Text -- Matthew 15:17-39 (NET)

15:17 Don’t you understand that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach and then passes out into the sewer? 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.”

A Canaanite Woman’s Faith

15:21 After going out from there, Jesus went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 15:22 A Canaanite woman from that area came and cried out, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is horribly demon-possessed!” 15:23 But he did not answer her a word. Then his disciples came and begged him, “Send her away, because she keeps on crying out after us.” 15:24 So he answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 15:25 But she came and bowed down before him and said, “Lord, help me!” 15:26 “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs,” he said. said. 15:27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 15:28 Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, 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 Then large crowds came to him bringing with them the lame, blind, crippled, mute, and many others. They 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 the 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. 15:37 They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. 15:38 Not counting children and women, there were four thousand men who ate. 15:39 After sending away the crowd, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Mat 15:17

¹ tn Or “into the latrine.”

NET Notes: Mat 15:20

¹ tn Grk “but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a person.”

NET Notes: Mat 15:21

¹ map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

² map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

NET Notes: Mat 15:22

¹ 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).

² tn Grk The participle ἐξελθοῦσα (exelqousa) is here translated as a finite verb. The emphasis is upon her crying out to Jesus.

³ tn Grk “cried out, saying.” The participle λέγουσα (legousa) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.

NET Notes: Mat 15:23

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then.”

² tn Grk “asked him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.

NET Notes: Mat 15:24

¹ 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.

NET Notes: Mat 15:25

¹ 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).

² tn Grk “she bowed down to him, saying.”

NET Notes: Mat 15:26

¹ 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.

² 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.

³ tn Grk “And answering, he said.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant and has not been translated.

NET Notes: Mat 15:27

¹ tn Grk “she said.”

NET Notes: Mat 15:28

¹ tn Grk “Then answering, Jesus said to her.” This expression has been simplified in the translation.

² 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.

NET Notes: Mat 15:30

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then.”

² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

NET Notes: Mat 15:32

¹ 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.

NET Notes: Mat 15:36

¹ tn Grk “was giving them to the disciples, and the disciples to the crowd.”

NET Notes: Mat 15:37

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

NET Notes: Mat 15:38

¹ tc ‡ Although most witnesses (B C L W ˹³ 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.

² tn Grk “And those eating were four thousand men, apart from children and women.”

NET Notes: Mat 15:39

¹ sn Magadan was a place along the Sea of Galilee, the exact location of which is uncertain.