COMMENTARY ON THE BIBLE DAILY LIVING

MATTHEW 15:21-28.

MINISTRY IN PHENICE : After preaching again in Capernaum, Jesus left Galilee to go to

Phenicia, where he preached in Tire and Sidon. Upon his return, he crossed the region of the
Decapolis, fed the four thousand by the sea, and immediately went to Magdala.

15.22 This woman is mentioned as a Syrophoenician in the Gospel of Mark (7.26), indicating that
she was from the northwest territory of Galilee, where the cities of Tire and Sidon were located.
Matthew calls her a Canaanite, referring to her ancestors, who were enemies of Israel. Matthew's
Jewish audience would immediately understand the significance of Jesus helping that woman.

15.23 The disciples asked Jesus to get rid of the woman because she was boring them with her
lamentations. They showed no sensitivity to her needs or compassion for her. It is possible to be
very busy with spiritual matters to the point of overlooking the spiritual needs that exist around us,
either due to prejudices or simply because of the inconveniences they cause. Instead of getting
bored, be aware of the opportunities around you. Stay receptive to the beauty of God's message for
all and strive not to dismiss those who are different from you.

15.24 Jesus' words do not contradict the truth that God's message is for everyone ( Psa_22:27 ;
Isa_56:7 ; Matt_28:19 ; Rom_15:9-12 ). After all, Jesus ministered to the Gentiles on many
occasions during his ministry. He was simply telling the woman that the Jews had the first
opportunity to accept Him as the Messiah because God wanted them to present the message of
salvation to the rest of the world (see Gen_12:3 ). Jesus did not reject her. Jesus may have wanted to
test their faith or he may have wanted to take the opportunity to teach a lesson about the availability
of faith to all.

15.26-28 Dog was a term that the Jews generally applied to all Gentiles, because the Jews
considered pagans to be like dogs for not receiving God's blessing. Jesus was not degrading women
by using this term but rather reflecting the attitude of the Jews as opposed to his own. The woman
did not argue. Using Jesus' own words, she agreed to be considered a bitch as long as she could
receive God's blessing for her daughter. Ironically, many Jews lost God's blessing and salvation
because they rejected Jesus and many Gentiles found salvation because they recognized Jesus.

NEW 21ST CENTURY BIBLE COMMENTARY

Matthew 15:21-28
The faith of a Gentile woman (see Mar. 7:24-30). The issue of pollution arises again in a more
practical form. Jesus, the Jewish teacher, had arrived in Gentile territory and was confronted by a
Gentile woman who had a demon-possessed daughter. The resulting dialogue focused on the
question of the extent to which a Gentile could expect any benefits from the Jewish Messiah (the
Son of David ).

The story is very similar to that of the centurion's servant (8:5-13), not only in that faith was
rewarded by healing with the word given from a distance, but also in the racial tension that put that
faith to the test. By describing the woman as a Canaanite, Matthew aggravates the matter. The
Canaanites were the traditional enemies of Israel in the OT.

Jesus' discouraging silence (23) was followed by a surprising declaration of the Jewish approach to
his mission (24; cf. 10:5, 6). His words seemed to leave no room for hope, but the woman persisted
with a simple appeal for help, only to be confronted by an even more offensive saying, comparing
Gentiles to little dogs (for the Jews, dogs were unclean animals).

The language seems incredibly harsh, especially when expressed by Jesus himself, who a little
earlier had welcomed the faith of the Gentile centurion as a first fruit for the Gentiles in the future
to enjoy the blessings of Israel. It is possible that the cold printed page hides an element of irony,
even playful in Jesus' tone. Anyway, he was confronting him with the kind of language a Gentile
might expect from a Jew, and his faith rose to the test. Her response in v. 27 recognized the priority
of Jesus' mission to Israel but, despite this, called for an extension of that mission to the Gentiles.
She had realized the plan that God had been carrying out since the calling of Abraham in (Gen.
12:1-3), and that, in time, would extend the church beyond the boundaries of Israel. For this faith
she was appropriately rewarded.

