the socio-historical realities of Jewish society at that time, wherein attention was paid to the officially recorded segment of the population, rather than an indication of excluding them from the care of the needy or any special treatment.