The story of Jesus and the Syrophoenician woman is one that brings Immediate unease to any Bible reader. At first glance, it seems as though Jesus, of all people, is refusing to heal someone based on where she is from.
This occurs when readers disregard the history of the Israelites as the basis for Jesus’ mission.
In this study of Jesus and the Syrophoenician Woman, we will consider the reason for his journey to Gentile territory, how he uses children and dogs imagery, and why he finally grants her request.
Regional Context
Phoenicia is a Greek name for the people living in the coastal area north and northwest of Galilee. It means ‘dark red’ as the people were known for dyeing their hair dark red. Later, the color is associated with natural products coming from there.
Phoenicia was not a country or a nation. It was a network of city-states (Tyre, Sidon, Arvad, Byblos, Berytus…) known for their trade outreach to the Mediterranean world. They trace their ancestry back to the Canaanites of the Bronze Age. The Phoenicians continued the culture and religions of the Canaanites with their own adaptation of it.
The province of Syria was a major administrative power for the Roman Empire in the eastern Mediterranean region. During Jesus’ ministry, the province was governed by Lamie. The province included cities like Antioch (the provincial capital), Damascus, Tyre, and Sidon (Phoenician cities), among others.
The story takes place in the region of Tyre, found in the province of Roman Syria, hence the title Syrophoenician. Matthew refers to her as a Canaanite woman, which indicates her religious affiliation. As Mark uses Syrophoenician, which is rather a neutral term.
The region had a history of deep Jewish-Gentile hostility, with Tyrians known as fierce enemies of the Jews. This tension is evidenced by violent incidents reported by the Jewish historian Josephus.
During the Jewish War that ended with the destruction of Jerusalem by Rome, the Tyrians killed a considerable number of their Jewish neighbors and imprisoned the rest in chains.
The Stage for the story of Jesus and the Syrophoenician Woman
The story of Jesus and the Syrophoenician woman follows from the interaction of Jesus with the Pharisees about food laws in Galilee. Jesus then travels with his disciples to the region of Tyre. As Mark tells us, he wanted to remain hidden.
It seems wherever he goes, crowds gather around him. The opposition to his message is growing by the day. His travel to Tyre would allow him to be left alone with his disciples so he can prepare them for what is coming (his death, resurrection, and the mission of the disciples afterwards).
But Jesus is recognized even in a Gentile territory. A Syrophoenician woman hears of his whereabouts and comes to find him.
At first, the story resembles a healing story that is found all through the gospels, as the woman asks Jesus to heal her daughter. Jesus’ response turns the story into something we do not find anywhere else in the gospels.
Read about the message behind the story of Jesus and the Rich Young Ruler
Let the children eat first
Jesus refuses to heal her daughter, using a term used by the Jews of the time to refer to Gentiles. He says, “Let the children first eat all they want, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
By applying the word “first,” Jesus signifies the time has not yet come.
We must not forget that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah. That doesn’t mean he isn’t the Savior of the world, but rather that he is much more.
He didn’t just come down from Heaven to heal and teach people how they should live. There are a couple of millennia of storyline from the Hebrew Scriptures that serve as a background for his appearance.
In that storyline, the promises already made by God to people like Abraham, David, and the people of Israel must be fulfilled first, as God is faithful to keep his promises. Israel must first be delivered not from Rome, as many believed, but from sin. In Matthew’s version, Jesus also says to the woman, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” Jesus’ reluctance to heal the daughter of the Gentile woman stems from this. His ministry is confined to the region of Israel.
Toss it to the “dogs”
To call someone a dog is to dishonor them. For the Jews, dogs represented something unclean, as they ate animal carcasses. This symbolized the Gentiles, who did not have the Law and were therefore considered unclean. Which is no more harsh than the insults coming from the Gentiles.
Jesus’ use of “dogs” is not one of contempt. He employs a common slur to make it clear that the time had not yet come for the Gentiles to become children in the kingdom of his Father. The Gentiles were strangers to the covenants of the promise made to Abraham and his descendants (see Ephesians 2:12). Jesus was going to make way for their inclusion, but not just yet.
Many also saw the deliverance of Israel as a sign that the time had come to include the nations in the kingdom, as foretold by the prophets(see Isaiah 49:6; 2:2-3; Psalm 22:27; Jeremiah 16:19).
The Faith of the Syrophoenician Woman
The woman extends the metaphor, identifies with the dogs, and asks for mercy in light of it. It seems that she has heard about who he is(that he is the Lord’s anointed) and what he can do. The obstacles put forth by Jesus were not enough to make her turn back. She was desperate and had an understanding of God’s mercy to persist.
The qualities shown by the Syrophoenician woman are also seen in multiple stories in the gospel of Mark. The woman who had been subject to bleeding believed that touching Jesus’ clothes would heal her. Against all her struggles to be cured for 12 years, she hoped(see Mark 5:25-34).
In the same way, the blind man who heard about Jesus’ arrival in Jericho didn’t hold back but shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.” When the crowd rebuked him to keep quiet, he shouted all the more (see Mark 10:46-52).
The woman pleads for the crumbs now, before the bread is offered.
Seeing her great faith, Jesus grants her request.
