4:19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I see 1 that you are a prophet.
4:7 A Samaritan woman 3 came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me some water 4 to drink.”
8:9 Now when they heard this, they began to drift away one at a time, starting with the older ones, 15 until Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.
1 tn Grk “behold” or “perceive,” but these are not as common in contemporary English usage.
2 tn Grk “to him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 tn Grk “a woman from Samaria.” According to BDAG 912 s.v. Σαμάρεια, the prepositional phrase is to be translated as a simple attributive: “γυνὴ ἐκ τῆς Σαμαρείας a Samaritan woman J 4:7.”
4 tn The phrase “some water” is supplied as the understood direct object of the infinitive πεῖν (pein).
4 tn The term ἄνθρωποι (anqrwpoi) used here can mean either “people” (when used generically) or “men” (though there is a more specific term in Greek for adult males, ανήρ [anhr]). Thus the woman could have been speaking either (1) to all the people or (2) to the male leaders of the city as their representatives. However, most recent English translations regard the former as more likely and render the word “people” here.
5 tn Grk “or come here to draw.”
6 tn The direct object of the infinitive ἀντλεῖν (antlein) is understood in Greek but supplied for clarity in the English translation.
6 tn Grk “answered and said to him.”
7 tn Grk “Well have you said.”
8 tn The word order in Jesus’ reply is reversed from the woman’s original statement. The word “husband” in Jesus’ reply is placed in an emphatic position.
7 tn Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “the one who has been anointed.”
8 tn Grk “that one.”
9 tn Or “he will announce to us.”
10 tn Grk “all things.”
8 tn Or “beginning from the eldest.”
9 tn Or “a Judean.” Here BDAG 478 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαίος 2.a states, “Judean (with respect to birth, nationality, or cult).” The same term occurs in the plural later in this verse. In one sense “Judean” would work very well in the translation here, since the contrast is between residents of the two geographical regions. However, since in the context of this chapter the discussion soon becomes a religious rather than a territorial one (cf. vv. 19-26), the translation “Jew” has been retained here and in v. 22.
10 tn “Water” is supplied as the understood direct object of the infinitive πεῖν (pein).
11 tn D. Daube (“Jesus and the Samaritan Woman: the Meaning of συγχράομαι [Jn 4:7ff],” JBL 69 [1950]: 137-47) suggests this meaning.
12 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
10 sn The same word translated distress here has been translated sadness in the previous verse (a wordplay that is not exactly reproducible in English).
11 tn Grk “her hour.”
12 tn Grk “that a man” (but in a generic sense, referring to a human being).
13 sn Jesus now compares the situation of the disciples to a woman in childbirth. Just as the woman in the delivery of her child experiences real pain and anguish (has distress), so the disciples will also undergo real anguish at the crucifixion of Jesus. But once the child has been born, the mother’s anguish is turned into joy, and she forgets the past suffering. The same will be true of the disciples, who after Jesus’ resurrection and reappearance to them will forget the anguish they suffered at his death on account of their joy.