Tyre and Sidon

Illustration of Tyre and Sidon

Tyre and Sidon were prominent ancient Phoenician port cities along the Mediterranean coast, frequently referenced in the Old Testament as centers of trade and sometimes judged for their idolatry and pride. In the New Testament Gospels, Jesus traveled into these Gentile regions, where a Syrophoenician woman approached Him pleading for her demon-possessed daughter to be healed. After testing her persistence, Jesus commended her great faith and declared the child delivered, resulting in an immediate healing. This account highlights the expansion of Jesus' ministry beyond Israel, demonstrating that genuine faith can cross ethnic boundaries and receive divine mercy.

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Details

Region
Canaan
Modern Location
Tyre (Sour) and Sidon (Saida), Lebanon
Strongest connections in Scripture
Mark 7 Matthew 11

Nearby Places

(within ~40 km)

Key Passages

The Syrophoenician Woman

Mark 7:24-30

A Gentile woman's persistent faith impresses Jesus - her willingness to accept even 'crumbs' from His table demonstrates faith that transcends ethnic boundaries.

A24nd from thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid.

25 For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet: 26 The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter. 27 But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the childrenโ€™s bread, and to cast it unto the dogs. 28 And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the childrenโ€™s crumbs. 29 And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter. 30 And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.

Woe to Tyre and Sidon

Matthew 11:21-22

Jesus declares that pagan Tyre and Sidon would have repented if they had seen His miracles - a sobering indictment of the Jewish cities that witnessed and rejected Him.

W21oe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

22 But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.

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