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John
4:5-42
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(December 0708)
 | Reading the Text:
|
| Historical References, Commentary and
Comparative Texts:
 | The
Five Gospels Parallels, John W. Marshall, University of Toronto. |
| 2 Kings
17 |
| Primary texts (Pseudepigrapha, Targum, Midrash, Targum) about Messainic Expectation.
Primary texts about the Judean-Samaritan
Feud and Samaritan
Theology. Comparative primary texts about Purity and Social Relations (see
esp "Sin Causes Sickness," from Mishnah, Midrash, Tosefta, and Babylonian
Talmud. At Mahlon H. Smith's (Rutgers University) Into His Own: Perspective on the World
of Jesus. |
|
Chapter VII, The
Epistle of Ignatius to the Romans,
Ignatius of Antioch (c. 110).
(Longer version only - 4th cent interpolation.) |
|
Chapter IV, Discourse
to the Greeks,
Tatian.
(c. 170) |
|
III.XXII.2,
IV.II.7,
IV.XXIII.1,
IV.XXV.3,
IV.XXXVI.4, Adversus
Haereses,
Irenaeus of Lyons.
(c. 180) |
|
Chapter
IX, On Baptism,
Tertullian
(c. 198) |
|
Chapter
XXVIII, On Prayer,
Tertullian
(c. 199) |
|
I.6,
I.9, Paedagogus,
Clement of Alexandria (c 200) |
|
I.6, Stromata,
Clement of Alexandria (c 200) |
|
Chapter XXXII,
Against Hermogenes,
Tertullian (c.
205) |
|
IV.35, Against
Marcion,
Tertullian
(c. 210) |
|
Chapter
VII, On the Resurrection of the Flesh,
Tertullian
(c. 211) |
|
Chapter
VII,
Chapter
XXI, Against Praxeas,
Tertullian
(c. 213) |
|
Chapter
VIII, On Monogamy,
Tertullian
(c. 215) |
|
Chapter
XI, On Modesty,
Tertullian
(c. 217) |
|
I.I.1, 4, First
Principles (De Principiis),
Origen.
(c.225) |
|
V.IV,
V.XIV,
V.XXII, The
Refutation of all Heresies (Philosophumena),
Hippolytus of Rome.
(c. 225) |
|
II.LXXI,
VI.LXX, Against
Celsus,
Origen.
(c.246) |
|
On the
Lord's Prayer --
Cyprian
of Carthage (c. 252) |
|
Epistle LXII
--
Cyprian of Carthage (c.
253) |
| From Augustine's Tractates on John:
Tractate XV
(4:1-42). |
|
HOMILY
XXXII. John
4:13, 14 by St. John Chrysostom. |
| The
Freedom of a Christian, by Martin Luther |
| From the Geneva Notes.
 | "Christ, leaving the proud Pharisees,
communicates the treasures of everlasting life with a poor sinful woman
and stranger, refuting the gross errors of the Samaritans, and defending
the true service of God, which was delivered to the Jews, but yet in such
a way that he here calls both Samaritans and Jews back to himself, as one
whom only all the fathers, and also all the ceremonies of the law,
regarded, and had respect for." |
|
| From
Matthew
Henry's Commentary.
| "No past sins can bar our acceptance
with him, if we humble ourselves before him, believing in him as the
Christ, the Saviour of the world." |
|
| From
Wesley's
Notes.
| "But she might the more easily mistake
his meaning, because living water was a common phrase among the Jews for
spring water." |
|
| From the
Commentary on the Whole Bible
(Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, 1871). |
| From The People's
New Testament, B.W. Johnson, 1891.
| "The antipathy between the Jews and
Samaritans was so bitter that they were never wont to ask any hospitable
rite. The woman's reply is not a refusal of the Lord's request, but an
expression of astonishment that a Jew should ask a favor of a Samaritan." |
|
|
| Contemporary Commentary, Studies, and Exegesis:
|
Dylan's Lectionary Blog,
Lent 3, 2005. Biblical Scholar
Sarah Dylan Breuer looks at readings for the coming Sunday in the lectionary
of the Episcopal Church.
