Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 15:27

"But she said, Yea, Lord: for even the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters` table." — Matthew 15:27 (ASV)

Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs — The insertion of the conjunction “for” in the Greek gives this reply a force that is hard to reproduce in English: “Yet grant what I ask, for the dogs under the table...” The woman seizes upon the term that had softened the usual word of scorn and insists on the privilege it implied. She did not ask that the “children” might be deprived of any fragment of their portion; but taking her place contentedly among the “dogs,” she could still claim Him as her Master and ask for the “crumbs” of His mercy.

The Talmud contains a story so singularly parallel to this that it is worth reproducing. There was a famine in the land, and stores of grain were placed under the care of Rabbi Jehudah the Holy, to be distributed only to those who were skilled in the knowledge of the Law. Then a man, Jonathan, the son of Amram, came and clamorously asked for his portion. The Rabbi asked him if he knew the condition and had fulfilled it. The supplicant then changed his tone and said, “No, but feed me as a dog is fed, who eats of the crumbs of the feast.” The Rabbi listened to his words and gave him some of the grain.