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Matthew 15

Discovery Box

Breaking Human Traditions

15:1 Then Pharisees¹ and experts in the law² came from Jerusalem³ to Jesus and said,⁴ 15:2 “Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their⁵ hands when they eat.”⁶ 15:3 He answered them,⁷ “And why do you disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition? 15:4 For God said,⁸ ‘Honor your father and mother’⁹ and ‘Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.’¹⁰ 15:5 But you say, ‘If someone tells his father or mother, “Whatever help you would have received from me is given to God,”¹¹ 15:6 he does not need to honor his father.’¹² You have nullified the word of God on account of your tradition. 15:7 Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said,

15:8 ‘This people honors me with their lips,

but their heart¹³ is far from me,

15:9 and they worship me in vain,

teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”¹⁴

True Defilement

15:10 Then he called the crowd to him and said,¹⁵ “Listen and understand. 15:11 What defiles a person is not what goes into the mouth; it is what¹⁶ comes out of the mouth that defiles a person.” 15:12 Then the disciples came to him and said, “Do you know that when the Pharisees¹⁷ heard this saying they were offended?” 15:13 And he replied,¹⁸ “Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted. 15:14 Leave them! They are blind guides.¹⁹ If someone who is blind leads another who is blind,²⁰ both will fall into a pit.” 15:15 But Peter²¹ said to him, “Explain this parable to us.” 15:16 Jesus²² said, “Even after all this, are you still so foolish? 15:17 Don’t you understand that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach and then passes out into the sewer?²³ 15:18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a person. 15:19 For out of the heart come evil ideas, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 15:20 These are the things that defile a person; it is not eating with unwashed hands that defiles a person.”²⁴

A Canaanite Woman’s Faith

15:21 After going out from there, Jesus went to the region of Tyre²⁵ and Sidon.²⁶ 15:22 A²⁷ Canaanite woman from that area came²⁸ and cried out,²⁹ “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is horribly demon-possessed!” 15:23 But he did not answer her a word. Then³⁰ his disciples came and begged him,³¹ “Send her away, because she keeps on crying out after us.” 15:24 So³² he answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 15:25 But she came and bowed down³³ before him and said,³⁴ “Lord, help me!” 15:26 “It is not right³⁵ to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs,”³⁶ he said.³⁷ 15:27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied,³⁸ “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 15:28 Then³⁹ Jesus answered her, “Woman,⁴⁰ your faith is great! Let what you want be done for you.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.

Healing Many Others

15:29 When he left there, Jesus went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up a mountain, where he sat down. 15:30 Then⁴¹ large crowds came to him bringing with them the lame, blind, crippled, mute, and many others. They⁴² laid them at his feet, and he healed them. 15:31 As a result, the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing, and they praised the God of Israel.

The Feeding of the Four Thousand

15:32 Then Jesus called the⁴³ disciples and said, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have already been here with me three days and they have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry since they may faint on the way.” 15:33 The disciples said to him, “Where can we get enough bread in this desolate place to satisfy so great a crowd?” 15:34 Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They replied, “Seven – and a few small fish.” 15:35 After instructing the crowd to sit down on the ground, 15:36 he took the seven loaves and the fish, and after giving thanks, he broke them and began giving them to the disciples, who then gave them to the crowds.⁴⁴ 15:37 They⁴⁵ all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. 15:38 Not counting children and women,⁴⁶ there were four thousand men who ate.⁴⁷ 15:39 After sending away the crowd, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.⁴⁸

[15:1] ¹ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[15:1] ² tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[15:1] ³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[15:1] ⁴ tn The participle λέγοντες (legontes) has been translated as a finite verb so that its telic (i.e., final or conclusive) force can be more easily detected: The Pharisees and legal experts came to Jesus in order to speak with him.