COMMENTATED BIBLE – SALAMANCA TEACHERS

21
Jesus left there and retired to the borders of Tire and Sidon. 22 A Canaanite woman
coming out of those places began to shout, saying, Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of
David; My daughter is badly tormented by the devil. 23 But He did not answer him a
 word. The disciples came to him and besought him, saying, Send her away, for she
comes shouting after us. 24 He answered and said, I have not been sent except to the lost
sheep of the house of Israel. 2 S But she came and prostrated herself before Him, saying,
Lord, help me! 26 He answered and said, It is not good to take the children's bread and
throw it to the dogs. 27 But she said: True, Lord, but the little dogs also eat of the
crumbs that fall from their masters' table. 28 Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, great
is your faith! Let it be done to you as you wish. And from that hour his daughter was
cured.

It was questioned whether Christ had not entered Syrian territory, but rather remained close to its
limits, because of the vagueness of the expression. But this can indicate income 14 . However, v.22
of Mt seems to suggest the opposite, as this woman “went out of her surroundings” to see Christ.
And he “entered a house” (Mc). It seemed to suggest that of some known Jew 15 . But it could be
one of the Gentiles who had heard him.
Christ, upon retiring to this region, or extremities of Galilee, must seek rest for his disciples
that he could not find in the region of Bethsaida ( Mar_6:31 ), and spend with them a few days of
formation and discussions about the Kingdom . But he didn't succeed here either (Mc). The country
of Tire touched Northern Galilee 16 . And from “the surroundings of Tire and Sidon” they had heard
Christ in Galilee, by the Lake, and had witnessed many healings ( Mar_3:8,11 ). Mt will say, on the
occasion of Christ's activity in Galilee, that “his fame had spread throughout all Syria” (
Matt_4:24 ).
The news of their arrival soon spread, and among those who heard about it was a woman,
who was, according to Mt, “Canaanite,” and according to Mc, “Greek of Syro-Phoenician origin.”
The name of Mt, calling it Canaanite, perhaps only aims to indicate that it was not Jewish,
Gentile, but rather wants to indicate it with the toponymy of the first inhabitants of Phoenicia, who
were Canaanites ( Gen_10:15 ). But Mc's name is much more precise. This woman was a Hellenic
(έλληνι'ς); This surely expresses their language and religion. And by origin she was Syro-
Phoenician. Since Pompey (64 BC), Phenicia became a Roman province incorporated into Syria.
Being Syro-Phoenician 17 means Phoenician belonging to the Roman province of Syria, to
distinguish it from the Phoenicians of Libya: from the “Libyo-Phoenicians,” of whom Strabo speaks
l8
.
This woman, coming to meet Christ, “fell at his feet” (Mc); and shouting in an oriental
manner, he asks for the healing of his daughter, calling him “Son of David.” This title was
messianic ( Matt_21:9 ) and strictly Jewish. How does this Canaanite woman use this locally used
adjective? The most logical thing is that it is a literary loan from Mt, although it would not be
repugnant if it were an echo of previous acclamations of the mobs, among which there were people
from these regions ( Mar_3:8 ).
This woman, according to the environment, attributes her daughter's illness to a demon. The
expression alone is not enough to determine whether it is a true diabolical possession or simple
popular and credulous ways of valuing illnesses ( 1Sa_16:14.23 ; 1Sa_18:10 ; 1Sa_19:9 ).
