dogs

In the Gospel According to Matthew 15:26 (NABRE), Jesus responds to a Canaanite woman’s request for assistance by saying: “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” Jesus’ response initially seems rather harsh.

The Greek word translated here as “dogs,” κυνάριον (kunarion), is a diminutive form that means either small or young dogs. Both cases indicate the idea of youth not able to fend fully for themselves. In this passage, the intention appears to be to contrast human children and dog children in order to create an analogy describing Jewish young and Gentile young.

What does Jesus end up doing? What does this suggest about his attitude? Do you think Jesus is advocating not feeding puppies? How might we view Jesus’ statement as inclusive of Gentiles rather than exclusive of them? How do you think that the people who witnessed this event responded?

related topic: humility

you also may like our study of Saul, David & Solomon
The United Kingdom of Israel: Saul, David & Solomon Foreshadow Christ the King, a 28-lesson Catholic Bible study with an imprimatur, provides an in-depth look at the First and Second Books of Samuel to learn how the lives of the monarchs Saul, David, and Solomon point ahead to the kingdom of heaven. The unified reign of King David is seen as a foreshadowing or type of the unity that is one of the four marks of the Church—the kingdom of God—established by Jesus Christ. Click on the book’s cover to view a sample lesson.

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