Texts in Conversation
The exchange between Jesus and the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15 may allude to an Aramaic tradition, later preserved in the translation of Exodus in Targum Neofiti, where non-Israelites are compared to dogs to express cultural exclusion.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Matthew 15:27
New Testament
21 After going out from there, Jesus went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Canaanite woman from that area came and cried out, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is horribly demon-possessed!” 23 But he did not answer her a word. Then his disciples came and begged him, “Send her away because she keeps on crying out after us.” 24 So he answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and bowed down before him and said, “Lord, help me!” 26 “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs,” he said. 27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, your faith is great! Let what you want be done for you.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.
Date: 70–90 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
Neofiti Exodus 22:30
Targum
27 My people, sons of Israel, do not despise your judges or curse the ruler among your people. 28 Do not delay gathering your tithes and priestly contribution. Consecrate your firstborn male sons to my Name. 29 Do the same with your cattle and sheep. For seven days the young animal must be reared behind its mother; on the eighth day they must set it apart to my Name. 30 You must be a people consecrated to my Name. Do not eat meat torn by a wild animal, killed out in the field. Throw it to a dog, or throw it to a gentile stranger, who is compared to a dog.
Date: 300–1000 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Another passage of Neofiti (Exodus 22:30) gives the proper dimension of Jesus' answer to the Canaanite woman (Matthew 15:26): he only repeats, without sanctioning it, a traditional expression of the contempt with which in the Jewish ambient the pagans were looked upon ..."
Roger Le Déaut, “Targumic Literature and New Testament Interpretation,” BTB 4.3 (1974): 247.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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