The woman insisted a lot with her oriental cries, so much so that the disciples begged her to
say goodbye. Possibly the term suggests that he finds it amusing ( Matt_18:27 ; Matt_27:15f ;
Luke_2:29 ; Luke_13:12 ; Luke_14:4 ). But Christ is slow to respond: it was waiting to excite faith.
Christ's first response is that He had been sent personally to the people of Israel who are
fallen due to Pharisaic messianic disorientation. It was nothing more than God's plan. The Jew not
only had a primacy, by geographical reason, to come to faith, but also by reason of privilege: by
descending from the "fathers," and by having had the "revelations" ( Rom_3:1.2 ; Rom_9: 4-6 ).
The apostles would take faith to the “ends of the earth” ( Acts 1:8 ). Mc omits this, because writing
for a Gentile audience was less interested in highlighting Jewish privilege.
“It is not right to take the bread of the children (this is Israel, Exo_4:23 ; Isa_1:2 ;
Jer_31:20 ; Hose_11:1 ) 19 and throw it to the dogs (Gentiles) (Mt). Mark, writing for ethnic people,
transcribes the phrase saying that “first” let him attend to the “children.” With this, the phrase is
softened and literary universalized. It was not an outright rejection, since he says that “first” he
attends to Israel. And he added the following, which would seem very harsh: “because it is not right
to take the children's bread and give it to the dogs.” Mt only picks up this second form; Mc, both.
Jewish literature knows this metaphorical expression of “dogs.” Pagan gods were sometimes called
20
by it; others, the Gentile nations, the non-Jews 21 .
It has been shown how this expression in the mouth of Christ does not have the crudeness
that it seems to a Western mentality. These expressions and other harsher ones are not surprising in
Semitic graphics. Even less in the intention of Christ, who was going to praise that woman's faith
and heal her daughter.
Because, with a faith and an insistence and a logic taken from what happens in homes, he
will tell you that it is not necessary to take bread from the children, but, as happens in homes,
without taking bread from the children , the little dogs also eat the same bread, only the crumbs that
“fall” from their masters' table. He, who was the great paterfamilias of Israel, could also do, and
much better, what the fathers could do at home. This was not this woman's insistence, lack of life. It
was his whole heart that created a dialectic of exceptional faith and trust. So exceptional, that in
God's plan for children an exception was made for this Gentile woman.
And Jesus praised the faith of this woman in contrast to so many in Israel – a theme in her
historical moment – and in her own Nazareth and in her same “family,” who did not “believe” in
Him, so she could not perform miracles ( Mat_13:58 ), and “at that very moment” the miracle was
done. It was a new miracle at a distance. The woman left full of faith in the word of Jesus: “she
returned home” and found the girl “lying on the bed and that the demon – perhaps an epileptic
disease – had come out” (Mc).
This miracle is a scene full of tenderness: it speaks of the heart of Jesus, of the Father's
plans, of his exceptions, of the trust of a Gentile woman; In the apologetic order, a miracle is
exposed at a distance, without autosuggestions and with instantaneous healing; In the order of
God's plan, there was the privilege of the Jews, but the vocation of the people: the unique
salvation of all by faith. It is a theme highlighted by Acts and Saint Paul. It worried the early
Church a lot.
A series of fabulous legends were formed around the Canaanite woman, collected by the
author of the Clementine Homilies 22 .

