October 7, 2026 | The Syro-Phoenician Woman's Daughter & The Deaf and Mute Man | Lesson 358

MATT. 15:21-31; MARK 7:24-37

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THE SYRO-PHOENICIAN WOMAN'S DAUGHTER: One time Jesus went to the borders of Tyre and Sidon. These were cities of Phoenicia on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea north of the land of Israel. A woman of the region (a Gentile) came to him and begged him to heal her daughter.

The country of Phoenicia was a long, narrow strip of land bounded on the east by the Lebanon mountain range and on the west by the Mediterranean Sea. The limits or boundaries of the country are indefinite and have been variously described as 28 to 160 miles long and one to 30 miles wide. In the ancient world the Phoenicians were famous seamen whose ships sailed the Mediterranean and Red Seas. The Phoenicians had colonies as far west in the Mediterranean as Spain and Carthage (North Africa) to carry on their sea trade. In New Testament times the Phoenicians were prosperous but under the control of the Roman Empire.

The cedar trees of the Lebanon mountain range were a profitable item of trade for the Phoenicians. In the 10th century B. C., King Hiram I of Tyre (c. 981-947 B. C.) supplied Solomon with craftsmen and these timbers for the construction of the temple and palace (I Kings 5; II Chron. 2).

The Phoenicians developed a process for the dyeing of silk, wool, linen, and cotton fabrics. The dye was obtained from the murex shellfish which were abundant along the Phoenician coast. These snails secrete a yellowish fluid which makes a permanent purple dye when boiled and treated, and 250,000 of these shellfish were required in order to produce one ounce of this dye (Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary, p. 288). Tyrian purple became famous throughout the world, and the quality was so excellent and expensive only the wealthy royalty could afford it.

The Phoenician alphabet, which had evolved from earlier Canaanite writings, was in use about 1000 B. C. and became one of the most important exports of the Phoenicians due to their extensive maritime trade. Alphabetic writing was thus introduced throughout the western world. From this alphabet most modern alphabets derived including the Greek, Latin, and English alphabets.

THE DEAF AND MUTE MAN: Jesus departed from the region of Phoenicia and returned to the area around the Sea of Galilee. According to Matthew the multitudes brought to him many lame, blind, mute (dumb), and maimed to be healed. When they beheld the miraculous cures, they glorified the God of Israel. Mark relates one specific miracle that Jesus performed—the healing of one who was deaf and had a speech impediment.