International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Syrophoenician

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International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Syrophoenician


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sı̄´ro-fḗ-nish´an, sir-ṓ- (Συροφοίνισσα, Surophoinissa, Συροφοινίκισσα, Surophoinı́kissa; Westcott and Hort, The New Testament in Greek has variant Súra Phoinikissa; the King James Version Syrophenician): The woman from the borders of Tyre and Sidon whose daughter Jesus healed is described as “a Greek, a Syrophoenician by race” (), and again as “a Canaanitish woman” (). This seems to mean that she was of Canaanite descent, a native of the Phoenician seaboard, Greek in religion, and probably also in speech. The names Syria and Phoenicia are both applied to the same region in , . Syrophoenician may therefore denote simply an inhabitant of these parts. According to Strabo (xvii. 3), this district was called Syrophoenicia to distinguish it from the North African Lybophoenicia.