Discovery BoxJohn 3:22--4:42
Context3:22 After this, 1 Jesus and his disciples came into Judean territory, and there he spent time with them and was baptizing. 3:23 John 2 was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim, 3 because water was plentiful there, and people were coming 4 to him 5 and being baptized. 3:24 (For John had not yet been thrown into prison.) 6
3:25 Now a dispute came about between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew 7 concerning ceremonial washing. 8 3:26 So they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, the one who was with you on the other side of the Jordan River, 9 about whom you testified – see, he is baptizing, and everyone is flocking to him!”
3:27 John replied, 10 “No one can receive anything unless it has been given to him from heaven. 3:28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ 11 but rather, ‘I have been sent before him.’ 3:29 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands by and listens for him, rejoices greatly 12 when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. This then is my joy, and it is complete. 13 3:30 He must become more important while I become less important.” 14
3:31 The one who comes from above is superior to all. 15 The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things. 16 The one who comes from heaven 17 is superior to all. 18 3:32 He testifies about what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. 3:33 The one who has accepted his testimony has confirmed clearly that God is truthful. 19 3:34 For the one whom God has sent 20 speaks the words of God, for he does not give the Spirit sparingly. 21 3:35 The Father loves the Son and has placed all things under his authority. 22 3:36 The one who believes in the Son has eternal life. The one who rejects 23 the Son will not see life, but God’s wrath 24 remains 25 on him.
4:1 Now when Jesus 26 knew that the Pharisees 27 had heard that he 28 was winning 29 and baptizing more disciples than John 4:2 (although Jesus himself was not baptizing, but his disciples were), 30 4:3 he left Judea and set out once more for Galilee. 31
4:4 But he had 32 to pass through Samaria. 33 4:5 Now he came to a Samaritan town 34 called Sychar, 35 near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 36 4:6 Jacob’s well was there, so Jesus, since he was tired from the journey, sat right down beside 37 the well. It was about noon. 38
4:7 A Samaritan woman 39 came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me some water 40 to drink.” 4:8 (For his disciples had gone off into the town to buy supplies. 41 ) 42 4:9 So the Samaritan woman said to him, “How can you – a Jew 43 – ask me, a Samaritan woman, for water 44 to drink?” (For Jews use nothing in common 45 with Samaritans.) 46
4:10 Jesus answered 47 her, “If you had known 48 the gift of God and who it is who said to you, ‘Give me some water 49 to drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 50 4:11 “Sir,” 51 the woman 52 said to him, “you have no bucket and the well 53 is deep; where then do you get this 54 living water? 55 4:12 Surely you’re not greater than our ancestor 56 Jacob, are you? For he gave us this well and drank from it himself, along with his sons and his livestock.” 57
4:13 Jesus replied, 58 “Everyone who drinks some of this water will be thirsty 59 again. 4:14 But whoever drinks some of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again, 60 but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain 61 of water springing up 62 to eternal life.” 4:15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw 63 water.” 64 4:16 He 65 said to her, “Go call your husband and come back here.” 66 4:17 The woman replied, 67 “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “Right you are when you said, 68 ‘I have no husband,’ 69 4:18 for you have had five husbands, and the man you are living with 70 now is not your husband. This you said truthfully!”
4:19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I see 71 that you are a prophet. 4:20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, 72 and you people 73 say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” 74 4:21 Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, 75 a time 76 is coming when you will worship 77 the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 4:22 You people 78 worship what you do not know. We worship what we know, because salvation is from the Jews. 79 4:23 But a time 80 is coming – and now is here 81 – when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks 82 such people to be 83 his worshipers. 84 4:24 God is spirit, 85 and the people who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 4:25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (the one called Christ); 86 “whenever he 87 comes, he will tell 88 us everything.” 89 4:26 Jesus said to her, “I, the one speaking to you, am he.”
4:27 Now at that very moment his disciples came back. 90 They were shocked 91 because he was speaking 92 with a woman. However, no one said, “What do you want?” 93 or “Why are you speaking with her?” 4:28 Then the woman left her water jar, went off into the town and said to the people, 94 4:29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Surely he can’t be the Messiah, 95 can he?” 96 4:30 So 97 they left the town and began coming 98 to him.
