Not Counting Women and Children: Neglected Stories from the Bible

The title of this book is taken from the dismissive comment in Matthew's account of the feeding of the 5000. But what happens if you do start counting the women and children, as well as the beggars and other outcasts who probably weren't counted among the 5000 men who sat down. The phrase, the author says, can be taken as a hint, an intimation of something hidden in the text. For, if you do count the women and children (who always outnumber men in any crowd) - you can have a group of anywhere from 25,000 to 30,000 people The whole scene changes. And what else might we have missed? Where did the twelve baskets come from? Who took the leftovers home?