The Meaning of Mark 7:24 Explained

Mark 7:24

KJV: And from thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid.

YLT: And from thence having risen, he went away to the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and having entered into the house, he wished none to know, and he was not able to be hid,

Darby: And he rose up and went away thence into the borders of Tyre and Sidon; and having entered into a house he would not have any one know it, and he could not be hid.

ASV: And from thence he arose, and went away into the borders of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered into a house, and would have no man know it; and he could not be hid.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And  from thence  he arose,  and went  into  the borders  of Tyre  and  Sidon,  and  entered  into  an house,  and would have  no man  know  [it]: but  he could  not  be hid. 

What does Mark 7:24 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Mark normally began a new paragraph with the Greek word kai ("and"). Here he used de ("and" or "now"). This difference indicates a significant change in the narrative. The hostility of Israel"s leaders led Jesus to correct them "and" to leave Galilee for ministry elsewhere.
The New Testament writers often spoke of Phoenicia as the land of Tyre and or Sidon because they were the two notable cities of the region. Tyre stood on the Mediterranean coast about40 miles northwest of Capernaum. Jesus went there to be alone with the disciples. Nevertheless His fame accompanied Him, and He was not able to remain incognito. Josephus described the people of this region as "notoriously our bitterest enemies." [1]

Context Summary

Mark 7:24-37 - A Mother's Faith Rewarded
Before faith can be fully exercised we must take the right attitude toward Christ. His mission at that time was to the Jewish people; they were the children. This woman had no claim as a child, and the question was whether she was prepared to take the lower place. It is the humble soul that has power with God, and when she showed herself prepared to put Jesus in His place as Lord, and to take her own place as willing to accept the children's crumbs, the Lord was able to put the key of His treasure house into her hand and bid her have her desire. Faith can wring blessing from an apparent negative, and use what might seem to be a rebuff to open God's treasuries.
In the following miracle, notice that upward look, that sigh, and that touch. These are the conditions of all successful religious work, and it is a great encouragement to faith that our Lord Himself knew what it was by a look to draw down the mighty power of God. That upward look may be ours when it is impossible to kneel for prolonged prayer. When we stand in the light of eternity, we also shall say, as our Lord's contemporaries did, "He hath done all things well." [source]

Chapter Summary: Mark 7

1  The Pharisees find fault with the disciples for eating with unwashed hands
8  They break the commandment of God by the traditions of men
14  Food defiles not the man
24  He heals the Syrophenician woman's daughter of an unclean spirit;
31  and one that was deaf, and stammered in his speech

Greek Commentary for Mark 7:24

Into the borders of Tyre and Sidon [εις τα ορια Τυρου και Σιδωνος]
The departure from Capernaum was a withdrawal from Galilee, the second of the four withdrawals from Galilee. The first had been to the region of Bethsaida Julias in the territory of Herod Philip. This is into distinctly heathen land. It was not merely the edge of Phoenicia, but into the parts of Tyre and Sidon (Matthew 15:21). There was too much excitement among the people, too much bitterness among the Pharisees, too much suspicion on the part of Herod Antipas, too much dulness on the part of the disciples for Jesus to remain in Galilee. [source]
And he could not be hid [και ουκ ηδυναστη λατειν]
Jesus wanted to be alone in the house after all the strain in Galilee. He craved a little privacy and rest. This was his purpose in going into Phoenicia. Note the adversative sense of και — kai here= “but.” [source]
Went away []
See on Mark 6:31. The entering into the house and the wish to be secluded are peculiar to Mark. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Mark 7:24

Mark 3:7 Withdrew []
Mark alone notes no less than eleven occasions on which Jesus retired from his work, in order to escape his enemies or to pray in solitude, for rest, or for private conference with his disciples. See Mark 1:12; Mark 3:7; Mark 6:31, Mark 6:46; Mark 7:24, Mark 7:31; Mark 9:2; Mark 10:1; Mark 14:34. [source]
Mark 3:7 Withdrew to the sea [ανεχωρησεν εις την ταλασσαν]
Evidently Jesus knew of the plot to kill him, “perceiving it” (Matthew 12:15). “He and His would be safer by the open beach” (Swete). He has the disciples with him. Vincent notes that on eleven occasions Mark mentions the withdrawals of Jesus to escape his enemies, for prayer, for rest, for private conference with his disciples (Mark 1:12; Mark 3:7; Mark 6:31, Mark 6:46; Mark 7:24, Mark 7:31; Mark 9:2; Mark 10:1; Mark 14:34). But, as often, a great multitude (πολυ πλητος — polu plēthos) from Galilee followed him. [source]
Mark 8:10 Into the parts of Dalmanutha [εις τα μερη Δαλμανουτα]
Matthew 15:39 calls it “the borders of Magadan.” Both names are unknown elsewhere, but apparently the same region of Galilee on the western side of the lake not far from Tiberias. Mark here uses “parts” (μερη — merē) in the same sense as “borders” (ορια — horia) in Mark 7:24 just as Matthew reverses it with “parts” in Matthew 15:21 and “borders” here in Matthew 15:39. Mark has here “with his disciples” (μετα των ματητων αυτου — meta tōn mathētōn autou) only implied in Matthew 15:39. [source]
Mark 9:30 He would not that any man should know it [ouk ēthelen hina tis gnoi)]
Imperfect tense followed by ingressive aorist subjunctive He was not willing that any one should learn it. Back in Galilee Jesus was, but he was avoiding public work there now (cf. Mark 7:24). He was no longer the hero of Galilee. He had left Caesarea Philippi for Galilee. [source]
1 John 1:8 We deceive ourselves [ἑαυτοὺς πλανῶμεν]
Lit., we lead ourselves astray. See on Mark 7:24; see on Matthew 27:63, Matthew 27:64; see on Judges 1:13. Not only do we err, we are responsible for it. The phrase only here in the New Testament. For the verb as applied to deceivers of various kinds, see Matthew 24:4; Revelation 2:20; Revelation 13:14; Revelation 19:20; Revelation 12:9; Revelation 20:3. Compare πλάνοι deceivers(2 John 1:7); πλάνη error(Judges 1:11; 1 John 4:6). [source]

What do the individual words in Mark 7:24 mean?

From there also having risen up He went away into the region of Tyre and Sidon And having entered a house no one He was wishing to know [it] not He was able to be hidden
Ἐκεῖθεν δὲ ἀναστὰς ἀπῆλθεν εἰς τὰ ὅρια Τύρου (καὶ Σιδῶνος) Καὶ εἰσελθὼν οἰκίαν οὐδένα ἤθελεν γνῶναι οὐκ ἠδυνήθη λαθεῖν

Ἐκεῖθεν  From  there 
Parse: Adverb
Root: ἐκεῖθεν  
Sense: thence, from that place.
δὲ  also 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: δέ  
Sense: but, moreover, and, etc.
ἀναστὰς  having  risen  up 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: ἀναπηδάω 
Sense: to cause to rise up, raise up.
ἀπῆλθεν  He  went  away 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἀπέρχομαι  
Sense: to go away, depart.
εἰς  into 
Parse: Preposition
Root: εἰς  
Sense: into, unto, to, towards, for, among.
ὅρια  region 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Neuter Plural
Root: ὅριον  
Sense: boundaries.
Τύρου  of  Tyre 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: Τύρος  
Sense: a Phoenician city on the Mediterranean, very ancient, large, splendid, flourishing in commerce, and powerful by land and sea.
Σιδῶνος)  Sidon 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: Σιδών  
Sense: an ancient and wealthy city of Phoenicia, on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea, less than 20 miles (30 km) north of Tyre.
εἰσελθὼν  having  entered 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: εἰσέρχομαι  
Sense: to go out or come in: to enter.
οἰκίαν  a  house 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: οἰκία  
Sense: a house.
οὐδένα  no  one 
Parse: Adjective, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: οὐδείς 
Sense: no one, nothing.
ἤθελεν  He  was  wishing 
Parse: Verb, Imperfect Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: θέλω  
Sense: to will, have in mind, intend.
γνῶναι  to  know  [it] 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Infinitive Active
Root: γινώσκω  
Sense: to learn to know, come to know, get a knowledge of perceive, feel.
ἠδυνήθη  He  was  able 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Passive, 3rd Person Singular
Root: δύναμαι  
Sense: to be able, have power whether by virtue of one’s own ability and resources, or of a state of mind, or through favourable circumstances, or by permission of law or custom.
λαθεῖν  to  be  hidden 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Infinitive Active
Root: λανθάνω  
Sense: to be hidden, to be hidden from one, secretly, unawares, without knowing.