[15:2] ⁵ tc ‡ Although most witnesses read the genitive plural pronoun αὐτῶν (autwn, “their”), it may have been motivated by clarification (as it is in the translation above). Several other authorities do not have the pronoun, however (א B Δ 073 Ë¹ 579 700 892 1424 pc f g¹); the lack of an unintentional oversight as the reason for omission strengthens their combined testimony in this shorter reading. NA²⁷ has the pronoun in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[15:2] ⁶ tn Grk “when they eat bread.”

[15:3] ⁷ tn Grk “But answering, he said to them.”

[15:4] ⁸ tc Most mss (א*^,2 C L W 0106 33 Ï) have an expanded introduction here; instead of “For God said,” they read “For God commanded, saying” (ὁ γὰρ θεὸς ἐνετείλατο λέγων, Jo gar qeo" eneteilato legwn). But such expansions are generally motivated readings; in this case, most likely it was due to the wording of the previous verse (“the commandment of God”) that caused early scribes to add to the text. Although it is possible that other witnesses reduced the text to the simple εἶπεν (eipen, “[God] said”) because of perceived redundancy with the statement in v. 3, such is unlikely in light of the great variety and age of these authorities (א¹ B D Θ 073 Ë^1,13 579 700 892 pc lat co, as well as other versions and fathers).

[15:4] ⁹ sn A quotation from Exod 20:12; Deut 5:16.

[15:4] ¹⁰ sn A quotation from Exod 21:17; Lev 20:9.

[15:5] ¹¹ tn Grk “is a gift,” that is, something dedicated to God.

[15:6] ¹² tc The logic of v. 5 would seem to demand that both father and mother are in view in v. 6. Indeed, the majority of mss (C L W Θ 0106 Ë¹ Ï) have “or his mother” (ἢ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ, h thn mhtera autou) after “honor his father” here. However, there are significant witnesses that have variations on this theme (καὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ [kai thn mhtera autou, “and his mother”] in Φ 565 1241 pc and ἢ τὴν μητέρα [“or mother”] in 073 Ë¹³ 33 579 700 892 pc), which is usually an indication of a predictable addition to the text rather than an authentic reading. Further, the shorter reading (without any mention of “mother”) is found in early and important witnesses (א B D sa). Although it is possible that the shorter reading came about accidentally (due to the repetition of –ερα αὐτοῦ), the evidence more strongly suggests that the longer readings were intentional scribal alterations.

tn Grk “he will never honor his father.” Here Jesus is quoting the Pharisees, whose intent is to release the person who is giving his possessions to God from the family obligation of caring for his parents. The verb in this phrase is future tense, and it is negated with οὐ μή (ou mh), the strongest negation possible in Greek. A literal translation of the phrase does not capture the intended sense of the statement; it would actually make the Pharisees sound as if they agreed with Jesus. Instead, a more interpretive translation has been used to focus upon the release from family obligations that the Pharisees allowed in these circumstances.

sn Here Jesus refers to something that has been set aside as a gift to be given to God at some later date, but which is still in the possession of the owner. According to contemporary Jewish tradition, the person who made this claim was absolved from responsibility to support or assist his parents, a clear violation of the Mosaic law to honor one’s parents (v. 4).

[15:8] ¹³ tn The term “heart” is a collective singular in the Greek text.

[15:9] ¹⁴ sn A quotation from Isa 29:13.

[15:10] ¹⁵ tn Grk “And calling the crowd, he said to them.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesamenos) has been translated as attendant circumstance. The emphasis here is upon Jesus’ speaking to the crowd.

[15:11] ¹⁶ tn Grk “but what.”

[15:12] ¹⁷ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[15:13] ¹⁸ tn Grk “And answering, he said.”

[15:14] ¹⁹ tc ‡ Most mss, some of which are significant, read “They are blind guides of the blind” (א¹ C L W Z Θ Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat). The shorter reading is read by א*^,2 B D 0237 Epiph. There is a distinct possibility of omission due to homoioarcton in א*; this manuscript has a word order variation which puts the word τυφλοί (tufloi, “blind”) right before the word τυφλῶν (tuflwn, “of the blind”). This does not explain the shorter reading, however, in the other witnesses, of which B and D are quite weighty. Internal considerations suggest that the shorter reading is original: “of the blind” was likely added by scribes to balance this phrase with Jesus’ following statement about the blind leading the blind, which clearly has two groups in view. A decision is difficult, but internal considerations here along with the strength of the witnesses argue that the shorter reading is more likely original. NA²⁷ places τυφλῶν in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[15:14] ²⁰ tn Grk “If blind leads blind.”

