Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 64:3 (Sep 2021)
Article: Following The Crumbs: Revisiting The Authenticity Of Jesus’s Encounter With The Syrophoenician Woman
Author: Keldie Paroschi

JETS 64:3 (September 2021) p. 509

Following The Crumbs: Revisiting The Authenticity Of Jesus’s Encounter With The Syrophoenician Woman

Keldie Paroschi*

* Keldie Paroschi is a PhD student at Asbury Theological Seminary, 204 N. Lexington Ave., Wilmore, KY 40390. She may be contacted at [email protected].

Abstract: Scholars have raised doubts concerning the authenticity of Mark’s account of Jesus’s encounter with the Syrophoenician woman. Gerd Theissen presents a formidable argument in favor of the story’s historical core in light of the historical context of the encounter, a context many scholars have tended to accept. However, there have been significant advances in Galilee studies since the publication of his survey nearly thirty years ago, thus prompting a reevaluation of the historical, social, and economic relations between Upper Galilee and Tyre. Additionally, an analysis of the historical background embodies only one aspect of an assessment of a Gospel narrative’s authenticity. In order to establish the story’s essential historicity, the present study will offer a holistic analysis of Mark 7:24–30, first considering the historical background of the narrative, then discussing Jesus’s aphorism in Mark 7:27, and finally reviewing the exorcism attributed to Jesus. For this analysis, different criteria of authenticity will be employed to assess the story. This study concludes that when the encounter is assessed holistically, the degree of probability for its authenticity increases.

Key words: historical Jesus, Syrophoenician woman, Galilee, Tyre, Theissen, criteria of authenticity

The Markan Jesus is portrayed as intentionally crossing “social, cultural, ethnic, and religious boundaries to demonstrate his compassion for all in need of a physician.”1 Jesus’s encounter with the Syrophoenician woman, reported in Mark 7:24–30 and Matthew 15:21–28, is one of the main examples of such an attitude. Correspondingly, scholars have raised doubts concerning the authenticity of the narrative because of various features within it, such as Jesus venturing into Gentile territory (Mark 7:24; Matt 15:21), Jesus initially refusing to attend to the woman and employing harsh language to address her (Mark 7:27; Matt 15:24–26), and the fact that this story constitutes the only recorded case...