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Matthew 15: From Jerusalem's scribes to the district of Tyre and Sidon, and back to the lake

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Matthew 14:34ESV

And when they had crossed over, they came to land at .

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Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from and said,

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And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of and .

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Jesus went on from there and walked beside the . And he went up on the mountain and sat down there.

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And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of .

Matthew 16:13ESV

Now when Jesus came into the district of , he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

Matthew 14
Matthew 16

Pharisees and scribes come to Jesus from Jerusalem to ask why his disciples eat with unwashed hands, and he answers that what defiles a person comes out of the heart. He withdraws to the district of Tyre and Sidon, where a Canaanite woman from that region begs him for her daughter and the girl is healed. Back beside the Sea of Galilee he heals great crowds on the mountain and feeds four thousand men with seven loaves and a few small fish, then goes by boat to the region of Magadan.

Map of Matthew 15: From Jerusalem's scribes to the district of Tyre and Sidon, and back to the lake — 5 sites plotted

Regions on this map

Verse 29: the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus walks and heals the crowds; verse 39: Magadan, where the boat takes him after the four thousand are fed.

  • Jesus walks beside the Sea of Galilee on his way back from the north, and goes up on the mountain there to heal the crowds (15:29). All 500 gazetteer votes go to the lake.

    Today: Sea of Galilee (Lake Kinneret), northern Israel (representative point)

  • Where Jesus goes by boat after feeding the four thousand (15:39); Matthew says "the region of Magadan". The gazetteer's leading identification is Majdal on the west shore of the lake (428 votes, plus 20 more for the same site); 34 votes put it on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee instead.

    Today: Majdal (Migdal), on the west shore of the Sea of Galilee

Verse 1: Jerusalem, where the Pharisees and scribes come from.

  • Named once, as where the Pharisees and scribes come from to question Jesus about the tradition of the elders (15:1). All 500 gazetteer votes go to Jerusalem.

    Today: Jerusalem, the Old City

Verses 21 and 22: Tyre and Sidon, the district Jesus withdraws to and where the Canaanite woman comes from.

  • Named with Tyre as "the district of Tyre and Sidon" that Jesus withdraws to (15:21), the region the Canaanite woman comes out from (15:22). All 500 gazetteer votes go to the ancient city in modern Sidon.

    Today: Saida, on the coast of Lebanon

  • The first of the two coastal cities that name the district Jesus withdraws to (15:21). Matthew says he went to their district, not into either city. All 500 gazetteer votes go to Tyre.

    Today: Sour, on the coast of southern Lebanon

Matthew 15, verse by verse

  1. Matthew 15:1Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from and said,
  2. Matthew 15:21And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of and .
  3. Matthew 15:29Jesus went on from there and walked beside the . And he went up on the mountain and sat down there.
  4. Matthew 15:39And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of .