COMMENTARY ON THE NEW TESTAMENT – WAYNE

PARTAIN AND BILL H. REEVES
Matthew 15:21-28

15:21 -- Jesus left there and went to the region of Tire and Sidon. - “The jealousy of Herod
(14:1f), the hostility of the Pharisees (12:14; 15:1,12; also 4:12; John 43:1-3 ), and the fanatical
ideas of the masses ( John 6: 15 ) they still forced Jesus to withdraw from Galilee, as before in
14:13” (JAB). This is the first time he left Palestine to walk in a foreign country. Some suppose that
he did not leave Palestine, but Mark 7:31 says, “31 Leaving again from the region of Tyre, he came
through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, passing through the region of the Decapolis.” Mar_7:1-37 , “24
He rose up from there and went to the region of Tire and Sidon; And entering a house, he did not
want anyone to know.” Jesus did not enter Tire and Sidon to preach, but because he wanted to have
time to relax and unwind from the activities of the past few weeks in Galilee. However, Marcos
adds the phrase, “but he could not hide” (“he could not remain hidden,” FL). He had plenty of fame
( Matt_4:24 ), and even there he was known.

15:22 -- And behold, a Canaanite woman ( Mark 7:1-37 , "25 whose daughter had an unclean
spirit, as soon as she heard of it... 26 The woman was a Greek, and a Syrophoenician by
nation; she had come out of that region ; ) cried out to him: Lord, Son of David, (9:27; 12:23;
20:30; 21:9, 15; this name is equivalent to Messiah. She had a lot of faith in Christ, v 28) have
mercy on me! My daughter (little daughter, Mar_7:25 , V. M.) is seriously (terribly, WEV)
tormented by a demon (very demonic). - He said, “have mercy on me,” but in reality he was
asking for his daughter; A faithful mother suffers when her children suffer. “He makes his
daughter's case his own” (JAB); “He made his daughter's problem his own” (ATR). As this mother
and her daughter were inseparable, so must the disciples of Christ be. The demons tormented their
victims physically and mentally, but they could not make them sin. They were impartial, for in this
case he was tormenting a gentile girl.

15:23 But Jesus did not answer him a word. - Why the delay in responding to you? Compare 9,
“27 As Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying out and saying, Have mercy
on us, Son of David! 28 And when he came to the house, the blind men came to him; and Jesus said
to them: Do you believe that I can do this? They said: Yes, Lord. 29 Then he touched their eyes,
saying, According to your faith be it unto you. As far as we know, Jesus did not say anything to
these two blind men on the road. Then, “arriving home,” he listened to them and opened his eyes.
John 6:1-71 , “5 When Jesus lifted up his eyes and saw that a great crowd had come to him, he said
to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these to eat?” 6 But he said this to test him; because he
knew what he had to do .” Joh_11:6 ; John_11:15 . Jesus tested people's faith, and allowed their
faith to mature and refine. In this case he let this woman's faith express itself. If Jesus had healed his
daughter immediately, we would not have had the beautiful expression of humility and faith of vv
26, 27. “God's silence should never be interpreted as an indication that He is not willing to answer
our prayers. Even when He is silent, He is possibly arranging the very response we desire. His
silence may indicate his desire for us to learn the discipline of patient prayer and humble waiting.
God answers our prayers but maybe he doesn't do it according to the time schedule we try to impose
on Him” (HF); “The effect was to develop, strive, and manifest faith” (JAB). Then his disciples
(probably twelve) came and besought him, saying, Send her away, for she cries after us. No
doubt Jesus already knew what he was going to do (as in the texts cited above), but the apostles did
not understand any of it. Perhaps they say this on the basis that “Jesus did not answer him a word.”
At first Jesus “did not answer her a word,” but he did not send her away .

15:24 And he answered (his disciples) and said, I am not sent except to the lost sheep of the
house of Israel. - In several texts the people of Israel are called the flock of God, Psalm 79:13 ;
1Ki_22:17 ; Eze_34:1f . Christ's personal ministry on earth was to the Jews, Mat_10:5 , Mat_10:6 ;
Rom_1:16 . Jesus did not come into the world to preach to all nations. That ministry would be
carried out by the apostles later (28:19). Jesus was born, lived, worked and suffered among his own
nation, the Jews, but at the same time he was training the apostles to work among all nations. He
clearly told the Jews that he had “other sheep that are not of this fold”; refers to the Gentiles. John
10:1-42 , “16 I also have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must also bring those, and they will
hear my voice; and there will be one flock, and one shepherd.” But as John says, John 1:1-51 , “11
He came to his own, and his own did not receive him” even though He worked almost exclusively
among them. How much more would they have rejected him if he had also worked among the
Gentiles?

15:25 -- Then she came and fell down before him, (she was a very humble woman; she
worshiped Christ, see 14:33, notes) saying, Lord, help me! (This is another example of
importunity -- persevering in prayer -- taught by Jesus in Luke 11:5-8 ; Luke 18:1-8 . In such cases
of importunity we see the difference between true prayer that pleases God and prayer as a mere
formality. Whether in private or in the church meeting, if we are going to “have prayer,” we do well
to pray – the sincere and fervent expression of the heart – and not simply “say a prayer.” This
woman knew well that Christ was her only hope and what about us? Do we have another one?

