wash their hands: That is, a ceremonial cleansing to adhere to tradition rather than out of concern for hygiene. Later, the Babylonian Talmud (Sotah 4b) puts eating with unwashed hands on par with having relations with a harlot, and it states that those who lightly esteem hand washing will be “uprooted from the world.”

a gift dedicated to God: The scribes and Pharisees taught that money, property, or anything that a person dedicated as a gift to God belonged to the temple. According to this tradition, a son could keep the dedicated gift and use it for his own interests, claiming that it was reserved for the temple. Some evidently evaded the responsibility of caring for their parents by dedicating their assets in this way.​—Mt 15:6.

hypocrites: See study note on Mt 6:2.

illustration: Or “parable.”​—See study note on Mt 13:3.

adulteries: The plural form of the Greek word for “adultery” (moi·kheiʹa) is used here and could be rendered “acts (cases) of adultery.”​—See Glossary, “Adultery.”

sexual immorality: The plural form of the Greek word por·neiʹa is used here and could be rendered “acts (cases) of sexual immorality.”​—See study note on Mt 5:32 and Glossary.

look!: See study note on Mt 1:20.

Phoenician: Or “Canaanite.” Greek, Kha·na·naiʹa. The early inhabitants of Phoenicia descended from Canaan, Noah’s grandson (Ge 9:18; 10:6), and in time, “Canaan” came to refer primarily to Phoenicia.​—See study note on Mr 7:26, where the woman is called a “Syrophoenician.”

Son of David: See study notes on Mt 1:1; 15:25.

did obeisance to him: Or “bowed down to him; paid him homage.” By calling Jesus “Son of David” (Mt 15:22), this non-Jewish woman evidently recognizes him as the promised Messiah. She renders obeisance to him, not as to a god or a deity, but as to a representative of God.​—See study notes on Mt 2:2; 8:2; 14:33; 18:26.

children . . . little dogs: Since dogs were unclean according to the Mosaic Law, the Scriptures often use the term in a derogatory sense. (Le 11:27; Mt 7:6; Php 3:2; Re 22:15) However, in both Mark’s account (7:27) and Matthew’s account of Jesus’ conversation, the diminutive form of the term meaning “little dog” or “house dog” is used, softening the comparison. Perhaps this indicates that Jesus was suggesting an affectionate term for household pets in non-Jewish homes. By likening Israelites to “children” and non-Jews to “little dogs,” Jesus evidently wanted to indicate an order of priority. In a household that had both children and dogs, the children would be fed first.

the maimed being made sound: These words are omitted in a few manuscripts, but the majority of early manuscripts and many later manuscripts include them.

feel pity: Or “feel compassion.”​—See study note on Mt 9:36.

large baskets: Or “provision baskets.” The Greek word sphy·risʹ used here seems to denote a type of basket that is larger than the ones used on an earlier occasion when Jesus fed about 5,000 men. (See study note on Mt 14:20.) The same Greek word is used for the “basket” in which Paul was lowered to the ground through an opening in the wall of Damascus.​—See study note on Ac 9:25.

as well as women and young children: Only Matthew mentions the women and the young children when reporting this miracle. It is possible that the total number of those miraculously fed was over 12,000.

Magadan: While no place called Magadan is known today in the region around the Sea of Galilee, some scholars believe that Magadan is the same locality as Magdala, which is considered to be Khirbet Majdal (Migdal), about 6 km (3.5 mi) NNW of Tiberias. In the parallel account (Mr 8:10), the area is called Dalmanutha.​—See App. B10.