The woman is called a Canaanite: the old name for the inhabitants of that region (Numbers 13:29). During Jesus’ time, the division between Jew and Gentile was sharply drawn. Mark 7:26 calls her a Gentile of Syrophoenician origin. While the next verses (Mark 7:24–28) show that she was not a proselyte, she must have known about the promised Messiah, since she called Jesus Son of David.
Yet that was not why Jesus listened to her, but due to her humble and great faith (Matthew 15:27–28). Phoenicians were related to those who had lived in Canaan when Israel entered the land. To stress the contrast between Israel and the nations, Matthew calls her a Canaanite, while Mark calls her a Hellenis, a Greek-speaking woman, and ethnically a Syrophoenician: a native of Phoenicia belonging to Syria. If the label Hellenis means Gentile, the difference is minor, for Jews often called all Gentiles Greeks.
The term Syrophoenician may have distinguished the Phoenicia of Syria from the Libophoenicia around Carthage.
The woman crying out to Jesus is called a Canaanite, which was the ancient designation for the inhabitants of that region (Numbers 13:29). During the time of Jesus, the distance between Jew and Gentile was generally expressed as sharply as possible. Mark 7:26 notes that she was a Gentile of Syrophoenician origin. Although it is evident from the following verses (Mark 7:24–28) that she was not a proselyte, the woman must nevertheless have known about the promised Messiah, since she addressed Jesus as Son of David.
Yet it was not for that reason that Jesus listened to her, but because of her humble and great faith (Matthew 15:27–28).1
Here in Phoenicia, where Jesus now found himself, a people lived who were related to those people who had inhabited Canaan when Israel first entered the land. The evangelist Matthew—who tends to emphasize the ancient contrast between Israel and the nations—calls the woman a Canaanite. Mark, by contrast, calls her a Hellenis, meaning a Greek-speaking woman, and ethnically a Syrophoenician: that is, a native of Phoenicia belonging to Syria. If we adopt the description Hellenis, as is often done, to mean Gentile, the difference is slight, for to the Jews, all Gentiles were often described as Greeks.
The term Syrophoenician may have been used to distinguish the Phoenicia of Syria from the Libophoenicia surrounding Carthage.2
22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.”