26 He answered and said, It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.
(Jesus does not say “dogs” as in 7:6, but uses the diminutive form, “little dogs”, house animal, pet.
Jesus did not share the prejudice of the Jews against the Gentiles as can be seen in 8:10-12; Luke
4:25-26 )

27 And she said: Yes, Lord (we must always agree with the Lord no matter what he tells us) ; but
even the little dogs (under the table, Mark_7:28 ) eat the crumbs that fall from their masters'
table (even during the meal. She accepted that Jesus was sent to the Jews, but although she was
submissive to what He said, she sought another truth, another aspect of her will to continue
appealing to Him for her daughter. Therefore, his argument was that even during his ministry to the
Jews, he could give “crumbs” to a poor Gentile. This woman was humble but also very smart. By
saying “little dog” Jesus “gave the woman an argumentative handle which she did not take long to
grab” (JWM). She did not express resentment or ask, “why.” He did not deny what Jesus said, but
simply took this good opportunity to express his humility and faith. Why wasn't she offended? Why
didn't he say, as many say in such a case, "Very well, if you don't want to help me and just want to
insult me, that's up to you, I'm leaving"? Because this woman was not selfish, but loved her
daughter fervently and for that reason she had a firm and singular purpose: she wanted with all her
heart for Jesus to heal my daughter; For that reason it persisted.
15:28 -- Then Jesus answered and said, O woman, great is your faith; (8:10, “not even in Israel
have I found such faith” as that of the centurion, a Gentile; here in this woman Jesus finds another
case of exceptional faith, and again in a Gentile. This woman's faith overcame several obstacles: the
disciples say, “send her away”; Jesus did not pay attention to him; Then he gave a negative answer.
He spoke to Jesus as Jacob spoke to the angel: Gen_32:1-32 , “26 I will not leave you unless you
bless me.” “The world is always admiring and praising greatness, but that of intelligence or
imagination, that of ambition or strength of character, beauty or kindness, that of erudition or
discoveries, possessions or conquests; here we have the noblest praise of the truest greatness”
(JAB). “Faith can find encouragement even in what is discouraging, and draw closer to God by
taking the hand that is extended to withdraw it” (MH).
-- be done with you as you wish. And her daughter was healed since then. (8:13; 9:22).

COMMENTARY ON THE NEW TESTAMENT – WILLIAM

BARCLAY
FAITH PROVEN AND CONFIRMED
Matt_15:21-28

When Jesus left there, He withdrew to the districts of Tire and Sidon. And look: A Canaanite
woman from that region addressed Him shouting:
-Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! There is a demon that does nothing but torment my
daughter.
But Jesus did not answer him anything, and His disciples turned to Him and asked Him:
Send her away, because she comes after us screaming.
Then Jesus said to the woman:
-I have not been sent except to the lost sheep of the people of Israel.
But she came closer to Him and knelt before Him, pleading with Him:
-Lord, help me!
"It is not right," Jesus answered, "to take bread from the children to throw it to the dogs."
It's true, Lord -She answered him-; but the little dogs also eat the crumbs that fall from the
gentlemen's table.
To that Jesus answered:
-How much faith you have, woman! May you be granted what you want.
And the woman's daughter recovered her health at that very moment.

