The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The citation is from Isaiah 9:1 in a form that blends the Hebrew and Greek texts. Zebulun and Naphtali were the northern tribes first conquered by Assyria (2 Kings 15:29), the regions most associated in Jewish consciousness with Gentile contamination and spiritual degradation. Galilee of the Gentiles was not a compliment in the first century. That Jesus begins his ministry precisely in this territory communicates the direction the whole gospel will move: toward those considered least likely, least pure, least central to the religious establishment. Matthew 15:24 will show Jesus extending his ministry to Gentiles even during his primarily Jewish mission.

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