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Mk 7:28b ... "and the 'little dogs' down under the table eat from the crumbs of the children."

The third phrase has these 12 dialog words ... kai ta kunaria hupokatō tēs trapezēs esthiousin apo tōn psichiōn tōn paidiōn (and the 'little dogs' down under the table eat from the crumbs of the children).

The 12 dialog words are top down the center from the mouth of the mother and bottom up the sides. The 6 words "kai ta kunaria hupokatō tēs trapezēs" (and the 'little dogs' down under the table) are tangent to the "mother, the bread crumbs, the 9 little dogs, and the table." The last 6 words "esthiousin apo tōn psichiōn tōn paidiōn" (eat from the crumbs of the children) are tangent to the 12 disciples and the three baskets of bread crumbs falling to the bottom of the table. The mother answered, she will first feed the "Lord's boys" using a play on words from Greek literature. The diagram shows the children (disciples) will first be fed so much that three baskets of bread crumbs will fall under the table to feed the demon's (little dogs). Jesus immediately understands feeding his disciples comes first before curing her daughter. According to the late Prof. Wm Harris, the mother's reply "even the puppies under the table eat the children's crumbs" is a paraphrase of Aeschylus' famous remark that his plays were crumbs which fell from Homer's table. She even uses the diminutive kunarion (little-puppy) as used by Plato and Xenophon from the classical anthologies. Read "Bread for the Children."

7:28a < Verses > 7:29a