John 4:4-26

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - John 4:7

(7) Of Samaria—i.e., of the country (John 4:1), not of the city, which was nine miles farther north. She was of the people inhabiting the valley between Ebal and Gerizim, not, like Himself, a chance passenger by the well. The contrast is at once drawn between Him, a Jew and a man, and her, of Samaria and a woman.Give me to drink is the almost always asked and almost never refused favour as the traveller meets the native by the well-side. He was wearied by the heat of the journey, and seeks the... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - John 4:8

(8) For introduces His reason for asking this favour of her. The disciples had gone on. He was alone, and without the means of getting water for Himself (John 4:11).Meat.—Better, food, as the former word is misleading in modern English. See Genesis 1:29-30, and Deuteronomy 20:20, where herbs and fruits are termed “meat.” It will be remembered that the meat-offering did not consist of flesh, but of flour and oil and ears of corn (Leviticus 2:0). read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - John 4:9

(9) Woman of Samaria (twice).—Better, Samaritan woman. In both cases the Greek has the adjective. It is the religious and national position as a Samaritan which is prominent in this verse.Being a Jew.—This she would know from dress and language. It has been noted that the Hebrew for “Give me to drink,” “Teni lishekoth,” contains the letter Sin, or Shin, which was one of the distinctive points in the Ephraimite pronunciation. They did not say Shibboleth, but Sibboleth (Judges 12:5-6). They would... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - John 4:10

(10) If thou knewest the gift of God.—Expositors differ very widely as to the meaning to be given to “the gift of God” and “living water.” See, e.g., the summaries of views in the notes of Meyer and Godet, both of which are now translated into English. Yet there can be little doubt of the true meaning if we observe the turn given to her question by the emphatic pronouns, “Thou wouldest have asked of Him.” You stand by this deep well that for centuries has been God’s gift of refreshment to man... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - John 4:11

(11) The woman saith unto him, Sir . . .—Her tone changes to one of respect. Something in His voice and manner, it may be, has touched her. She does not understand His words, but she is conscious of their latent force. She feels the presence of One who teaches with authority, and the “Thou, being a Jew,” passes to the reverential “Sir.” Still, she does not see how He can give her living water. Where will He get it? He has no means for drawing it, and the water in the well is far below His... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - John 4:12

(12) Art thou greater . . .?—Again, the pronoun is the emphatic word, “Thou surely art not greater.” “The well used to satisfy the wants of the patriarch, and his household, and his flocks, and has come down from him to us. It is surely sufficient for all our wants.” This claim of Jacob as their father was through Ephraim and Joseph, and the well was part of “the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his .son Joseph” (John 4:5). There was abundance of water near to it, but a patriarchal household... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - John 4:13-14

(13, 14) Whosoever drinketh of this water.—Jesus does not answer her question, but asserts the universal recurrence of thirst, after even the water of Jacob’s well, to lead her to the thought that His “living water” is something widely different. read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - John 4:14

(14) The water that I shall give him.—These words are emphatic as opposed to this water. It is not an external supply, which must be sought to meet the recurring physical want, but it is the inner never-failing source, the fountain of living water, which satisfies every want as it occurs. He who has it, therefore, can never thirst. Coming from the source of all life, it issues in eternal life. (Comp. Notes on John 7:37-38.) read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - John 4:15

(15) Come hither.—The Sinaitic and Vatican and some other MSS. read, “come through hither,” or as Alford, who adopts the reading, renders it, “come all the way hither.” Godet also adopts the reading, but renders it, in the service of a forced explanation, “pass by here,” thinking that the woman was on her way home from work at meal-time, and that this accounts for her presence at the well at noon. He regards this as sans doute, but the reading itself is at least uncertain, and is probably to be... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - John 4:16

(16) Go, call thy husband.—She has asked for this living water. She knows not that the well must first be dug. In the depth of her spirit there is a power of life; but like the source of a spring, it is hidden. Many a hard rock of impenitence was there, and many a layer of every-day transgression, and many a habit once formable as clay, now hard as adamant, and many a deposit of carnal thought which had left nothing but its dregs behind. All this must be dug through before she can have the... read more

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