The Exorcism of the Syrophoenician woman's daughter is one of the miracles of Jesus in the Gospels and is recounted in the Gospel of Mark in Chapter 7 and in the Gospel of Matthew in Chapter 15. In Matthew, the story is recounted as the healing of a Canaanite woman's daughter. According to both accounts, Jesus exorcised the woman's daughter whilst travelling in the region of Tyre and Sidon, on account of the faith shown by the woman.
The Passage
The relevant passage from Matthew is as follows: A Canaanite woman came to Jesus, crying out, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly." , 15th century. Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, "Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us." The woman came and knelt before him. "Lord, help me!" she said. "Yes Lord," she said. "But even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table." Then Jesus said to her: And her daughter was healed from that very hour. Many English translations of the gospels state that Jesus was in the region of Tyre and Sidon having withdrawn from Galilee where he had entered in discussion with the Pharisees over their interpretation of the Jewish law. The Geneva Bible and the King James Version suggest that the visit was to the coast, but the Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges argues that Jesus went to "the neighbourhood, district, not the sea-shore, as might be thought". This episode is, according to Graham H. Twelftree, an example of how Jesus emphasizes the value of faith, as also shown in the Healing the Centurion's servant episode.
Syrophoenician woman
The woman described in the miracle, the Syrophoenician woman is also called a "Canaanite" and is an unidentifiedNew Testament woman from the region of Tyre and Sidon. "The woman is... described as Syrophoenician by race. It is unclear whether Mark seeks to distinguish between a Phoenician from Syria and one from northern Africa or between someone living in the coastal area of Syria and someone living in the central part." Her other notable characteristic is her non-Jewish status: the Gospel of Mark adds that she is a Greek. The third centurypseudo-Clementine homily refers to her name as Justa and her daughter's name as Berenice.
