John 4:7-9

“ A woman of Samaria comes to draw water. Jesus says to her: Give me to drink. 8. For his disciples had gone to the city to buy food. 9. The Samaritan woman therefore says to him: How is it that thou, being a Jew, dost ask drink of me who am a Samaritan woman. (For the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. ”)

How was it that this woman came so far to seek water, and at such an hour? She had undoubtedly been working in the fields, and was coming to draw water on her return to her home at the hour of dinner (see at John 4:15). It has been thought that this feature suits an evening hour better, since that is ordinarily the hour when the women go to the well. But in that case this woman would undoubtedly not have been found here alone (Meyer, Weiss).

The objective phrase: of Samaria, depends on the word woman, and not on the verb comes; for, in the latter case, Samaria would mean the city of that name; an impossible meaning, since that city was situated three leagues to the northeast. The request of Jesus must be understood in the most simple sense, and regarded as serious. There is no allegory in it; He is really thirsty; this follows from the word wearied. But this does not prevent Him, in beginning a conversation with the woman, from obeying another necessity than that of thirst namely, of saving (John 4:32; John 4:34). He is not unaware that the way to gain a soul is often to ask a service of it; there is thus conceded to it a kind of superiority which flatters it. “The effect of this little word was great; it began to overturn the wall which had for ages separated the two peoples,” says Lange. The remark of John 4:8 is intended to explain that, if the disciples had been present, they would have had a vessel, an ἄντλημα, to let down into the well. Indeed, in the East, every caravan is provided with a bucket for drawing from the wells which appear on the road (see John 4:11). This explanation given by the evangelist, proves the complete reality, in his view, of the need which called forth the request of Jesus. There is no longer here anything of docetism! Does the expression, the disciples, denote all the disciples without exception? Might not one of them, John, for example, have remained with Jesus? It would be strange enough that Jesus should have been left there, absolutely alone, in the midst of a hostile population; and twelve men were not necessary to procure provisions! Meyer's prudery is offended at such a simple supposition, and Reuss goes so far as to say: “The luminous idea has been formed of leaving John at the place to take notes.” The Jewish doctors said: “He who eats bread with a Samaritan is as he who eats swine's flesh.” This prohibition, however, was not absolute; it did not apply either to fruits or to vegetables. As to corn and wine, we are ignorant. Uncooked eggs were allowed; whether cooked, was a question (Hausrath, Neutest. Zeitgesch., I., p. 22). It is proved, however, that the most strict Rabbinical regulations belong to a later epoch.

How did the Samaritan woman recognize Jesus as a Jew. By His dress or His accent? Stier has observed that in some words which Jesus had just spoken the letter שׁ occurred, which, according to Judges 12:6, distinguished the two pronunciations, the Jewish (sch), and the Samaritan (s); לשׁחת תני (teni lischechoth; Samaritan: lisechoth). The last words (οὐ γὰρ συγχρῶνται) are a remark of the evangelist, with a view to his Gentile readers who might be unacquainted with the origin of the Samaritan people (2 Kings 17:24 ff.). It was a mixture of five nations transported from the East by Esarhaddon to re-people the kingdom of Samaria, the inhabitants of which his predecessor had removed. To the worship of their national gods, they united that of the divinity of the country, Jehovah. After the return from the Babylonish captivity, they offered the Jews their services for the rebuilding of the temple. Being rejected, they used all their influence with the kings of Persia, to hinder the re-establishment of the Jewish people. They built for themselves a temple on Mount Gerizim. Their first priest was Manasseh, a Jewish priest who had married a Persian wife. They were more detested by the Jews than the Gentiles themselves were. Samaritan proselytes were not received. It has been thought that the woman, in frolicsomeness, exaggerated somewhat the consequences of the hostility between the two peoples, and that in submitting to Jesus this insignificant question, she wished to enjoy for a moment the superiority which her position gave her. This shade of thought does not appear from the text. The Samaritan woman naively expresses her surprise.