John 4:6

ἦν δὲ ἐκεῖ πηγὴ τοῦ Ἰακώβ. Both πηγή and φρέαρ are used in this context; the former meaning the spring or well of water, the latter the dug and built pit or well. In John 4:11 φρέαρ is necessarily used. Whether in this John 4:6 ἐπὶ τῇ πηγῇ is to be rendered “at,” keeping πηγῇ in its strict sense, or “on” as if for φρέατι is doubted; but the former is certainly the more natural rendering; cf. Aristoph., Frogs, 191, where ἐπί with accus. gives rise to misunderstanding of sitting “ on ” an oar instead of “at” it. Jacob's well lies ten minutes south of the present village ‘Askar, and a good spring exists in ‘Askar. This has given rise to the difficulty: Why should a woman have come so far, passing good sources of water supply? Most probably the reason is that this well was Jacob's, and special virtue was supposed to attach to it; or because in the heat of summer other wells and streams were dry. The real difficulty is: Why was there a well there at all, in the neighbourhood of streams? Possibly Jacob may have dug it that he might have no quarrelling with his neighbours about water-rights. As a stranger with a precarious tenure he might find this necessary. Travellers agree in accepting as Jacob's well here mentioned the Ain-Jakub, or Bir-et-Jakub, some twenty minutes east of Nablûs. ὁ οὖν Ἰησοῦς … ἔκτη. It was “about,” ὡς (Theophylact calls attention to this as a mark of accuracy), the sixth hour, that is, midday (the Jews dined on Sabbath at the sixth hour, see Josephus, Vita) (see on c. i. 40); and they had probably been walking for several hours, and accordingly Jesus was tired, κεκοπιακὼς (κόπος, excessive toil), fatigued (Wetstein quotes οὐ γὰρ ἐξ ὁδοιπορίας τὰς φλέβας κοπιᾷ ἀλλὰ τὰ νεῦρα), and was sitting thus, tired as He was (οὕτως, in the condition in which He was, that is, tired as He was. Elsner thinks it only indicates consequence [nihil aliud quam consequentiam significat] and should be omitted in translating. So Kypke, who cites instructive instances, concludes: “solemne est Graecis, praecedente participio, voculam οὕτως pleonastice ponere”. But in all his instances οὕτως precedes the verb), at the well (cf. Josephus, Ant., John 4:1 : στρατοπεδευσαμένους ἐπὶ τινι πηγῇ). As to the hour, two circumstances con firm the opinion that it was midday First, that apparently there was no intention of halting here for the night, as there would have been had it been evening. And, second, while it is truly urged that evening is the common time for drawing water, it is obvious that only one woman had come at this time, and accordingly the probability is it was not evening. See also Josephus, Ant., ii. 11, 1, where he describes Moses sitting at the well at midday wearied with his journey, and the women coming to water their flocks.