John 4:6
New International Version
Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.

New Living Translation
Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime.

English Standard Version
Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.

Berean Standard Bible
Since Jacob’s well was there, Jesus, weary from His journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

Berean Literal Bible
And Jacob's well was there. Therefore Jesus, being wearied from the journey, thus was sitting at the well. The hour was about the sixth.

King James Bible
Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.

New King James Version
Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

New American Standard Bible
and Jacob’s well was there. So Jesus, tired from His journey, was just sitting by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

NASB 1995
and Jacob’s well was there. So Jesus, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

NASB 1977
and Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

Legacy Standard Bible
and Jacob’s well was there. So Jesus, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

Amplified Bible
and Jacob’s well was there. So Jesus, tired as He was from His journey, sat down by the well. It was then about the sixth hour (noon).

Christian Standard Bible
Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, worn out from his journey, sat down at the well. It was about noon.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, worn out from His journey, sat down at the well. It was about six in the evening.

American Standard Version
and Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And Jaqob's spring of water was there, and Yeshua, weary from walking, sat down by himself at the spring at the sixth hour.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well. It was about the sixth hour.

English Revised Version
and Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Jacob's Well was there. Jesus sat down by the well because he was tired from traveling. The time was about six o'clock in the evening.

Good News Translation
Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired out by the trip, sat down by the well. It was about noon.

International Standard Version
Jacob's Well was also there, and Jesus, tired out by the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.

Literal Standard Version
and there was there a well of Jacob. Jesus therefore having been weary from the journeying, was thus sitting on the well; it was as it were the sixth hour;

Majority Standard Bible
Since Jacob’s well was there, Jesus, weary from His journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

New American Bible
Jacob’s well was there. Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well. It was about noon.

NET Bible
Jacob's well was there, so Jesus, since he was tired from the journey, sat right down beside the well. It was about noon.

New Revised Standard Version
Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.

New Heart English Bible
Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being tired from his journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.

Webster's Bible Translation
Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.

Weymouth New Testament
Jacob's Well was there: and accordingly Jesus, tired out with His journey, sat down by the well to rest. It was about six o'clock in the evening.

World English Bible
Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being tired from his journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

Young's Literal Translation
and there was there a well of Jacob. Jesus therefore having been weary from the journeying, was sitting thus on the well; it was as it were the sixth hour;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Jesus and the Samaritan Woman
5So He came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6Since Jacob’s well was there, Jesus, weary from His journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. 7When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.”…

Cross References
John 4:5
So He came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.

John 4:7
When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink."

John 4:12
Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock?"


Treasury of Scripture

Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.

Jacob's well.

being.

Matthew 4:2
And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

Matthew 8:24
And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.

Hebrews 2:17
Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.

sat.

Luke 2:7
And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

Luke 9:58
And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

2 Corinthians 8:9
For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.

the sixth.

John 11:9
Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.

Matthew 27:45
Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.

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Accordingly Evening Hour Jacob Jacob's Jesus Journey O'clock Rest Resting Sat Sitting Six Sixth Tired Way Wearied Weary
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Accordingly Evening Hour Jacob Jacob's Jesus Journey O'clock Rest Resting Sat Sitting Six Sixth Tired Way Wearied Weary
John 4
1. Jesus talks with a woman of Samaria, and reveals his identity to her.
27. His disciples marvel.
31. He declares to them his zeal for God's glory.
39. Many Samaritans believe on him.
43. He departs into Galilee, and heals the ruler's son that lay sick at Capernaum.














(6) Jacob's well is one of the few spots about the position of which all travellers are agreed. Jesus, passing from south to west would pass up the valley of Mochna until the road turns sharp to the west, to enter the valley of Sichem between Ebal and Gerizim. Here is Jacob's field, and in the field is Jacob's well. It is dug in the rock, and is about 9 feet in diameter. The older travellers described it as more than 100 feet deep, and with several feet of water. Modern travellers have generally found it dry. Wilson describes it, in 1843, as only 75 feet deep.

