03_Biblica_1_E_Aletti_Layout 1 13/11/12 11:37 Pagina 376 376 JEAN-NOËL ALETTI SUMMARY The thesis developed in the article is that Mark 7,24‒8,10 cannot be interpreted without the previous dispute about clean and unclean in 7,1- 23 that gives meaning to it and prepares Jesus’ journey to the nearby pagan land. For the same reason, it seemed impossible to interpret Mark 7,24-30 as a radical change in Jesus’ missionary project. In this episode, the Syrophoenician does not extort a miracle from Jesus. It is rather he who puts her to the test, expecting from her a response that may give him the opportunity to manifest God’s power in favor of the Gentiles and be proclaimed as the one through whom God’s salvation comes.