Discovery BoxJohn 4:6 
Context4:6 Jacob’s well was there, so Jesus, since he was tired from the journey, sat right down beside 1 the well. It was about noon. 2
John 4:14
Context4:14 But whoever drinks some of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again, 3 but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain 4 of water springing up 5 to eternal life.”
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 “will never be thirsty forever.” The possibility of a later thirst is emphatically denied.
4 tn Or “well.” “Fountain” is used as the translation for πηγή (phgh) here since the idea is that of an artesian well that flows freely, but the term “artesian well” is not common in contemporary English.
5 tn The verb ἁλλομένου (Jallomenou) is used of quick movement (like jumping) on the part of living beings. This is the only instance of its being applied to the action of water. However, in the LXX it is used to describe the “Spirit of God” as it falls on Samson and Saul. See Judg 14:6, 19; 15:14; 1 Kgdms 10:2, 10 LXX (= 1 Sam 10:6, 10 ET); and Isa 35:6 (note context).