4:31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, 99 “Rabbi, eat something.” 100 4:32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” 4:33 So the disciples began to say 101 to one another, “No one brought him anything 102 to eat, did they?” 103 4:34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me 104 and to complete 105 his work. 106 4:35 Don’t you say, 107 ‘There are four more months and then comes the harvest?’ I tell you, look up 108 and see that the fields are already white 109 for harvest! 4:36 The one who reaps receives pay 110 and gathers fruit for eternal life, so that the one who sows and the one who reaps can rejoice together. 4:37 For in this instance the saying is true, 111 ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 4:38 I sent you to reap what you did not work for; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.”
4:39 Now many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the report of the woman who testified, 112 “He told me everything I ever did.” 4:40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they began asking 113 him to stay with them. 114 He stayed there two days, 4:41 and because of his word many more 115 believed. 4:42 They said to the woman, “No longer do we believe because of your words, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this one 116 really is the Savior of the world.” 117
[3:22] 1 tn This section is related loosely to the preceding by μετὰ ταῦτα (meta tauta). This constitutes an indefinite temporal reference; the intervening time is not specified.
[3:23] 2 sn John refers to John the Baptist.
[3:23] 3 tn The precise locations of Αἰνών (Ainwn) and Σαλείμ (Saleim) are unknown. Three possibilities are suggested: (1) In Perea, which is in Transjordan (cf. 1:28). Perea is just across the river from Judea. (2) In the northern Jordan Valley, on the west bank some 8 miles [13 km] south of Scythopolis. But with the Jordan River so close, the reference to abundant water (3:23) seems superfluous. (3) Thus Samaria has been suggested. 4 miles (6.6 km) east of Shechem is a town called Salim, and 8 miles (13 km) northeast of Salim lies modern Ainun. In the general vicinity are many springs. Because of the meanings of the names (Αἰνών = “springs” in Aramaic and Σαλείμ = Salem, “peace”) some have attempted to allegorize here that John the Baptist is near salvation. Obviously there is no need for this. It is far more probable that the author has in mind real places, even if their locations cannot be determined with certainty.
[3:23] 4 tn Or “people were continually coming.”
[3:23] 5 tn The words “to him” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.
[3:24] 6 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
[3:25] 7 tc Was this dispute between the Baptist’s disciples and an individual Judean (᾿Ιουδαίου, Ioudaiou) or representatives of the Jewish authorities (᾿Ιουδαίων, Ioudaiwn)? There is good external support for the plural ᾿Ιουδαίων (Ì66 א* Θ Ë1,13 565 al latt), but the external evidence for the singular ᾿Ιουδαίου is slightly stronger ({Ì75 א2 A B L Ψ 33 1241 the majority of Byzantine minuscules and others}).
[3:25] 8 tn Or “ceremonial cleansing,” or “purification.”
[3:26] 9 tn “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.
[3:27] 10 tn Grk “answered and said.”
[3:28] 11 tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).
[3:29] 12 tn Grk “rejoices with joy” (an idiom).
[3:29] 13 tn Grk “Therefore this my joy is fulfilled.”
[3:30] 14 sn Some interpreters extend the quotation of John the Baptist’s words through v. 36.
[3:31] 15 tn Or “is above all.”
[3:31] 16 tn Grk “speaks from the earth.”
[3:31] 17 sn The one who comes from heaven refers to Christ. As in John 1:1, the Word’s preexistence is indicated here.
[3:31] 18 tc Ì75 א* D Ë1 565 as well as several versions and fathers lack the phrase “is superior to all” (ἐπάνω πάντων ἐστίν, epanw pantwn estin). This effectively joins the last sentence of v. 31 with v. 32: “The one who comes from heaven testifies about what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony.” On the other side, the phrase may have been deleted because of perceived redundancy, since it duplicates what is said earlier in the verse. The witnesses that include ἐπάνω πάντων ἐστίν in both places are weighty and widespread (Ì36vid,66 א2 A B L Ws Θ Ψ 083 086 Ë13 33 Ï lat sys,p,h bo). On balance, the longer reading should probably be considered authentic.
