Χαναναῖος G5478
Canaanite (ethnic/geographic designation for inhabitants of ancient Canaan)
This adjective identifies someone as belonging to the Canaanite people, the pre-Israelite inhabitants of the land God promised to Abraham's descendants. In Matthew 15:22, it describes the woman who persistently appeals to Jesus for her daughter's healing, highlighting her outsider status as a Gentile. Her Canaanite identity makes her faith-filled persistence all the more remarkable, since Jews and Canaanites had a long history of separation and hostility. Jesus ultimately commends her great faith, making this encounter a powerful preview of the gospel extending beyond Israel to the nations.
Senses
1. sense 1 — The sole New Testament occurrence (Matthew 15:22) designates the woman who approaches Jesus as ethnically Canaanite, emphasizing her status outside the covenant community of Israel. Cross-linguistic renderings ('Canaanite,' 'cananea,' 'Cananéenne') uniformly preserve this ethnic marker, which is crucial to the narrative's theological tension: a descendant of Israel's ancient enemies demonstrates exemplary faith. Mark's parallel account (7:26) calls her 'Syrophoenician,' reflecting the geographic overlap between ancient Canaan and first-century Phoenicia. 1×
AR["كَنْعَانِيَّةٌ"]·ben["কনানীয়"]·DE["Χαναναία"]·EN["Canaanite"]·FR["Cananéenne"]·heb["כְּנַעֲנִית"]·HI["चननैअ"]·ID["Kanaan"]·IT["chananaia"]·jav["Kanaan"]·KO["가나안-여인이"]·PT["cananeia"]·RU["Хананеянка"]·ES["cananea"]·SW["Mkanaani"]·TR["Kenanlı"]·urd["کنعانی"]
Related Senses
H5971a 1. people, nation (1836×)H5973a 1. accompaniment, together with (956×)H0854 1. with (accompaniment) (665×)H1471a 1. nations, peoples (plural/collective) (466×)G3326 1. with (368×)H1285 1. covenant, pact, treaty (284×)G2453 1. Jewish person, Jew (194×)H4150 1. meeting (tent of meeting) (151×)G2992 1. people/nation (an ethnic or political community) (142×)G4862 1. (129×)G1484 1. Gentiles, non-Jewish nations (128×)H1471a 2. nation, people-group (singular) (98×)H3162b 1. together (97×)H1616 1. sojourner, resident alien (92×)H0567 1. Amorite (people group) (87×)H3064 1. Jew, Jewish person (81×)H3669a 1. Canaanite (ethnic designation) (70×)G1122 1. scribe / expert in the Law (63×)H2114a 1. stranger, foreigner (person) (54×)H5608b 1. scribe, royal secretary (48×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
Χαναναῖος, -α, -ον Canaanite: γυνή, Mat.15:22.† (From Abbott-Smith. LSJ has no entry)