TEXT [Commentary]

7. The Syrophoenician woman’s faith leads to healing (7:24-30; cf. Matt 15:21-28)

24 Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre.[*] He didn’t want anyone to know which house he was staying in, but he couldn’t keep it a secret. 25 Right away a woman who had heard about him came and fell at his feet. Her little girl was possessed by an evil[*] spirit, 26 and she begged him to cast out the demon from her daughter.

Since she was a Gentile, born in Syrian Phoenicia, 27 Jesus told her, “First I should feed the children—my own family, the Jews.[*] It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.”

28 She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even the dogs under the table are allowed to eat the scraps from the children’s plates.”

29 “Good answer!” he said. “Now go home, for the demon has left your daughter.” 30 And when she arrived home, she found her little girl lying quietly in bed, and the demon was gone.

NOTES

7:24 Tyre. Relations were strained between Galilee and Tyre since agricultural resources often migrated from Galilee to Tyre, leaving some Jewish folks in Galilee with little to eat (Josephus Against Apion 1.13).

7:25 fell at his feet. This act of respect shows that the woman saw Jesus as superior to herself. The only other one to do this in Mark is Jairus (5:22).

evil spirit. Lit., “unclean spirit,” (see 1:23 and note); the description sets up yet another exorcism. This miracle deals with another kind of uncleanness from that just discussed in 7:1-23. Jesus was battling for people against the unclean spirits.

7:26 born in Syrian Phoenicia. This description gives the woman’s specific nationality. She was from an area north of Israel in the Roman province of Syria (which includes modern day Lebanon), rather than from Libya.

7:29 the demon has left. Jesus proclaimed that the healing was complete as a result of the woman’s response of faith, a fact confirmed in 7:30. Like the centurion of Luke 7, this Gentile appreciated Jesus’ authority.

COMMENTARY [Text]

Once again, Jesus was trying to gain some time away from the crowds. This time he went to a Gentile region in the hope that leaving Israel would give him a break. The effort was not successful. Right away he encountered a Syrophoenician woman who begged him to heal her demon-possessed daughter.

The verbal exchange between Jesus and the woman is remarkable. He told her, “It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.” This proverbial statement compared Israelites to children (Exod 4:22; Deut 32:6; Hos 11:1) and people of other nations to dogs. Both are a part of the home but caring for the family comes before caring for pets. The dogs in this image are not scavengers or wild dogs, so the image is not as derogatory of Gentiles as it could be. It is a way of picturing Israel’s priority as covenant recipients at this time. Many claim that the Gospels reflect a later church attitude, but this saying is clearly rooted in Jesus’ ministry, given the way Gentiles are placed second to Israelites (Hurtado 1989:115).

The woman’s response is remarkable: “That’s true, Lord, but even the dogs under the table are allowed to eat the scraps from the children’s plates.” The woman accepted Jesus’ point but added that even pets get some of the leftovers. Since the imagery has the pet dogs under the table and accepting what fell to them, her reply showed a humility and persistence that Jesus honored as exemplary faith. She clearly believed that Jesus could heal her child even though she was a Gentile.

This passage shows Jesus acting on behalf of a Gentile; it also highlights a Gentile that was more responsive to Jesus than most Israelites. The text shows Jesus’ initial focus on Israel, but his compassion extended to anyone who recognized his or her need and Jesus’ ability to meet it. Mark has now given us one exemplary male and one exemplary female Gentile, showing the balance in Jesus’ ministry (the demoniac of Mark 5 likely was a Gentile since he lived in a region where pigs were raised). However, there is another important contrast: that between the failure of the disciples in this section of Mark and the faith and response of both the deaf mute (a male) and the Syro-Phoenician woman. Once again, common people do well.