Samaritan Woman

Biblical Account

This woman appears only in John 4:1–42. Scripture does not record her name. On his way from Judea to Galilee, Jesus came to a town in Samaria called Sychar. Near it lay the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph, and Jacob's well was there. At "about the sixth hour" (John 4:6), commonly understood as around noon, a woman came to draw water, and the conversation began when Jesus asked her for a drink.

The conversation unfolds as follows:

• The woman is puzzled that a Jew would ask a Samaritan woman for water (4:9).
• Jesus speaks of "living water" that will cause one never to thirst again (4:10–14).
• Jesus speaks of the woman's five husbands and of the man she is now living with (4:16–18).
• The woman asks whether worship should take place on "this mountain" or in Jerusalem. Jesus answers that true worshipers "must worship him in spirit and in truth" (4:24).
• Jesus reveals that he is the Messiah, saying, "I that speak unto thee am he" (4:26).

The woman leaves her waterpot, goes into the town, and says, "Come, see" (4:29). Many Samaritans believe because of her word, and Jesus stays there two days. The people confess Jesus as "the Saviour of the world" (4:39–42).

Significance Within Scripture

At the time, Jews and Samaritans were so hostile to one another that they had no dealings with each other. It was also unusual for a male teacher to converse publicly with a woman he did not know. For these reasons, the story is read as an encounter that crosses ethnic, gender, and religious boundaries.

The account is also often contrasted with that of Nicodemus in John 3. Nicodemus is a Jewish leader who comes to Jesus at night; the woman is a Samaritan whom Jesus meets in broad daylight. The Samaritans' coming to faith through her testimony is sometimes read in connection with the evangelization of Samaria in Acts 1:8 and chapter 8.

Interpretation and Points of Debate

• The woman's past: Traditionally, this woman has been described as an immoral sinner. The text, however, does not say why she had been married five times, so some interpreters leave open the possibility that she had been widowed or that her husbands had divorced her. The explanation that she came to draw water at noon to avoid other people is likewise an inference not stated directly in the text.
• Living water: A widespread interpretation, linking the passage with John 7:38–39, identifies the living water with the Holy Spirit. Other interpretations understand it as eternal life or as Jesus' revelation.
• Worship in spirit and in truth: This verse is frequently cited as a basis for worship that is not bound to a particular place. Its specific application, however, varies among denominations and scholars.
• The woman's testimony: In discussions of women's ordination, this woman is sometimes cited as an example of a woman who proclaimed the gospel. Those holding the opposing view maintain that this should be distinguished from public church office.
• Extrabiblical tradition: The Eastern Orthodox tradition is reported to call this woman Photini and to honor her as a martyr. This tradition is not found in the biblical text.

In the Korean Church

In the Korean church she is commonly called "the woman of Sychar." The story is frequently treated in sermons on evangelism, with "Come, see" in particular held up as a model of relational evangelism. It is also used in testimony sermons on encounter and transformation, and it appears in Sunday school curricula. The gospel song "Like the Woman at the Well" (우물가의 여인처럼) is said to be a translation of the American song "Fill My Cup, Lord"; it sings of a thirst that the things of the world cannot satisfy.