τὸν ἄρτον τῶν τέκνων κ.τ.λ. The τέκνα are the Jews; the κυνάρια are the Gentiles. This was the name applied by the Jews to all outside the chosen race, the dog being in the East a symbol of impurity. St Paul, regarding the Christian Church as the true Israel, terms the Judaizing teachers τοὺς κύνας, Philippians 3:2. The same religious hostility, and the same names of scorn, still exist in the East between Mussulman and Christian populations. Christ’s words, as reported by St Mark (Mark 7:27), contain a gleam of hope, ἄφες πρῶτον χορτασθῆναι τὰ τέκνα.

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Old Testament