[3:34] 21 tn Grk “for not by measure does he give the Spirit” (an idiom). Leviticus Rabbah 15:2 states: “The Holy Spirit rested on the prophets by measure.” Jesus is contrasted to this. The Spirit rests upon him without measure.
[3:35] 22 tn Grk “has given all things into his hand” (an idiom).
[3:36] 23 tn Or “refuses to believe,” or “disobeys.”
[3:36] 24 tn Or “anger because of evil,” or “punishment.”
[4:1] 26 tc Several early and important witnesses, along with the majority of later ones (Ì66c,75 A B C L Ws Ψ 083 Ë13 33 Ï sa), have κύριος (kurio", “Lord”) here instead of ᾿Ιησοῦς (Ihsou", “Jesus”). As significant as this external support is, the internal evidence seems to be on the side of ᾿Ιησοῦς. “Jesus” is mentioned two more times in the first two verses of chapter four in a way that is stylistically awkward (so much so that the translation has substituted the pronoun for the first one; see tn note below). This seems to be sufficient reason to motivate scribes to change the wording to κύριος. Further, the reading ᾿Ιησοῦς is not without decent support, though admittedly not as strong as that for κύριος (Ì66* א D Θ 086 Ë1 565 1241 al lat bo). On the other hand, this Gospel speaks of Jesus as Lord in the evangelist’s narrative descriptions elsewhere only in 11:2; 20:18, 20; 21:12; and probably 6:23, preferring ᾿Ιησοῦς most of the time. This fact could be used to argue that scribes, acquainted with John’s style, changed κύριος to ᾿Ιησοῦς. But the immediate context generally is weighed more heavily than an author’s style. It is possible that neither word was in the original text and scribes supplied what they thought most appropriate (see TCGNT 176). But without ms evidence to this effect coupled with the harder reading ᾿Ιησοῦς, this conjecture must remain doubtful. All in all, it is best to regard ᾿Ιησοῦς as the original reading here.
[4:1] 27 sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.
[4:1] 28 tn Grk “Jesus”; the repetition of the proper name is somewhat redundant in English (see the beginning of the verse) and so the pronoun (“he”) has been substituted here.
[4:2] 30 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
[4:3] 31 sn The author doesn’t tell why Jesus chose to set out once more for Galilee. Some have suggested that the Pharisees turned their attention to Jesus because John the Baptist had now been thrown into prison. But the text gives no hint of this. In any case, perhaps Jesus simply did not want to provoke a confrontation at this time (knowing that his “hour” had not yet come).
[4:4] 32 sn Travel through Samaria was not geographically necessary; the normal route for Jews ran up the east side of the Jordan River (Transjordan). Although some take the impersonal verb had to (δεῖ, dei) here to indicate logical necessity only, normally in John’s Gospel its use involves God’s will or plan (3:7, 3:14, 3:30, 4:4, 4:20, 4:24, 9:4, 10:16, 12:34, 20:9).
[4:4] 33 sn Samaria. The Samaritans were descendants of 2 groups: (1) The remnant of native Israelites who were not deported after the fall of the Northern Kingdom in 722
[4:5] 34 tn Grk “town of Samaria.” The noun Σαμαρείας (Samareias) has been translated as an attributive genitive.
[4:5] 35 sn Sychar was somewhere in the vicinity of Shechem, possibly the village of Askar, 1.5 km northeast of Jacob’s well.
[4:5] 36 sn Perhaps referred to in Gen 48:22.
[4:6] 37 tn Grk “on (ἐπί, epi) the well.” There may have been a low stone rim encircling the well, or the reading of Ì66 (“on the ground”) may be correct.
[4:6] 38 tn Grk “the sixth hour.”
[4:7] 39 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.”
[4:7] 40 tn The phrase “some water” is supplied as the understood direct object of the infinitive πεῖν (pein).
[4:8] 42 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author, indicating why Jesus asked the woman for a drink (for presumably his disciples also took the water bucket with them).
[4:9] 43 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.
[4:9] 44 tn “Water” is supplied as the understood direct object of the infinitive πεῖν (pein).
[4:9] 45 tn D. Daube (“Jesus and the Samaritan Woman: the Meaning of συγχράομαι [Jn 4:7ff],” JBL 69 [1950]: 137-47) suggests this meaning.
