Why Would Jesus Call a Woman a Dog?

There are some verses in the Bible that when you read Jesus’ words you have to stop for a second and ask “wait, what did he just say? What did he mean by that?”

Of course, we should always ask these questions when we read the words of Jesus so we can get a better understanding of his teachings, but that’s not what I am talking about here.

I am talking about the times when Jesus says something that seems to be out of character. Like for instance, “to those who have more will be given” (I’ve written about that topic here). Another instance is Matthew 15:26, where it appears as if Jesus is calling a woman a dog. This is the verse we are going to look at today.

Throwing the Children’s Bread to the Dogs

Jesus was in the area of Tyre and Sidon when a Canaanite woman approached him seeking help for her daughter, who had a demon. Jesus originally ignored her and then denied her request, saying he came to save only the lost sheep of Israel.

Jesus’ ministry had not yet spread to the Gentiles, he had come to save Israel first. Israel was to be the city on the hill that shined the light of salvation on the rest of the world.¹ We’ll come back to this at the end…

She persisted, came and knelt before him, and asked for help. This is when Jesus said the following:

 “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” ²

This verse is very offensive to skeptics who are looking for verses to show that Jesus was not God, never mind being an all-loving God. The skeptic points out that this seems quite misogynistic actually.

They ask, how could Jesus call a desperate woman a dog when she had come to him for help? But this is based on a cursory reading of the verse, and without putting it in context.

Part of me thinks that most skeptics understand Jesus was using a metaphor to make a point, and was not directly calling the woman a dog, although maybe they do not understand the full extent of the metaphor.

Nevertheless, here we go.

The “children” represent Israel and Jesus is the bread of life. The term “dog” was a popular insult among the Jewish people at that time to describe Gentiles.

Skeptics sometimes claim that Jesus using this slur is offensive enough on its own, however Jesus was “setting the table” (if I am allowed to use a metaphor to explain a metaphor) and to do this he used the vernacular of the day that also happened to fit the metaphor he was using.

But there is more: it should also be noted that Jesus used a diminutive (κυνάριον) of the word which is translated as dog (κύων.) This diminutive means “lap dog” or “pet dog” and not the more offensive term “wild dog” which was usually used to describe Gentiles. The use of the diminutive here makes sense within this particular metaphor and it was not used derogatively.³

The Woman’s Response

How did the woman respond?

²⁷ She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”⁴

She did not take offence at the supposed slur, and she did not complain and say it wasn’t fair. She did not get angry. She understood what Jesus meant, and then she expanded on the metaphor.

She was saying that Jesus could feed the children of Israel first. They could eat and have their fill, and she would be waiting there just to have a chance of getting a scrap. She would take whatever Jesus would give her, and she had faith that Jesus could and would help her.

This is how Jesus responded:

²⁸ Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly

Jesus was testing her faith. While the disciples wanted Jesus to send her away because she was bothering them, Jesus engaged her in conversation, saw into her soul, and found her to have faith.

Jesus was not degrading the woman with a slur and the woman apparently understood this. In fact not only did he heal the woman’s daughter, but he used this situation to teach the disciples a lesson about God’s grace.

Jesus took the supposed slur and turned it around 180 degrees to show there would be no barriers to God’s grace based on ethnicity. God’s grace would soon be available to anybody who believes in Jesus and who has faith in him. God’s grace would not be just for the Israelites, but for the Gentiles also.

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1. See Isaiah 49:6 ↩︎
2. Matthew 15:26 ESV ↩︎
3. See the NET Full Notes Edition Study Bible for more. In part:
   The diminutive form originally referred to puppies or little dogs, then to house pets. … The term dogs does not refer to wild dogs (scavenging animals roving the countryside) in this context, but to small dogs taken in as house pets. It is thus not a derogatory term per se. ↩︎
4. Matthew 15:27 ESV ↩︎