This passage has tremendous implications. Apart from everything else, it describes the only time
Jesus left Jewish territory. The supreme significance of the passage is that it announces the release
of the Gospel to the whole world; It shows us the beginning of the end of all barriers.
For Jesus this was a time of deliberate withdrawal. The end was approaching, and He wanted to
be a little quiet to prepare for the end. It was not so much that He wanted to prepare Himself,
although no doubt He would have that in mind as well, but rather He wanted to have some time to
prepare His disciples for the day of the Cross. There were things I had to tell them, and I had to
make them understand.
There was no place in Palestine where He could be sure that He would be left alone; wherever
He went, people found Him. So he went to the extreme north of Galilee, and from there he went to
the land of Tire and Sidon where the Phoenicians lived. There, at least for a time, he would be safe
from the evil hostility of the scribes and Pharisees, and from the dangerous popularity of the people,
for no Jew would dare follow him into Gentile territory.
This passage presents us with Jesus seeking a time of tranquility before the conflagration of the
end. This is not an evasion in any sense, but rather Jesus' preparation of Himself and His disciples
for the final and definitive battle that was to take place very soon.
But even in those foreign regions Jesus would not be free from the clamorous demands of human
need. There was a woman who had a daughter who was seriously besieged. He must have heard
something about the wonderful works that Jesus was doing, and he began to follow him desperately
crying out for help. At first it seems that Jesus does not pay any attention to him. The disciples felt
uncomfortable, and they said to Him: "Give him anything now, so that he will leave us alone." The
reaction of the disciples was not precisely compassion, but quite the opposite: that woman was
annoying to them, and what they wanted was to get rid of her as soon as possible. Granting a
request to get rid of the applicant who is, or may become, a nuisance to you is a most common
reaction; but it is very different from the response of Christian pity, compassion and love.
But for Jesus that was not a problem. We cannot doubt that He felt moved to mercy towards that
woman. But she was a gentle one. And not only that: he belonged to the ancient Canaanite people,
who were the ancestral enemies of the Jews from whom the current Palestinians are probably
descendants. Still at that time, or not long after, Josephus wrote: "Among the Philistines, those who
are most angry at us are the Brios." We have already seen that, if Jesus was to have any effect, He
had to limit His field of action and His objectives as a wise strategist. I had to start with the Jews;
and here was a Gentile crying out for mercy. Jesus could only do one thing: he had to awaken true
faith in that woman's heart.
So Jesus turned to the woman and said to her, "It is not right to take bread from the children and
throw it to the dogs." Comparing a person to a dog has always been, especially among Semites, one
of the worst insults. The Jews spoke with arrogant insolence of "the Gentile dogs," "infidel dogs,"
and later "Christian dogs." In those days dogs were filthy scavengers in the streets - emaciated,
wild, often sick. But we have to remember two things.
Many times everything depends on the tone and gesture with which something is said.
Something that would seem brutal can be said with a smile and a loving pat. We Spaniards and
Hispanics know this very well, as we often use the worst insults as praise, naturally depending on
the context and tone: "Come on, you're a...!" We can be absolutely sure that the smile on Jesus' face
and the compassion on His lips and eyes stripped the comparison of any offensive meaning.
And also, that He used the terrible word in the diminutive, not dogs, but little dogs (kynaria),
which were not stray dogs but the eating animals that lived in the houses, very different from the
pariah dogs that walked the streets and They dug through the trash in search of food.
The woman would be Greek by culture, and therefore quick-witted to grasp difference and
opportunity. "It's true "Sir," she answered; But little dogs also get something from the crumbs that
fall from their masters' table. And Jesus' eyes lit up with joy at such indomitable faith, and he
granted the request, the blessing and the healing that she so desired.

