Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician descent. And she repeatedly asked Him to cast the demon out of her daughter.
Parallel translations
- WEB Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by race. She begged him that he would cast the demon out of her daughter.
- KJV The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.
- BSB Now she was a Greek woman of Syrophoenician origin, and she kept asking Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.
- NKJV The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter.
- NLT and she begged him to cast out the demon from her daughter. Since she was a Gentile, born in Syrian Phoenicia,
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The woman, a Syrophoenician Gentile, begged Jesus to free her daughter from a demon. Her request tests and reveals genuine faith.
Overview
Mark stresses the woman's Gentile identity, highlighting that she had no covenant claim on Israel's Messiah. Yet she persisted in pleading for her daughter's deliverance. Her encounter illustrates how faith, not ethnicity, opens the door to Christ's mercy, anticipating the gospel's reach to all nations.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Matt 15:22Behold, a Canaanite woman came out from those borders, and cried, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, you son of David! My daughter is severely possessed by a demon!”
- Col 3:11where there can’t be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondservant, freeman; but Christ is all, and in all.
- Isa 49:12Behold, these shall come from afar; and behold, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.”
- Gal 3:28There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 7:26 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.