782. Disposition of Crumbs

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Luke 16:2121And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. (Luke 16:21). Desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
Some suppose that by these “crumbs’’ are meant the pieces of bread wherewith it was customary at table to wipe the fingers, an act rendered necessary by the practice of conveying the food to the mouth by means of the hand. When the fingers were thus wiped, the fragments of bread which had been used for the purpose were thrown to the ground, where the dogs were allowed to get them. This will help to illustrate the witty turn of the Syrophenician woman, who, when the Saviour said to her, “It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs,” quickly replied, “Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table” (Matt. 15:26-2726But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. 27And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. (Matthew 15:26‑27), see also Mark 7:2828And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs. (Mark 7:28)).
We also see by this the connection with the closing part of the text: “moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.” With the dogs he had his food of the discarded fragments of the table, and the compassionate beasts not only permitted him to partake of their food, but also nursed him in his sickness.