Chapter
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

John 4:7

ESV A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink."
NIV When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, "Will you give me a drink?"
NASB A woman of Samaria *came to draw water. Jesus *said to her, 'Give Me a drink.'
CSB A woman of Samaria came to draw water. "Give me a drink," Jesus said to her,
NLT Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, 'Please give me a drink.'
KJV There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
NKJV A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.”

What does John 4:7 mean?

Jesus' request was surprising for several reasons. First, in that era, men and women typically did not speak to each other in public—especially if they were not married or related. This was even more the case when they didn't already have some knowledge of each other. Secondly, the woman in question was a Samaritan. Most Jews hated Samaritans to begin with. In fact, rabbinic law declared that Samaritan women were perpetually unclean. Interacting with her, especially in a way that would involve contact and use of the same utensils, would have been unthinkable for a typical rabbi. As noted in verse 9, Jews typically refused even the slightest contact with Samaritans.

Given that this woman did not know Jesus, and they were completely alone (John 4:8), she might well have been nervous. She may have wondered what His intentions were, and why He was trying to talk to her. From a social standpoint, there were no obvious reasons why He would want to.
Expand
Expand
Expand
What is the Gospel?
Download the app: