Συροφοίνισσα (Surophoinissa)
Surophoinissa
Syrophoenician
Quick Reference
- Language
- Koine Greek
- Testament
- New Testament
- Occurrences
- 1 verses
- Root
- —
Word Overview
The noun Surophoinissa identifies a woman from the Syrophoenician region, a mixed population of Syrians and Phoenicians living north of Israel. Mark 7:26 specifies that she was "of Greek stock," highlighting her foreign status in a Jewish context. The term literally translates to "Syro-Phoenician," distinguishing these inhabitants of the northern coast from the Carthaginian Phoenicians of North Africa.
This single occurrence carries significant narrative weight, as it marks the only time this specific ethnic label appears in the New Testament. By using a precise geographical and ethnic identifier rather than a generic term like "Gentile," the text emphasizes the cultural boundary Jesus is crossing. The woman’s identity underscores the unexpected nature of her faith and the expansion of the gospel beyond traditional Jewish boundaries.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The term Syrophoenician points to a woman whose identity crossed every cultural line Jesus had walked his whole life. Mark’s Gospel tells us she was Greek by stock and Syrophoenician by race, placing her firmly outside the Jewish community. Yet it is this very distance that makes her faith so striking. She did not come with insider knowledge or religious privilege; she came with a desperate love for her daughter.
Her story reminds us that God’s mercy has no borders. When Jesus healed her child, he showed that the gospel was never meant to stay within one nation. For you, this means your background, your past, or your differences do not disqualify you from receiving grace. The same compassion that reached a foreign mother in ancient Galilee is available to you today.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 1 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- Syrophoenician1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- Συροφοινίκισσα1×
Key Verses
-
Mark 7:26
Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by race. She begged him that he would cast the demon out of her daughter.
This verse uses the specific ethnic label Syrophoenician to highlight the cultural distance between Jesus and the woman, making her bold faith even more significant.