|
"What transformed this woman could transform our
world. The woman at the well was despised by her village, which
was despised by Judeans, whose ancestors had been humilated by
Babylonians. From generation to generation, humilation,
resentment, and violence were passed down by people keeping the
score so that they could seek to even it. Jesus sets aside all
score-keeping, and by treating all as if all were forgiven, he
makes forgiveness possible -- even for self-righteous sinners
like us."
|
|
|
"First
Thoughts on Year A Gospel Passages in the Lectionary:
Lent 3,"
William Loader, Murdoch University, Uniting Church in Australia.
| "This wonderful piece of drama has many
levels of meaning. As always in John its central character is God and
God’s gift of life through the invitation to live in the holy space of
love, the true worship in the Spirit, which is also the living space of
the Father and the Son. That love, embodied, cuts across racial and
cultural prejudice, affirms women, engages and loves sinners." |
|
|
Comments
(commentary) and
Clippings
(technical notes for in-depth study), Chris Haslam, Anglican
Diocese of Montreal. |
|
"Surprises at the Well,"
Kenneth E. Bailey, Presbyterian Outlook,
2008. (Requires free registration.)
| "The one who empties self is able
to empower us to become a source of life for others." |
|
|
"The
Woman at the Well: Third Sunday in Lent 2008,"
The Journey with Jesus: Notes to Myself, Daniel B. Clendenin, Journey
with Jesus Foundation, 2008.
| "The kingdom that
Jesus announced is not one of a privatized faith whose purpose is to
guarantee personal peace and affluence." |
|
|
"The Woman at the Well,"
Gospel Analysis, Sermons from
Seattle, Pastor Edward F. Markquart, Grace Lutheran Church, Seattle,
Washington. Detailed background and exegesis.
| "The testimony of another person may get your
attention initially, but ultimately, the Spirit of Christ works in
one’s own life in a unique way." |
|
|
Preaching the Lesson, Anna Carter Florence, Lectionary Homiletics
sample.
| "What would it be like to set out on our errands
today, believing that one of these people might truly see us? That
one of these people might be, for us, the miracle of grace?" |
|
|
"Second Sunday in Lent: John 4:54-42,"
New Sight, New Life: Lenten Gospels, Gracia Grindal,
Word & World: Theology for Christian Ministry, Luther
Northwestern Theological School, 1996. |
|
"Discipleship in John: Four Profiles," Mark F. Whitters,
Word & World: Theology for Christian Ministry, Volume XVIII,
Number 4, Luther Northwestern Theological School, 1998.
| "Reviewing
Jesus' encounter with four potential disciples in John's Gospel can help
us understand our own discipleship -- potential and real." |
|
|
"No God but God," study guide for
adults, Robert B. Kruschwitz, (other resources at)
"Christianity and Islam," Christian Reflection, The Center for Christian
Ethics at Baylor University, 2005.
|
|
"Exegetical Considerations:
Lent 3,"
Richard Carlson, Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, Using Greek
for Sunday Text Preparations.
| "How is water used literally ('this
water') and symbolically ('living water') in the story?" |
|
|
"Woman at the Well,"
Sarah M. Foulger,
Stirred by the Light
- Voices of Lent. |
|
"Spiritual Snobs," Scott McKnight, The Christian Century,
2005.
| "When we look within ourselves or at others, we
are prone to self-promotion or blame or judgment." |
|
| Lectionary
Commentary and Preaching Paths (Lent A3), by Jirair Tashjian, at The
Christian Resource Institute.
| "Has the church really done all that it
could to take on the issue of racial prejudice? What about prejudice based
on gender and economic status? How ready is the church to minister to
people whose morality does not measure up to the church’s standards?" |
|
|
"The
Witness at the Well," commentary by Fred B. Craddock from The
Christian Century, 1990. At Religion Online.