[4:9] 46 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
[4:10] 47 tn Grk “answered and said to her.”
[4:10] 48 tn Or “if you knew.”
[4:10] 49 tn The phrase “some water” is supplied as the understood direct object of the infinitive πεῖν (pein).
[4:10] 50 tn This is a second class conditional sentence in Greek.
[4:11] 51 tn Or “Lord.” The Greek term κύριος (kurios) means both “Sir” and “Lord.” In this passage there is probably a gradual transition from one to the other as the woman’s respect for Jesus grows throughout the conversation (4:11, 15, 19).
[4:11] 52 tc ‡ Two early and important Greek
[4:11] 53 tn The word for “well” has now shifted to φρέαρ (frear, “cistern”); earlier in the passage it was πηγή (phgh).
[4:11] 54 tn The anaphoric article has been translated “this.”
[4:11] 55 sn Where then do you get this living water? The woman’s reply is an example of the “misunderstood statement,” a technique appearing frequently in John’s Gospel. Jesus was speaking of living water which was spiritual (ultimately a Johannine figure for the Holy Spirit, see John 7:38-39), but the woman thought he was speaking of flowing (fresh drinkable) water. Her misunderstanding gave Jesus the opportunity to explain what he really meant.
[4:12] 56 tn Or “our forefather”; Grk “our father.”
[4:12] 57 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end. In this instance all of v. 12 is one question. It has been broken into two sentences for the sake of English style (instead of “for he” the Greek reads “who”).
[4:13] 58 tn Grk “answered and said to her.”
[4:13] 59 tn Grk “will thirst.”
[4:14] 60 tn Grk “will never be thirsty forever.” The possibility of a later thirst is emphatically denied.
[4:14] 61 tn Or “well.” “Fountain” is used as the translation for πηγή (phgh) here since the idea is that of an artesian well that flows freely, but the term “artesian well” is not common in contemporary English.
[4:14] 62 tn The verb ἁλλομένου (Jallomenou) is used of quick movement (like jumping) on the part of living beings. This is the only instance of its being applied to the action of water. However, in the LXX it is used to describe the “Spirit of God” as it falls on Samson and Saul. See Judg 14:6, 19; 15:14; 1 Kgdms 10:2, 10 LXX (= 1 Sam 10:6, 10 ET); and Isa 35:6 (note context).
[4:15] 63 tn Grk “or come here to draw.”
[4:15] 64 tn The direct object of the infinitive ἀντλεῖν (antlein) is understood in Greek but supplied for clarity in the English translation.
[4:16] 65 tc Most witnesses have “Jesus” here, either with the article (אc C2 D L Ws Ψ 086 Ï lat) or without (א* A Θ Ë1,13 al), while several important and early witnesses lack the name (Ì66,75 B C* 33vid pc). It is unlikely that scribes would have deliberately expunged the name of Jesus from the text here, especially since it aids the reader with the flow of the dialogue. Further, that the name occurs both anarthrously and with the article suggests that it was a later addition. (For similar arguments, see the tc note on “woman” in 4:11).
[4:16] 66 tn Grk “come here” (“back” is implied).
[4:17] 67 tn Grk “answered and said to him.”
[4:17] 68 tn Grk “Well have you said.”
[4:17] 69 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.
[4:18] 70 tn Grk “the one you have.”
[4:19] 71 tn Grk “behold” or “perceive,” but these are not as common in contemporary English usage.
[4:20] 72 sn This mountain refers to Mount Gerizim, where the Samaritan shrine was located.
[4:20] 73 tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied to indicate that the Greek verb translated “say” is second person plural and thus refers to more than Jesus alone.
[4:20] 74 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[4:21] 75 sn Woman was a polite form of address (see BDAG 208-9 s.v. γυνή 1), similar to “Madam” or “Ma’am” used in English in different regions.
[4:21] 77 tn The verb is plural.
[4:22] 78 tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied to indicate that the Greek verb translated “worship” is second person plural and thus refers to more than the woman alone.
[4:22] 79 tn Or “from the Judeans.” See the note on “Jew” in v. 9.
