John 4:9-10 Then said the woman of Samaria to him, How is it that you, being a Jew, ask drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria?… There is a singular decorum in the use of words here. The woman has said, not unnaturally, "How is it that Thou askest of me?" But αἰτε1FC0;ιν is a word of petition as from an inferior to a superior, in this different from ἐρωτᾶν, which has more of equality in it. Christ therefore when He refers to that request of hers does not take up and allow her word. He says not, "Who is it that asketh," but who it is that saith (λέγων) to thee; while the asking is described as the proper attitude for her, "Thou wouldest have asked (ἤτησας) of Him." There lies often in such little details an implicit assertion of the unique dignity of His person, which it is very interesting and not unimportant to trace. (Abp. Trench.) Parallel Verses KJV: Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. |
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