| "She is open and honest, a
truth-seeker hindered only by a hypocritical town that forces her to
come alone to the well at noon rather than the customary evening
hour. Moralizers, however, have painted her as dangerous: beware her
seductive ways, her mincing walk, her eyes waiting in ambush." |
|
|
Exegetical Notes
by Brian Stoffregen at CrossMarks Christian Resources.
| "Our language about what God offers:
justification, sanctification, forgiveness, grace, etc., may be just as
confusing to the world as "living water" was to this woman (or "born from
above" was to Nicodemus). What will "speak" to this woman? What will speak
to the unbelieving world? How do we help the world know what to ask for?" |
|
|
"Face to Face with God," Barbara Brown Taylor, The Christian Century,
1996.
| "By telling the woman who she is, Jesus
shows her who he is. By confirming her true identity, he reveals his own,
and that is how it still happens." |
|
|
"You Know
Who I Am and you Still Love Me?"
Jerry Goebel, One
Family Outreach. "Focus on scripture from a justice perspective." Exegesis, study, and teen study
and activities.
| "Yet, look how patient Jesus is with the woman.
Look at the skill with which he treats her wounds. Encouraging, then
confronting, the balance between the two is perfect. Look at how
much the Lord loves her. How profoundly he calls her to him. He asks
the perfect questions, he listens for the heart of her questions—not
taking the bait of her often sarcastic and flippant responses. He
sees through all her veils to an inner, deeper pain caused by years
of rejection and abuse." |
|
|
"Conversing about the Wellspring Within," Larry Broding's Word-Sunday.Com: A Catholic
Resource for This Sunday's Gospel. Adult Study, Children's Story, Family
Activity, Support Materials.
| "When was the last time you got in a
conversation with a stranger? What was the conversation about?" |
|
|
"Unlikely Messenger,"
Patricia Farris, The Christian Century, 2002.
Religion Online.
| "Not only is she a woman, but a
divorced woman with a shady past and a Samaritan. By custom, Rabbi Jesus
ought not even speak with her in public, let alone drink from her
Samaritan bucket. But what transpires between these two is nothing short
of miraculous. These strangers, these enemies, discover at the well that
they need each other." |
|
|
"Strangers
in the Night," Richard Lischer. Commentary from The
Christian Century, February, 1999. At Religion Online.
| "The story of Jesus and the
Samaritan woman turns out to be a love story after all, for only one
who loved you knows you as you are and not as you pretend to be.
Only one who loves you knows your deepest desires. Only one who
loves you can look at your past without blinking." |
|
|
"The Water of
Life," Rev. Bryan Findlayson, Lectionary Bible
Studies and Sermons, Pumpkin Cottage Ministry Resources. Includes detailed
textual notes. |
| "A
Divine Engagement," Scott F. Hunter, in Kerux: The Online
Journal of Biblical Theology (Reformed).
| "It was earlier noted that Jesus had to
pass through Samaria because of a divine engagement. But this engagement
was more than just an appointment for Christ; it was a wedding engagement
for the woman. It was an engagement of the most profound and holy
matrimony, that between Christ and his Church." |
|
| "The
Manifestation of the Messiah to the Samaritan Woman," by Robert Deffinbaugh at the Biblical Studies Foundation. |
|
Commentary
by Hall Harris at the Biblical Studies Foundation. |
| "The Woman
at the Well (John 4:1-42)," by Robert Deffinbaugh at the Biblical Studies Foundation. |
|
| Articles & Background:
|
"Women and Water
Privitization," Ana Elena Obando, Women's Human Rights net.
| "The increase of the global
degradation of ecosystems, the excessive consumption of water,
contamination and salinization of water-bearings, aquifers and dams,
along with the impact of extreme poverty which has been worsened by
privatization, are contributing factors to an environmental
catastrophe." |
|
|
"Jesus in Samaria: A Model for Cross-Cultural Ministry," Eric John
Wyckoff, Biblical Theology Bulletin, 2005.
