Mark 7:24-30 can be interpreted by use of historical context through location and faith, literary aspects through metaphors and spiritual sense through a deeper meaning and explanation of how to use this passages meaning in our lives today.
In this paper, I will both explain the social groups in Mark 7:24-30 and explain the metaphor of the children and the dogs to prove that the Syrophoenician woman talking to Jesus was surprising because background as a Gentile. In this paragraph I will be explaining the historical context that includes the location of where the passage takes place and the background of the womans’ faith. The passage takes place in Tyre, a Phoenician city with a Gentile population. Because of this, Jews of course did not live in Tyre so it would be very unlikely for Jesus to go there because there wouldn’t be any believers. Jews despised Gentiles not because of their cultural differences, but because of their difference in idols and tolerance of sins. The woman was a Gentile and women in Gentile society were disrespected and were thought very little of. The fact that the woman tried to talk to Jesus was unexpected because of her faith and where she lived.
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There are three parts of the metaphor, the dogs, the children and the food. The dogs represent the Gentiles, the children represent the Jews and the food represents Gods teaching and Jesus’ miracles. When Jesus says, “Let the children be fed first. For it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs” he means that the Jews should receive Gods spoken word first and then the Gentiles should receive it. When the woman replies and says, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps” she is telling him that even the Gentiles eat the word of God that is given to the Jews. This is used to acknowledge the prior claim of the Jews on Jesus’