syrophoenician Summary and Overview
Bible Dictionaries at a Glance
syrophoenician in Fausset's Bible Dictionary
Mark 7:26; the woman is a remarkable case of faith outside of Israel, and of Jesus' exceptional healing beyond the precincts of the elect nation, His special sphere; parallel to Elijah's ministration to the widow of Zarephath (Luke 4:26-27). Mark terms her a "Greek," i.e. a Gentile; Matthew (Matthew 15:22) "a woman of Canaan," i.e., like the Phoenicians her countrymen, she was a descendant of Canaan the accursed race, yet she became blessed by Jesus through faith. Syrophoenicia is the northern end of the long strip, Phoenicia, and had Tyre for its capital.