THE FAITH THAT OBTAINED THE BLESSING

Mat_15:21-28 (conclusion)
There are some things about this woman that we should pay attention to. (i) First and foremost, he
had love. As Bengel said of her: "She made her daughter's misery her own." She may have been a
pagan, but she had in her heart that love for her daughter that is always the reflection of God's love
for His children. It was love that prompted her to go out to meet that Stranger; It was love that made
her accept His silence and yet continue pleading; It was love that made him accept the seemingly
harsh rejection; It was love that made him see the compassion beneath and behind Jesus' words. The
driving force of this woman's heart was love; and there is nothing stronger or closer to God than
that same thing.
(ii) This woman had faith. (a) A faith that grew in contact with Jesus. He began by calling him
Son of David; that was a popular and even political title. It was applied to Jesus as the great and
powerful Wonder Worker, but still only in terms of earthly power and glory. He came asking for a
favor from One whom he took to be the greatest and most powerful Man . He came with a kind of
superstition, as if he went to any magician. He ended up calling Jesus Lord.
Jesus, as it were, forced her to look at Him, and in Him she discovered something that could not
be expressed in earthly terms, because it was nothing less than divine. That was precisely what
Jesus wanted to awaken in her before granting her request. I wanted him to see that the supplication
addressed to a great man must be transformed into a prayer to the living God. We can see this
woman's faith grow as she comes face to face with Christ to the point of seeing Him, although as if
through a fog, as He Who Is.
 (b) It was a faith that he worshiped. He began to follow Him, but ended up kneeling in front of
Him; He began by addressing a request, but ended by speaking to him in prayer. Whenever we
come to Christ, we must begin by worshiping His Majesty, and only then can we present our need
to Him.
(iii) The woman had indomitable perseverance. He was impervious to discouragement. Many
people, someone has said, go to prayer because they do not want to stop trying everything. They
don't really believe in prayer; but they do not rule out the possibility that it may be useful for
something. But this woman came to Jesus, not as someone who might help her, but as her only
hope. He came with a passionate hope, with a feeling of need that cried out to Heaven, and with a
determination not to be discouraged. Mark He had the one quality that is supremely effective in
prayer: He was tremendously serious. Prayer was not a ritual formula for her, but rather her way of
pouring out before God the passionate desire of her soul, which somehow she thought could not -
nor should, nor had to - accept a negative answer.
(iv) This woman had the gift of optimism. I was surrounded by problems; he took things
passionately seriously; and yet he knew how to smile. He had a sunny heart. God loves happy
hearts, faith in whose eyes the light of hope always shines, faith with a smile that can dispel the
shadows.
This woman came to Christ with a gallant and audacious love, with a faith that continued to
grow until she knelt in adoration at the feet of the Divine, with an indomitable perseverance that
sprang from an inalienable hope, with a joy that dispelled discouragement. That is the way to go
that cannot help but find the answer to your prayers.

EXPOSITIVE DICTIONARY - VINE

CANAAN, CANANITES

k e na>an (º['n"K]), «Canaan»; k e na> a néÆ (ynI[}n"K]), «Canaanite; merchant". In 9 cases

"Canaan" is the name of a person and 80 times it has to do with a place. The descendants of
"Canaan", inhabitants of the land of the same name, are called "Canaanites" 72 times. Most cases
appear from Genesis to Judges, although they are also scattered throughout the Old Testament.

The first time that a person bears the name "Canaan" is in Gen 9:18: "Ham was the father of
Canaan" (cf. Gen 10.6). At the end of a list of the nations that descended from “Canaan,”
Gn10:18–19 adds: “Then the clans of the Canaanites were scattered. The border of the Canaanites
extended from Sidon to Gaza” (RV A). "Canaan" is the land west of the Jordan, as indicated in
Num 33:51: "When you have crossed the Jordan into the land of Canaan" (cf. Jos 22.9–11). When
God called him, Abram set out “for the land of Canaan. Then they came to the land of Canaan…
The Canaanites were then in the land” (Gen 12:5–6). Later, God would promise Abram: "To your
descendants I will give this land... [the land of the] Canaanites" (Gen 15:18-20; cf. Ex 3.8, 17;
Joseph 3:10). "Canaanite" is a general term for all the children of "Canaan": "When the Lord your
God has brought you into the land which you are going to enter to possess, and has driven out many
nations from before you... [of the ] Canaanites» (Dt 7.1 RV A). One of these peoples are the
Amorites, whose wickedness, God tells Abram, "has not reached its full extent" (Gen 15:16; cf. Jos
24:15, 18).

"Canaanite" also has specificity as the name of a people: "The Canaanites live by the sea and on the
banks of the Jordan" (Num 13:29 RV A; cf. Josh 5.1; 2S 24.7). Since they were merchants,
"Canaanite" becomes a symbol of "merchant" in Pr 31:24 and Job 41:6. It is notable that Hosea,
referring to Israel's sins, says: "Like a [Canaanite] merchant holding false scales in his hand, he
loves oppression" (Hosea 12:7 KJV;cf. Zeph 1:11).

