A Study of John's Gospel

John 4:10-15: "Where Do You Get That Living Water?"

"Where Do You Get That Living Water?"

A study of John 4:10-15

"Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." The woman said to him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock." Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.""

‭‭John‬ ‭4‬:‭10‬-‭15‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Definitions of the original language in the context of this passage:

-You Knew: "ᾔδεις"; "eidō", "εἴδω"; verb - understand, perceive of any fact.

-Gift: "δωρεὰν"; "dōrea", "δωρεά"; feminine noun - a gift.

-Living: "ζῶν"; "zaō", "ζάω"; verb - living water: i.e. bubbling up, gushing forth, flowing, with the suggested idea of refreshment and salubrity (opposed to the water of cisterns and pools (cf. our spring water)), is figuratively used of the spirit and truth of God as satisfying the needs and desires of the soul.

-Water: "ydōr", "ὕδωρ"; neuter noun - water.

-Nothing: "oute", "οὔτε"; adverb - an adjunctive negative conjunction; neither, and not.

-Well: "phrear", "φρέαρ"; neuter noun - a well.

-Deep: "βαθύ"; "bathys", "βαθύς"; adjective - deep.

-Greater Than: "μείζων"; megas", "μέγας"; adjective - of persons, eminent for ability, virtue, authority, power; is used of those who surpass others — either in nature and power.

-Jacob: "Iakōb", "Ἰακώβ"; proper masculine noun - Jacob = 'heel-catcher or supplanter', the second son of the patriarch Isaac.

-Thirst: "διψήσει"; "dipsaō", "διψάω"; verb - to suffer thirst; figuratively, those who are said to thirst who painfully feel their want of, and eagerly long for, those things by which the soul is refreshed, supported, strengthened.

- A Spring (A Well): "pēgē", "πηγή"; feminine noun - fountain, spring.

-Welling Up (Springing Up): "ἁλλομένου"; "allomai", "ἅλλομαι"; verb - to spring up, gush up, of water.

-Eternal: "αἰώνιον", "ainōnios", "αἰώνιος"; adjective - without end, never to cease, everlasting.

-Life: "ζωὴν"; "zōē", "ζωή"; feminine noun - life real and genuine, vita quae sola vita nominanda (Cicero, de sen. 21, 77), a life active and vigorous, devoted to God, blessed, the portion even in this world of those who put their trust in Christ, but after the resurrection to be consummated by new accessions (among them a more perfect body), and to last forever.

-Sir: "κύριε"; "Kyrios", "κύριος"; masculine noun - a title of honor, expressive of respect and reverence; employed by anyone who wishes to honor a man of distinction.

Observation/Summary (short explanation of what the passage says in your own words):

After being asked by a Samaritan woman why He, a Jew, would ask her for water, Jesus answers that if she knew who He was, she would ask Him for water and He would give her living water. Confused by this, the woman notes He does not even have a vessel to draw water out of the deep well with and asks Him where He would get this "living water." She also asked if He was greater than their forefather Jacob who dug the well centuries before. To clarify, Jesus tells her that whoever drinks the water He gives will never be thirsty again, and they will have this same living water fill them up inside and lead to eternal life. In response to this, the woman says, "Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water."