Mark 7:24 — The Borders of Tyre and Sidon: Does “Sidon” Belong?

“From thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon.” — Mark 7:24

Jesus leaves Galilee for “the borders of Tyre and Sidon” in the received text. The critical form mentions only Tyre. A few verses later, all principal texts say that he departed from the region of Tyre and came through Sidon toward the Sea of Galilee.

The shorter reading has diverse early support. Critics explain “and Sidon” as assimilation to Matthew 15:21 or as anticipation of Mark 7:31. Both passages place the second city close at hand.

A region, not a travel timetable

“Borders” can denote a wider Phoenician district associated with the two famous coastal cities. Verse 24 need not mean that Jesus entered both city centers before meeting the Syrophoenician woman. It identifies the region into which he withdrew. Verse 31 then describes the route by which he left it.

The two-city expression is natural in biblical geography. Tyre and Sidon occur as a pair in the prophets and in Jesus’ earlier judgment sayings. A copyist could add the familiar partner, but an author could also use the established regional pair without borrowing Matthew.

Omission has its own narrative attraction. If a reader sees Sidon first named in verse 31, retaining Tyre alone in verse 24 gives a tidier sequence: arrival near Tyre, departure through Sidon. A scribe could shorten the initial destination to make the itinerary appear progressive. Similar endings also allow two short words to fall unnoticed.

The woman’s identity does not depend on the variant. Mark calls her Greek and Syrophoenician by nation. The scene demonstrates that Israel’s Messiah can answer faith beyond Israel’s boundaries while preserving the historical order, “Let the children first be filled.”

Tyre and Sidon were not interchangeable dots. They were ancient coastal centers with territories, roads, and a long biblical memory. The journey described in verse 31 is circuitous if mapped as modern direct travel, but withdrawal narratives need not trace the shortest route. Geography becomes a textual argument only after ancient regional usage, not contemporary driving distance, is established.

The received pair should remain because it names the recognized district and harmonizes with the route without duplicating it. “Tyre and Sidon” in verse 24 gives the broad region; “through Sidon” in verse 31 traces movement within and away from that region. The critical reading is geographically possible, but its brevity is not a correction Mark needed.

Sources and further reading

• F. H. A. Scrivener, ed., The New Testament in the Original Greek according to the Text Followed in the Authorised Version (Cambridge, 1894).
• Michael W. Holmes, ed., The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition (Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010), text and apparatus.
• Bruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, 2nd ed., notes on the stated passage.
• Isaiah 23; Matthew 11:21–22; 15:21–28; Mark 7:24–31.