Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. She was begging Jesus to cast the demon out of her daughter.
The Evangelist deliberately notes the woman’s national and cultural identity so that the significance of this event may be seen more clearly. She was not a Jew, but a Gentile, a Syrophoenician. That is, according to the outward order of the covenant, she belonged to those nations that were far from the covenant of Israel. Yet her need brings her to Christ. She pleads not with a theoretical question, but for her daughter’s deliverance, and in this way expresses, by her faith, her appeal to the Lord. This verse shows that even a person considered outside the covenant can come near to Christ in his need and turn to Him for help.