| "A contextual approach shaped by modern
missiology, cultural anthropology, and local/contextual theology
highlights the text's sensitivity to ethnic identity, cultural and
religious traditions, past history, prejudice, marginalization,
differences in perspective, and human processes in faith development. Read
in this light, the passage can provide a model for ministry across
cultural barriers in a pluralistic world still crisscrossed by divisions." |
|
| "What's Wrong
With This Picture? John 4, Cultural Stereotypes of Women, and Public and Private
Space." Jerome H. Neyrey, Biblical Theology Bulletin 24 (1994):77-91.
| "In John 4, all social taboos customarily separating males and
females into separate worlds are systematically recognized, but broken and transformed.
This upsetting of cultural taboos, moreover, is conscious and intentional; it constitutes
an essential part of the communication of the author." |
|
|
"Discipleship in John: Four Profiles," Mark F. Whitters,
Word & World: Theology for Christian Ministry, Volume XVIII,
Number 4, Luther Northwestern Theological School, 1998.
| "Reviewing
Jesus' encounter with four potential disciples in John's Gospel can help
us understand our own discipleship -- potential and real." |
|
|
"Spaces and Places, Whence and Whither, Homes and Rooms: 'Territoriality' in
the Fourth Gospel," Jerome H. Neyrey, Biblical Theology Bulletin,
2002.
| "The mapping process of the Johannine
author reinforces the view of Jesus as an alien and his disciples as
living in 'no where.'" |
|
|
"The
Narrative Function of Anonymity in Fourth Gospel Characterization,"
David R. Beck,
Semeia 63:
Characterization in Biblical Literature, 1993. |
|
"Spirit,
Mercy, and the Other," Judith Gundry-Volf,
Theology Today, 1995.
| "This triumph is portrayed as coming
about through a Gentile woman's bold and persuasive insistence that God's
mercy is not doled out along ethnic, gender, or socio-cultural lines." |
|
| "The Sociology of
Secrecy and the Fourth Gospel." Jerome H. Neyrey, in What Is John? Vol.
II: Literary and Social Readings of the Fourth Gospel, 79-109. F. Segovia, ed.
Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1998.
| "Once we start to pull back the veil, we notice numerous instances
of hiding-revealing, secrecy, ambiguity and even lying. The following is an attempt to
catalogue the primary and related instances of secrecy and "information control"
in the document." |
|
|
| Articles in
ATLAS Journals. (Direct link when you are
subscribed and logged in to
ATLASerials online collection of Religion and Theology Journals.):
| Allison, Dale C., Jr.,
"The Living Water (John 4:10-14; 6:35c; 7:37-39)," St. Vladimir's
Theological Quarterly, 1986.
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| Ashton, John,
"The Identity and Function of the IOUDAIOI in the Fourth Gospel,"
Novum Testamentum, 1985. (See especially section beginning on page
48.)
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| Beck, David R.,
"The Narrative Function of Anonymity in Fourth Gospel Characterization,"
Semeia, 1993.
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| Bridges, Linda McKinnish, "John
4:5-42, Between Text and Sermon," Interpretation, 1994.
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| Brown, Raymond E.,
S.S.,
"Roles of Women in the Fourth Gospel," Theological Studies, 1975.
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| Bull, Robert J., "An
Archaeological Context for Understanding John 4:20," Biblical
Archaeologist, 1975.
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| Chappuis, Jean-Marc, "Jesus and
the Samaritan Woman: The Variable Geometry of Communication,"
Ecumenical Review, 1982.
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| Clader, Linda,
"One Water Washes Over Us All," The Living Pulpit, 2005.
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| Collins, C. John,
"John 4:23-24, 'In Spirit and Truth': An Idiomatic Proposal,"
Presbyterion, 1995.
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| Craddock, Fred B.,
"The Witness at the Well," The Christian Century, 1990.