Sat thus on the well.--Better, was sitting thus at the well. The words are one of the instances of exact knowledge which meet us in this Gospel. The tense is the descriptive imperfect. He was thus sitting when the woman came. He thus recalls the picture as it was impressed and remained fixed in the writer's mind. He saw Him, wearied by the noontide journey, sitting thus by the well, while they went on to the city to procure food. The reality of this fatigue, as one of the instances witnessing to the reality of His human nature, is important.

About the sixth hour--i.e., as elsewhere in St. John, following the ordinary mode of counting, about 12 o'clock. (Comp. Note on John 1:39.) It is contended, on the other hand, that this was not the usual time for women to resort to the wells to draw water, but the narrative perhaps implies an unusual hour, as it speaks of only one woman there.

Verse 6. - Now Jacob's well was there; more literally, now there was a spring there, Jacob's. The word generally translated "well" is φρέαρ, the representative of בְּאֵר, puteus; but πηγή, the word here used, corresponds with עַיִן, fons. In vers. 11, 12 the word φρέαρ is used of the same place. To the present day this indubitable site goes by both names. This district abounds in springs (Deuteronomy 8:7), and the digging of this deep well was a work of supererogation, such as might be performed by a stranger in the land. The well is indeed fed by fountains of water in the neighbourhood. It has been known as Jacob's well by a continuous tradition, and is situated in the plain of Mukhhan, under the rough sides of Gerizim, just beyond the spot where the plain is entered almost at right angles by the eastern end of the vale of Shechem. The latter vale is constituted by the two mountain ridges of Gerizim on the south and Ebal on the north. Nablous, or Shechem, is not visible from the well of Sychar, being hidden by the spur of Gerizim from view, and higher up the valley of Shechem are the present ruins of Sebastich or Samaria proper. Dean Stanley said it was one of the most beautiful spots in Palestine. Sychar lies half a mile to the north of the traditional well. The well, two hundred years ago, was declared by Maundrell to be a hundred and five feet deep, and built of solid masonry. In 1866 Lieutenant Anderson found it seventy-five feet deep, and quite dry. It is nine or ten feet in diameter; and it is one of the most indubitable spots where we may feel certain that the feet of the blessed Lord have trod. Efforts are now being made by the Palestine Exploration Society to protect and restore the well. Jesus therefore, being wearied (κοπιάω is "to labour unto weariness," from κόπος, exhausting toil) with his journey. A long, exhausting march told upon him, and he felt the weakness of our humanity. Thoma suggests that, because the woman that Jacob found at the well was Rachel, the mother of Joseph, the Samaritans' special patriarch, and because Leah was the mother of Levi and Judah, and her name means "wearied," so Jesus is represented as weary with his journey unto the home of Rachel! It is far more important to notice that the author of this Gospel, whose main idea was that Jesus is "the only begotten Son of the Father," "the Word made flesh," yet impresses upon us continually his realization of the full humanity, the definite, concrete human existence of Jesus. His life was no phantasm of the imagination, no mere docetic manifestation, as the Tubingen school attribute to the Johannine Christ, but veritable man. This Gospel alone records his presence and miracle at Cana, his travel-worn sympathy with our weakness, his making clay with spittle, his weeping over the grave of a friend, his thirst upon the cross, the blood that issued from his wounded side, and the obvious physical reality of his risen body, and thus furnishes the Church with the grounds on which the apostle maintained his Divine humanity. Jesus was seated thus - or, sat thus; i.e. wearied, exhausted - on the well; or on the low parapet of the well, which protected its mouth, he sat there comparatively, if not quite, alone. The position of the word "thus" after "sat" would, in classic Greek, make the οὕτως mean "simply, without other preoccupation;" but there is no logical reason to deprive the οὕτως of its full meaning (Hengstenberg). The Lord, taking his seat by this memorable spot, rich in varied associations, becomes at once a type of the richer and diviner supply of life which he is able and ready to dispense to mankind. The weariness and waiting of the Lord at the well was a sublime hint of the exhaustless supply of grace which was ever flowing from the broken heart of the Son of God. It was about the sixth hour. The author is remarkable for his repeated mention of the hours at which some of the most memorable crises of his life took place, and thus gives a vivid impression of reality and of the presence of the eyewitness. He must himself have waited by the side of the Lord, and overheard the conversation which followed, just as he did the conversation with Nicodemus. Great difference of opinion prevails as to his method of computing time; i.e. whether he adopted the Jewish computation, from sunrise to sunset into twelve variable hours, or the Roman method of computation, from midnight to midday, from noon to midnight, into twelve hours of equal length. Some difficulties are reduced by the latter hypothesis (see M'Clellan and Westcott, 'Additional Notes to John 19;' Edersheim, l.c., 1:405; Moulton, in loco; Townson, 'Discourses of the Four Gospels,' p. 215). The hour referred to would then be about six o'clock in the evening, the very time when purchases would be made, and when women are in the habit of drawing water. The difficulty that presents itself is the brevity of the time remaining for all that happens as described in vers. 27-38, broad daylight being almost presupposed in ver. 35. Still, if "about the sixth hour" was five o'clock, even in January there would be possible time for the conversation, for the return of the disciples, and also for the approach of the Samaritans; though it must be remembered that twilight in Palestine is very brief, and that the whole narrative suggests the idea of leisure rather than hurried converse. If the Roman method of interpretation were adopted, the sixth hour might mean six o'clock in the morning, which was the hour intended, if the Roman computation must be supposed in John 19:14. This suggestion has further difficulties. The weariness of the Lord at that early hour would imply a long journey before daybreak, which is extremely improbable (see John 11:9). Besides, though Townson and M'Clellan lay emphasis on this Roman computation of time in Asia Minor, and advance some proof of it, yet some of their authorities are far from proving it. Luthardt says we have no right to suppose that John would deviate from the current Jewish computation. "About the sixth hour" would therefore mean "about noon," the very time when it is so common to rest after a morning journey. Lucke, Meyer, Hengstenberg, Godet, Lange, Schaff, Geikie, Watkins, all press the same interpretation of the words. Lucke justly says that there is no hint of the Lord and his disciples intending to remain by the well, but to pursue their journey after rest and food. This is inconsistent with the idea of an evening halt.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
Since
δὲ (de)
Conjunction
Strong's 1161: A primary particle; but, and, etc.