[4:23] 81 tn “Here” is not in the Greek text but is supplied to conform to contemporary English idiom.
[4:23] 82 sn See also John 4:27.
[4:23] 83 tn Or “as.” The object-complement construction implies either “as” or “to be.”
[4:23] 84 tn This is a double accusative construction of object and complement with τοιούτους (toioutous) as the object and the participle προσκυνοῦντας (proskunounta") as the complement.
[4:24] 85 tn Here πνεῦμα (pneuma) is understood as a qualitative predicate nominative while the articular θεός (qeos) is the subject.
[4:25] 86 tn Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “the one who has been anointed.”
[4:25] 88 tn Or “he will announce to us.”
[4:25] 89 tn Grk “all things.”
[4:27] 90 tn Or “his disciples returned”; Grk “came” (“back” is supplied in keeping with English usage). Because of the length of the Greek sentence it is better to divide here and begin a new English sentence, leaving the καί (kai) before ἐθαύμαζον (eqaumazon) untranslated.
[4:27] 91 tn BDAG 444 s.v. θαυμάζω 1.a.γ has “be surprised that” followed by indirect discourse. The context calls for a slightly stronger wording.
[4:27] 92 tn The ὅτι (Joti) could also be translated as declarative (“that he had been speaking with a woman”) but since this would probably require translating the imperfect verb as a past perfect (which is normal after a declarative ὅτι), it is preferable to take this ὅτι as causal.
[4:27] 93 tn Grk “seek.” See John 4:23.
[4:28] 94 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.
[4:29] 95 tn Grk “the Christ” (both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”). Although the Greek text reads χριστός (cristos) here, it is more consistent based on 4:25 (where Μεσσίας [Messias] is the lead term and is qualified by χριστός) to translate χριστός as “Messiah” here.
[4:29] 96 tn The use of μήτι (mhti) normally presupposes a negative answer. This should not be taken as an indication that the woman did not believe, however. It may well be an example of “reverse psychology,” designed to gain a hearing for her testimony among those whose doubts about her background would obviate her claims.
[4:30] 97 tn “So” is supplied for transitional smoothness in English.
[4:30] 98 sn The imperfect tense is here rendered began coming for the author is not finished with this part of the story yet; these same Samaritans will appear again in v. 35.
[4:31] 99 tn Grk “were asking him, saying.”
[4:31] 100 tn The direct object of φάγε (fage) in Greek is understood; “something” is supplied in English.
[4:33] 101 tn An ingressive imperfect conveys the idea that Jesus’ reply provoked the disciples’ response.
[4:33] 102 tn The direct object of ἤνεγκεν (hnenken) in Greek is understood; “anything” is supplied in English.
[4:33] 103 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here it is “did they?”).
[4:34] 104 sn The one who sent me refers to the Father.
[4:34] 105 tn Or “to accomplish.”
[4:34] 106 tn The substantival ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated as an English infinitive clause.
[4:35] 107 tn The recitative ὅτι (Joti) after λέγετε (legete) has not been translated.
[4:35] 108 tn Grk “lift up your eyes” (an idiom). BDAG 357 s.v. ἐπαίρω 1 has “look up” here.
[4:35] 109 tn That is, “ripe.”
[4:36] 110 tn Or “a reward”; see L&N 38.14 and 57.173. This is something of a wordplay.
[4:37] 111 tn The recitative ὅτι (Joti) after ἀληθινός (alhqino") has not been translated.
[4:39] 112 tn Grk “when she testified.”
[4:40] 113 tn Following the arrival of the Samaritans, the imperfect verb has been translated as ingressive.
[4:40] 114 tn Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the sequencing with the following verse, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.
[4:41] 115 tn Or “and they believed much more.”
[4:42] 116 tn Or “this.” The Greek pronoun can mean either “this one” or “this” (BDAG 740 s.v. οὗτος 1).
[4:42] 117 sn There is irony in the Samaritans’ declaration that Jesus was really the Savior of the world, an irony foreshadowed in the prologue to the Fourth Gospel (1:11): “He came to his own, and his own did not receive him.” Yet the Samaritans welcomed Jesus and proclaimed him to be not the Jewish Messiah only, but the Savior of the world.