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| Derrett, J. Duncan
M., "The Buddhist Dimension of John," Numen, 2004.
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| Dockery, David S., "Reading John
4:1-45: Some Diverse Hermeneutical Perspectives," Criswell
Theological Review, 1988.
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| Dube, Musa W., "Reading for
Decolonization," Semeia, 1996.
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| Farmer, Craig S., "Changing Images
of the Samaritan Woman in Early Reformed Commentaries on John,"
Church History, 1996.
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| Farris, Patricia,
"Unlikely Messenger," The Christian Century, 2002.
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| Grindal, Gracia, "New Sight, New
Life: Lenten Gospels," Word & World, 1996.
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| Gundry-Volf, Judith,
"Spirit, Mercy, and the Other," Theology Today, 1995.
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| Kilpatrick, G.D., "John 4:41,
PLEION or PLEIOUS," Novum Testamentum, 1976.
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| Koester, Craig R.,
"'The Savior of the World' (John 4:42)," Journal of Biblical
Literature, 1990.
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| Lamkin, James E.,
"'Location, Location, Location': A Homiletic Exegesis of John 4,"
Review & Expositor, 1999.
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| Lischer, Richard,
"Strangers in the Night," The Christian Century, 1999.
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| Maccini, Robert Gordon, "A
Reassessment of the Woman at the Well in John 4 in Light of the
Samaritan Context," Journal for the Study of the New Testament,
1994.
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| Margalit, Natan,
"Fountain of Life, River of Light," The Living Pulpit, 2005.
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| McKnight, Scot, "Spiritual Snobs,"
The Christian Century, 2005.
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| Milgram, Goldie,
"Water as a Portal to Sacred Consciousness," The Living Pulpit,
2005.
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| Moore, Stephen D., "Are There
Impurities in the Living Water that the Johannine Jesus Dispenses?
Deconstruction, Feminism, and the Samaritan Woman," Biblical
Interpretation, 1993.
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| Munro, Winsome, "The Pharisee and
the Samaritan in John: Polar or Parallel?" Catholic Biblical
Quarterly, 1995.
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| Neyrey, Jerome H., S.J.,
"Jacob Traditions and the Interpretation of John 4:10-26," The
Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 1979.
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| Painter, John,
"Quest Stories in John 1-4," Journal for the Study of the New
Testament, 1991.
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| Polhill, John B., "John 1-4: The
Revelation of True Life," Review & Expositor, 1988.
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| Rodríguez, José, "The Challenge of
Hispanic Ministry (Reflections on John 4)," Currents in Theology and
Mission, 1991.
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| Sheeley, Steven M., "'Lift Up Your
Eyes': John 4:4-42," Review & Expositor, 1995.
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| Sloyan, Gerard S., "The Samaritans
in the New Testament," Horizons, 1983.
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| Taylor, Barbara Brown, "Face to
Face with God," The Christian Century, 1996.
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| Vanek, Elizabeth-Anne, "Samaritan
Woman," Currents in Theology and Mission, 1984. (Poetry)
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| Wedel, Alton F., "John 4:5-26
(5-42), Expository Article," Interpretation, 1977.
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| Whitters, Mark F.,
"Discipleship in John: Four Profiles," Word & World, 1998.
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|
| Reviews:
|
Reviews:
Wai-Yee Ng, Water Symbolism in John: An Eschatological Interpretation.
Peter Lang, 2001. Review by Jo-Ann A. Brant and Ron Fay in SBL's Review
of Biblical Literature. |
|
Review:
Wai-Yee Ng, Water Symbolism in John: An Eschatological Interpretation.
Peter Lang, 2001. Review by Dennis M Sweetland
in The Catholic
Biblical Quarterly, 2003. |
|
Reviews: Jane S. Webster, Ingesting Jesus: Eating and Drinking in
the Gospel of John. Society of Biblical Literature, 2003. Reviews by
Francis J. Moloney, Peter-Ben Smit and Robert Baker in The Catholic
| | |