Jacob’s
Ἰακώβ (Iakōb)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 2384: Of Hebrew origin; Jacob, the progenitor of the Israelites.

well
πηγὴ (pēgē)
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 4077: A fountain, spring, well, issue, flow. Probably from pegnumi; a fount, i.e. Source or supply.

was
ἦν (ēn)
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1510: I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist.

there,
ἐκεῖ (ekei)
Adverb
Strong's 1563: (a) there, yonder, in that place, (b) thither, there. Of uncertain affinity; there; by extension, thither.

Jesus,
Ἰησοῦς (Iēsous)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2424: Of Hebrew origin; Jesus, the name of our Lord and two other Israelites.

weary
κεκοπιακὼς (kekopiakōs)
Verb - Perfect Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2872: From a derivative of kopos; to feel fatigue; by implication, to work hard.

from
ἐκ (ek)
Preposition
Strong's 1537: From out, out from among, from, suggesting from the interior outwards. A primary preposition denoting origin, from, out.

[His]
τῆς (tēs)
Article - Genitive Feminine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

journey,
ὁδοιπορίας (hodoiporias)
Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular
Strong's 3597: A journey, journeying, travel. From the same as hodoiporeo; travel.

sat down
ἐκαθέζετο (ekathezeto)
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 2516: To be sitting, sit down, be seated. From kata and the base of hedraios; to sit down.

by
ἐπὶ (epi)
Preposition
Strong's 1909: On, to, against, on the basis of, at.

the
τῇ (tē)
Article - Dative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

well.
πηγῇ (pēgē)
Noun - Dative Feminine Singular
Strong's 4077: A fountain, spring, well, issue, flow. Probably from pegnumi; a fount, i.e. Source or supply.

It was
ἦν (ēn)
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1510: I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist.

about
ὡς (hōs)
Adverb
Strong's 5613: Probably adverb of comparative from hos; which how, i.e. In that manner.

[the] sixth
ἕκτη (hektē)
Adjective - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 1623: Sixth. Ordinal from hex; sixth.

hour.
ὥρα (hōra)
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 5610: Apparently a primary word; an 'hour'.


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