Genesis 9.25–27 imprints a theological meaning on “Canaan” from the beginning: “Cursed be
Canaan. Let him be the servant of his brothers' servants... Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Shem,
and let Canaan be his servant. May God magnify Japheth... and let Canaan be his servant.
Prophetically, Noah imposed this curse on "Canaan" because his father saw Noah's nakedness and
shamelessly told his brothers. Ham's sin, deeply rooted in his youngest son, can be seen in the later
history of the Canaanites. With the admonition: "Nor will you do as they do in the land of Canaan
to which I am taking you," Lev 18.3ff. lists at length the perversions that were forbidden to Israel.
The list concludes with another admonition: "You shall not defile yourselves with any of these
things, for with all these things the peoples whom I cast out before you have defiled themselves"
(Lev 18:24 KJV).

The order to destroy the "Canaanites" was very specific: "When the Lord your God has... defeated
them, then destroy them completely... You will tear down their altars, you will break their ritual
stones... For you are a holy people to the Lord your God" (Deut. 7.2–6 RV A). However, all too
often the house of David and Judah “built high places, ritual stones, and Asherah trees, on every
high hill and under every green tree. There were also men in the land dedicated to ritual
prostitution, and they did according to all the abominable practices of the nations that Jehovah had
driven out before the children of Israel" (1 Kings 14:23-24 RV A; cf. 2 R 16.3–4; 21.1–15). The
nations mentioned were “Canaanites”; In this form "Canaanite" came

To be synonymous with all kinds of moral and religious perversion. This fact is reflected in
Zech14:21: "And in that day there will be no more merchants ["Canaanites"] in the house of the
Lord of Hosts." A “Canaanite” was not allowed to enter the tabernacle or temple; Never again
could one of his people who practiced the abominations of the “Canaanites” enter the house of the
Lord.

This prophecy speaks of the last days and will be fulfilled in the New Jerusalem, according to Rev
21:27: "Nothing impure or that commits an abomination or lies will ever enter into it" (cf. Rev
22.15).

The two words, "Canaan" and "Canaanite" are found in the New Testament in Acts 7:11 and 13:19.

BIBLE DICTIONARY - CERTAINTY

CANANITES

The descendants of Canaan, son of Ham, grouped into the different branches of the Jebusites,
Amorites, Girgashites, Hivites, Aramites, Sinites, Arvadites, Zemarites, and Hammatites. Their
territory was “from Sidon, in the direction of Gerar, to Gaza; and in the direction of Sodom,
Gomorrah, Adma and Zeboim, as far as Lasa" (Gen. 10:15-19). In Gen. 15:18-21, where the land
promised to Abram extends to the Euphrates River, ten nations are mentioned: the Kenites,
Kenizzites, Kadmoneites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and
Jebusites (cp. Dt. 7:1; Josh. 3:10). Here and in other passages the Canaanites are only one people
among many; In other passages the term Canaanite seems to include any of the inhabitants of
Canaan, as in Joseph. 17:12, 13; Neh. 9:24; Abd. twenty; Zac. 14:21. This same term is translated
"merchant" in Jb. 41:6; Pr. 31:24; Es. 23:8; also in Zac. 14:21 could mean "there will be no more
merchant in the house of Jehovah of hosts" (as the RV 1960 version translates; cp. Jn. 2:16).

BIBLE DICTIONARY – HISPANIC WORLD

Canaan, Canaanites.

1. The son of Ham (Genesis 9—10), whose descendants occupied Canaan and took their name from
that country ( <010918> Genesis 9:18, 22; 10:6). 2. Canaan was one of the ancient names for Palestine
(the land of the Canaanites whom the Israelites evicted). Egyptian inscriptions from 1800 BC. by
J.C. They use it for the coastal strip between Egypt and Asia Minor. In the Amarna letters of 1400
BC. From JC, the name is applied to the Phoenician coast. According to Scripture, the Canaanites
lived throughout the land ( <070109> Judges 1:9, 10) and included the entire pre-Israelite population,
even east of the Jordan ( <011206> Genesis 12:6; 24:3, 37; <060310> Joshua 3:10). The language of Canaan
( <231918> Isaiah 19:18) refers to the group of Western Semitic languages of which Heb., Phoenician,
and Moabite were dialects. The continued presence of the Canaanites with their pagan practices
created serious religious problems for the Israelites.