John 4:29

4:29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Surely he can’t be the Messiah, ¹  can he?” ² 

John 4:12

4:12 Surely you’re not greater than our ancestor ³  Jacob, are you? For he gave us this well and drank from it himself, along with his sons and his livestock.” ⁴ 

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¹ tn Grk “the Christ” (both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”). Although the Greek text reads χριστός (cristos) here, it is more consistent based on 4:25 (where Μεσσίας [Messias] is the lead term and is qualified by χριστός) to translate χριστός as “Messiah” here.

² tn The use of μήτι (mhti) normally presupposes a negative answer. This should not be taken as an indication that the woman did not believe, however. It may well be an example of “reverse psychology,” designed to gain a hearing for her testimony among those whose doubts about her background would obviate her claims.

³ tn Or “our forefather”; Grk “our father.”

⁴ tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end. In this instance all of v. 12 is one question. It has been broken into two sentences for the sake of English style (instead of “for he” the Greek reads “who”).