How would the groups have been organized?

They sat down in an organized way, in small circles. Mark alone uses the typical description for “in groups” πρασιαὶ πρασιαὶ, a term that is borrowed from gardening and literally means that vegetables are sown or planted “bed by bed.” Does Mark choose this term because Peter, his source, saw in lively memory the colourful groups on the grass-like flourishing garden beds or bulb fields on the steppe? The groups were ordered by hundreds and by fifties. Luke (9:14) mentions only the groups of fifty and leaves out the fact that there were also double-groups (larger units from one town?). It will have been a coincidence that the total number of men was exactly 50 x 100 (6:44). The suggestion¹ that we must interpret verse 40 as indicating that people were lined up in square formation (one hundred rows of fifty people each) does not only go against the context, which speaks of smaller groups (συμπόσια, πρασιαὶ), but also with the normal meaning of the words that are being used (ἀνα in the majority of texts means, with numbers, “per,” and this applies also to the reading κατα; moreover, it says “by hundreds and by fifties”). The smaller groups of 50 and 100 dinner partners must not be connected with the fact that in Israel’s time in the desert people knew of leaders over 1000, 100, 50, and 10 (Ex. 18:25), as if Jesus established a sign of the time of redemption for Israel² or possibly was even considering military revolts.³ The context is that of a large number of guests at a festive dinner. The organization into groups creates table community. People were together in a festive hall without walls and yet did not disappear in the masses!⁴