Exorcism of the Syrophoenician woman's daughter

The relevant passage in Matthew 15:22–28 reads as follows:[5] Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon."

And her daughter was healed instantly.Many English translations of the Gospels state that Jesus was in the region of Tyre and Sidon and had withdrawn from Galilee where he had entered in discussion with the Pharisees over their interpretation of the Jewish law.

"[10] Although the Gospel of Mark describes the woman as "gentile" or "Greek", the inhabitants of Tyre and Sidon were descendants of the Tribe of Asher, according to the Old Testament.

[13][14] Likewise, "Canaanite" could be interpreted as a deliberate rhetorical device because they did not literally exist as a recognizable ethnicity in 1st century CE Palestine.

[15][16] Thomas Aquinas comments on this passage in his homily on the sinful soul, saying, Five things are noted of this woman of Canaan which availed for the liberation of this demoniac.

Compared to the Syrophoenician woman, the centurion behaved like the proselyte of the gate, due to his contributions in building a synagogue and moral conduct, which was commended by Jewish elders.

[19] Mookgo S. Kgatle describes the Syrophoenician woman as a social activist against traditional Jewish views about gender, purity and ethnicity.

Kgatle notes that ancient Jewish culture used 'dog' to describe enemies of Israel, regardless of background, and also, generic contempt, unworthiness, religious profanity or alternatively, humility.

He also says that the author of the Gospel of Matthew deliberately changed the woman's ethnicity from Syrophoenician to Canaanite to show that she was "unclean and pagan" and the presence of an "Israel-centered conflict" between her and Judeans.