Greek/Syro-Phoenician Woman as Linguistic Commentary

[Charles Wilson]

Mark 7: 24 - 30 (RSV):

[24] And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house, and would not have any one know it; yet he could not be hid.
[25] But immediately a woman, whose little daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell down at his feet.
[26] Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophoeni'cian by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter.
[27] And he said to her, "Let the children first be fed, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."
[28] But she answered him, "Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs."
[29] And he said to her, "For this saying you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter."
[30] And she went home, and found the child lying in bed, and the demon gone.

Matthew 15: 21 - 28 (RSV):

[21] And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.
[22] And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and cried, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely possessed by a demon."
[23] But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, "Send her away, for she is crying after us."
[24] He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
[25] But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me."
[26] And he answered, "It is not fair to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."
[27] She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."
[28] Then Jesus answered her, "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire." And her daughter was healed instantly.

Our Poster Secret Alias (Stephan Huller) has had a very good day today ( viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5209 ):

My point is that there is a long history of early Christians arguing that the LXX is the more accurate reading of the Old Testament. Could the Church Fathers have argued that the Hebrew text was wrong?

I was about to quote some commentary on Michael Weitzman and the Development of the Peshitta in support of what SA had said:

http://www.syriacstudies.com/AFSS/Syria ... chard.html

"Weitzman adopts a somewhat mediating position in this regard, arguing that the Peshitta Old Testament originated with a marginalized Jewish community that was isolated from the rabbinic Judaism of its day. This community was on the one hand a part of Judaism so far as its national and religious roots were concerned, but on the other hand it was ideologically isolated from rabbinic Judaism so far as its religious beliefs and practices were concerned. Eventually, Weitzman suggests, this Jewish group converted to Christianity. When it did so, the group of course brought with it its Old Testament, namely the Peshitta. It is this fact that led both to the adoption of the Peshitta Old Testament by other Syriac-speaking Christians and to its preservation within the Christian (as opposed to the Jewish) community. The translation was made, according to Weitzman, probably in Edessa in the latter half of the second century CE. Weitzman sets forth this creative theory with tremendous erudition and with great attention to detail, arguing that in many instances the translators have left evidences of a theological Tendenz that enables us to discern something of their identity.

"Weitzman's beginning point for establishing this thesis is the book of Chronicles. As he himself points out, this is a rather strange place to begin given the fact that Chronicles was among the antilegomena in the Nestorian church. But the reason for Weitzman's choice of Chronicles as the main place to find hints of the translator's community alignment is that more so than any other book in the Peshitta Old Testament Chronicles differs from the MT. As Gordon, who edited Chronicles in the Leiden edition, says, 'in Chronicles the Syriac is unusually free in relation to the Hebrew text...'. Arguing that the translator was using a defective Hebrew Vorlage and that this caused him to assume more the role of a composer than that of a translator, Weitzman finds in four passages (viz., 1 Chron. 29.15-16; 2 Chron. 15.5-7; 1 Chron. 16.20; 2 Chron. 6.18) indications that the translator sympathetically positioned himself as a participant in the sorrow and embarrassment of the exile. This participation discloses the Jewish identity of the translator, according to Weitzman. He then marshals evidence to suggest that the translator of Chronicles distanced himself from both rabbinic and Pentateuchal norms with regard to the following areas: the calendar; priests and the temple; prayer and its hours; and various other religious values (e.g., charity, study, and faith, which were viewed as replacing sacrifice). When taken together these factors suggest that the translator was a Jew, but that he was out of step with the mainstream rabbinic community of his day. This disclosure of identity, Weitzman argues, is seen most clearly in Chronicles. Outside of Chronicles Peshitta translators less frequently, but decisively nonetheless, reveal their religions values toward such things as the following: prayer; sacrifice and the temple; negligence of the law; and faith and eternal life. Weitzman also cites places where these translators, as in the case of Chronicles, reveal themselves to be Jews, but Jews who were alienated from mainstream Judaism. All of these factors lead Weitzman to the conclusion that the translators of the Peshitta were Jews who eventually converted to Christianity."

