4:7 A Samaritan woman 3 came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me some water 4 to drink.” 4:8 (For his disciples had gone off into the town to buy supplies. 5 ) 6
4:31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, 9 “Rabbi, eat something.” 10 4:32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” 4:33 So the disciples began to say 11 to one another, “No one brought him anything 12 to eat, did they?” 13 4:34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me 14 and to complete 15 his work. 16
1 tn Grk “on (ἐπί, epi) the well.” There may have been a low stone rim encircling the well, or the reading of Ì66 (“on the ground”) may be correct.
2 tn Grk “the sixth hour.”
sn It was about noon. The suggestion has been made by some that time should be reckoned from midnight rather than sunrise. This would make the time 6 a.m. rather than noon. That would fit in this passage but not in John 19:14 which places the time when Jesus is condemned to be crucified at “the sixth hour.”
3 tn Grk “a woman from Samaria.” According to BDAG 912 s.v. Σαμάρεια, the prepositional phrase is to be translated as a simple attributive: “γυνὴ ἐκ τῆς Σαμαρείας a Samaritan woman J 4:7.”
4 tn The phrase “some water” is supplied as the understood direct object of the infinitive πεῖν (pein).
5 tn Grk “buy food.”
6 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author, indicating why Jesus asked the woman for a drink (for presumably his disciples also took the water bucket with them).
7 tn “So” is supplied for transitional smoothness in English.
8 sn The imperfect tense is here rendered began coming for the author is not finished with this part of the story yet; these same Samaritans will appear again in v. 35.
9 tn Grk “were asking him, saying.”
10 tn The direct object of φάγε (fage) in Greek is understood; “something” is supplied in English.
11 tn An ingressive imperfect conveys the idea that Jesus’ reply provoked the disciples’ response.
12 tn The direct object of ἤνεγκεν (hnenken) in Greek is understood; “anything” is supplied in English.
13 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 English (here it is “did they?”).
14 sn The one who sent me refers to the Father.
15 tn Or “to accomplish.”
16 tn The substantival ἵνα (Jina) clause has been translated as an English infinitive clause.
sn No one brought him anything to eat, did they? In the discussion with the disciples which took place while the woman had gone into the city, note again the misunderstanding: The disciples thought Jesus referred to physical food, while he was really speaking figuratively and spiritually again. Thus Jesus was forced to explain what he meant, and the explanation that his food was his mission, to do the will of God and accomplish his work, leads naturally into the metaphor of the harvest. The fruit of his mission was represented by the Samaritans who were coming to him.