Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Mark 7:26

"Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by race. And she besought him that he would cast forth the demon out of her daughter." — Mark 7:26 (ASV)

One of the persons who sought out Jesus was a Gentile woman. No doubt she had heard about his healing powers and came to him because her daughter was possessed by an evil spirit. By nationality the woman was a Syrophoenician (in those days Phoenicia belonged administratively to Syria).