Which leads us back to the Greek/Syro-Phoenician Woman. One could, I suppose, spend quite some time comparing Matthew to Mark and noting the differences between the two. I tend to think of Matthew as hiding meaning compared to Mark ("Are we to drown, for all you care..." vs. "Save Lord, we are perishing...", etc.), but Matthew certainly contains more information in the 2 verses 23 - 24. Verse 24 is a marker for Jannaeus. Verse 23 tells of the surrounding areas wanting the Rulership of the Hasmoneans. The inward looking disciples think of Self-Contained Israel. The Annexation of Galilee with the Lists that assign the Mishmarot Priesthood to Settlements argue for Expansionism (***NOTE: The NT use of Immer and Jehoiarib with the Settlements Jabnit and Meiron, respectively, though hidden, show that some form of the List existed MUCH earlier than is usually given - to the reign of Herod, at least.***)

What then, is the purpose of the Story of the Greek/Syro-Phoenician/Canaanite Woman?

If you take a Constructionist Position (That the NT was "Constructed" from various parts, both Historical and more "Form Critical", for effect), then the Woman is reflective of an argument as to whether the Hebrew Vorlage, to use Weitzman's language, should be translated at all. Jannaeus may have been expansionary in Scope but once Territory is acquired there are people who are NOT of "The Lost Sheep of the House of Israel".

"What do we do with them...?"

The Hasmonean Temple Apparatus gives a Center for Worshiping Jews, but others - many Unclean - are closing in and they want a part in the Worship Structure:

Josephus, Wars..., 5, 1, 3:

"...for those darts that were thrown by the engines came with that force, that they went over all the buildings, and reached as far as the altar, and the temple itself, and fell upon the priests, and those that were about the sacred offices; insomuch that many persons who came thither with great zeal from the ends of the earth, to offer sacrifices at this celebrated place, which was esteemed holy by all mankind, fell down before their own sacrifices themselves, and sprinkled that altar which was venerable among all men, both Greeks and Barbarians, with their own blood; till the dead bodies of strangers were mingled together with those of their own country, and those of profane persons with those of the priests, and the blood of all sorts of dead carcasses stood in lakes in the holy courts themselves..."

Note the language in Mark - given that the Translation and Intentionality are correct through 2000 years: "For this saying you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter."

This may be that "Puzzle Clue" that I like to see so often and the Tie-In to Secret Alias' quote above. There was here a common argument among the Jews that, "In confronting a World beyond Judea, do we look inward or outward? If we look outward, our Religion must be tightly held. Our knowledge of God should be kept in the language He gave us. What is given to them in their language, from the Greek to the Syrian, must be very carefully managed..."

Others came along who did not think so Linearly...

CW

[Charles Wilson]

Mark 7: 25 - 26 (RSV):

[25] But immediately a woman, whose little daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell down at his feet.
[26] Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophoeni'cian by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter.

Note that this is in Mark, a gospel that leaves small "Clues" in the Stories. These bits of Data argue in a minor way for Markan Priority.

Here, that small pointer is "...whose little daughter...". Also, the woman was "a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth".
We have seen this before:

Mark 5: 18 - 20 (RSV):

[18] And as he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him.
[19] But he refused, and said to him, "Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you."
[20] And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decap'olis how much Jesus had done for him; and all men marveled.

This Culture War was significant.

Josephus, Antiqities..., 13, 13, 2 - 3, in part:

2. "...Now there were some of her friends who persuaded her to seize Alexander, and to overrun and take possession of the country, and not to sit still and see such a multitude of brave Jews subject to one man. But Ananias's counsel was contrary to theirs, who said that she would do an unjust action if she deprived a man that was her ally of that authority which belonged to him, and this a man who is related to us; "for (said he) I would not have thee ignorant of this, that what in justice thou dost to him will make all us that are Jews to be thy enemies. This desire of Ananias Cleopatra complied with, and did no injury to Alexander, but made a league of mutual assistance with him at Scythopolis, a city of Celesyria.

"3. So when Alexander was delivered from the fear he was in of Ptolemy, he presently made an expedition against Coelesyria. He also took Gadara, after a siege of ten months. He took also Areathus, a very strong fortress belonging to the inhabitants above Jordan, where Theodorus, the son of Zeno, had his chief treasure, and what he esteemed most precious..."

The Story of the Greek/Syro-Phoenician/Canaanite Woman is not simply a single piece of evidence that one might "guess" might be involved with Jannaeus (and Salome) and that this is reflected in the NT by some random accretion of Stories. A major part of Mark is the Story of Jannaeus and the Hasmoneans with the Main Character of Jannaeus being rewritten into the Roman savior/god of the NT.

The "Little Daughter" from the Woman who was "Greek and of Syro-Phoenician Birth" may be seen as a Story of the Expansionist desires of Jannaeus, who desires to reclaim the Greek "Decapolis" and return to the rule of "Greater Israel".

CW