[15:15] ²¹ tn Grk “And answering, Peter said to him.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation.

[15:16] ²² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[15:17] ²³ tn Or “into the latrine.”

[15:20] ²⁴ tn Grk “but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a person.”

[15:21] ²⁵ map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[15:21] ²⁶ map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[15:22] ²⁷ tn Grk “And behold a Canaanite.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[15:22] ²⁸ tn Grk The participle ἐξελθοῦσα (exelqousa) is here translated as a finite verb. The emphasis is upon her crying out to Jesus.

[15:22] ²⁹ tn Grk “cried out, saying.” The participle λέγουσα (legousa) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[15:23] ³⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then.”

[15:23] ³¹ tn Grk “asked him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[15:24] ³² tn Grk “And answering, he said.” The construction in Greek is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the disciples’ request.

[15:25] ³³ tn In this context the verb προσκυνέω (proskunew), which often describes worship, probably means simply bowing down to the ground in an act of reverence or supplication (see L&N 17.21).

[15:25] ³⁴ tn Grk “she bowed down to him, saying.”

[15:26] ³⁵ tn Grk “And answering, he said, ‘It is not right.’” The introductory phrase “answering, he said” has been simplified and placed at the end of the English sentence for stylistic reasons. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[15:26] ³⁶ tn Or “lap dogs, house dogs,” as opposed to dogs on the street. The diminutive form originally referred to puppies or little dogs, then to house pets. In some Hellenistic uses κυνάριον (kunarion) simply means “dog.”

sn The term dogs does not refer to wild dogs (scavenging animals roaming around the countryside) in this context, but to small dogs taken in as house pets. It is thus not a derogatory term per se, but is instead intended by Jesus to indicate the privileged position of the Jews (especially his disciples) as the initial recipients of Jesus’ ministry. The woman’s response of faith and her willingness to accept whatever Jesus would offer pleased him to such an extent that he granted her request.

[15:26] ³⁷ tn Grk “And answering, he said.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant and has not been translated.

[15:27] ³⁸ tn Grk “she said.”

[15:28] ³⁹ tn Grk “Then answering, Jesus said to her.” This expression has been simplified in the translation.

[15:28] ⁴⁰ sn Woman was a polite form of address (see BDAG 208-9 s.v. γυνή 1), similar to “Madam” or “Ma’am” used in English in different regions.

[15:30] ⁴¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then.”

[15:30] ⁴² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[15:32] ⁴³ tc ‡ Although the external evidence is not great (א W Θ 700 pc), the internal evidence for the omission of αὐτοῦ (autou, “his”) after “disciples” is fairly strong. The pronoun may have been added by way of clarification. NA²⁷, however, includes the pronoun, on the basis of the much stronger external evidence.

[15:36] ⁴⁴ tn Grk “was giving them to the disciples, and the disciples to the crowd.”

[15:37] ⁴⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[15:38] ⁴⁶ tc ‡ Although most witnesses (B C L W Ë¹³ 33 Ï f sy^s,p,h mae) read “women and children” instead of “children and women,” it is likely that the majority’s reading is a harmonization to Matt 14:21. “Children and women” is found in early and geographically widespread witnesses (e.g., א D [Θ Ë¹] 579 lat sy^c sa bo), and has more compelling internal arguments on its side, suggesting that this is the original reading. NA²⁷, however, agrees with the majority of witnesses.

[15:38] ⁴⁷ tn Grk “And those eating were four thousand men, apart from children and women.”

[15:39] ⁴⁸ sn Magadan was a place along the Sea of Galilee, the exact location of which is uncertain.