\n
7\u00a0<\/span>There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her,\u00a0\u201cGive Me a drink.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a08\u00a0<\/span>For His\u00a0disciples had gone away into\u00a0the city to buy food.<\/span>\u00a09\u00a0<\/span>Therefore the\u00a0Samaritan woman said to Him, \u201cHow is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?\u201d (For\u00a0Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)<\/span>\u00a010\u00a0<\/span>Jesus answered and said to her,\u00a0\u201cIf you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, \u2018Give Me a drink,\u2019 you would have asked Him, and He would have given you\u00a0living water.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a011\u00a0<\/span>She said to Him, \u201cSir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that\u00a0living water?<\/span>\u00a012\u00a0<\/span>You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who\u00a0gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?\u201d<\/span>\u00a013\u00a0<\/span>Jesus answered and said to her,\u00a0\u201cEveryone who drinks of this water will thirst again;<\/span><\/span>\u00a014\u00a0<\/span>but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him\u00a0shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to\u00a0eternal life.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n 15\u00a0<\/span>The woman said to Him, \u201cSir,\u00a0give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw.\u201d<\/span>\u00a016\u00a0<\/span>He said to her,\u00a0\u201cGo, call your husband and come here.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a017\u00a0<\/span>The woman answered and said, \u201cI have no husband.\u201d Jesus said to her,\u00a0\u201cYou have correctly said, \u2018I have no husband\u2019;<\/span><\/span>\u00a018\u00a0<\/span>for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly.\u201d<\/span>\u00a019\u00a0<\/span>The woman *said to Him, \u201cSir, I perceive that You are\u00a0a prophet.<\/span><\/strong>20\u00a0<\/span>Our fathers worshiped in\u00a0this mountain, and you\u00a0people<\/i>\u00a0say that\u00a0in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.\u201d<\/span>\u00a021\u00a0<\/span>Jesus *said to her,\u00a0\u201cWoman, believe Me,\u00a0an hour is coming when\u00a0neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.<\/span><\/span>\u00a022\u00a0<\/span>You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for\u00a0salvation is from the Jews.<\/span>\u00a023\u00a0<\/span>But\u00a0an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father\u00a0in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.<\/span>\u00a024\u00a0<\/span>God is\u00a0spirit, and those who worship Him must worship\u00a0in spirit and truth.\u201d<\/span>\u00a025\u00a0<\/span>The woman *said to Him, \u201cI know that\u00a0Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.\u201d<\/span>\u00a026\u00a0<\/span>Jesus *said to her,\u00a0\u201cI who speak to you am\u00a0He<\/i>.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n 27\u00a0<\/span>At this point His\u00a0disciples came, and they were amazed that He had been speaking with a woman, yet no one said, \u201cWhat do You seek?\u201d or, \u201cWhy do You speak with her?\u201d<\/span>\u00a028\u00a0<\/span>So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and said to the men,<\/span>\u00a029\u00a0<\/span>\u201cCome, see a man\u00a0who told me all the things that I\u00a0have<\/i>\u00a0done;\u00a0this is not\u00a0the Christ, is it?\u201d<\/span>\u00a030\u00a0<\/span>They went out of the city, and were coming to Him.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n This passage has been used so many times as an illustration of an immoral woman who had perceived that Jesus was the Messiah. Yet, few bother to explain the point that the Samaritan woman is an immoral woman. While it’s possible that the Samaritan woman had some immorality I believer there is more to her story than most people tend to consider. Yes she had 5 husbands but we need to ask why. In this post we will examine some information that might point towards a drastically different picture of the woman at the well. In fact, I believe that she is more of a victim than a sinful woman.<\/p>\n When examining the woman at the well we have to remember that her societal context is different than ours. If a women today has that many husbands it’s assumed she’s not quite right or that she has commitment issues. However, in the 1st century typically only men could have a divorce granted. The Bible is full of examples of how men can divorce their wives but it’s a different situation if a wife wants to divorce her husband.<\/p>\n When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens\u00a0that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some\u00a0indecency in her, and\u00a0he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts\u00a0it<\/i>\u00a0in her hand and sends her out from his house,<\/span>2\u00a0<\/span>and she leaves his house and goes and becomes another man\u2019s\u00a0wife<\/i>,<\/span>\u00a03\u00a0<\/span>and if the latter husband\u00a0turns against her and writes her a certificate of divorce and puts\u00a0it<\/i>in her hand and sends her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies who took her to be his wife,<\/span>\u00a04\u00a0<\/span>then<\/i>\u00a0her\u00a0former husband who sent her away is not allowed to take her again to be his wife, since she has been defiled. (Deuteronomy 24:1-4)<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Moreover, women could not propose marriage to a man. Of course there were ways in which women could\u00a0persuade<\/em> men into marrying them but no woman could legally propose marriage to a man since they were technically property and marriage was an exchange of property on many accounts. Thus, if a woman is in a situation like the Samaritan woman, where she needs a home and a male provides her with one, she\u00a0can’t exactly give the guy an ultimatum. She would be stuck between living in the streets or living with someone in sin (at least we presumed in sin).<\/p>\n Unfortunately, men could divorce their wives for any number of perceived wrongs. What could constitute a divorceable reason was debated much by Jewish rabbis. Some claimed that it must be a sexual offense but other claimed it was much more broad.<\/p>\n Beit Shammai say:<\/strong> A man may not divorce his wife unless he finds out about her having engaged in a matter of forbidden sexual intercourse [devar erva], i.e., she committed adultery or is suspected of doing so, as it is stated: \u201cBecause he has found some unseemly matter [ervat davar] in her, and he writes her a scroll of severance\u201d (Deuteronomy 24:1). And Beit Hillel say: He may divorce her even due to a minor issue, e.g., because she burned or over-salted his dish, as it is stated: \u201cBecause he has found some unseemly matter in her,\u201d meaning that he found any type of shortcoming in her. Rabbi Akiva says: He may divorce her even if he found another woman who is better looking than her and wishes to marry her, as it is stated in that verse: \u201cAnd it comes to pass, if she finds no favor in his eyes\u201d (Deuteronomy 24:1). [Mishnah Gittin 9]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Women in biblical times were considered property. They were bought and sold as such and as property they typically had few rights. They would have been the outcasts of society once divorced or widowed. One example of this is the story of Onan and Tamar. Onan is classically known as the guy God killed for spilling his seed, but most Bible readers know that that is not why God killed him.<\/a>\u00a0In the story of Onan, Onan’s brother dies and leaved behind a widow.<\/p>\n Now Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name\u00a0was<\/i>\u00a0Tamar.<\/span>\u00a07\u00a0<\/span>But\u00a0Er, Judah\u2019s firstborn, was evil in the sight of the\u00a0Lord<\/span>, so the\u00a0Lord<\/span>\u00a0took his life.<\/span>\u00a08\u00a0<\/span>Then Judah said to Onan, \u201cGo in to your brother\u2019s wife, and perform your duty as a brother-in-law to her, and raise up\u00a0offspring for your brother.<\/strong>\u201d<\/span>\u00a09\u00a0<\/span>Onan knew that the\u00a0offspring would not be his; so when he went in to his brother\u2019s wife, he\u00a0wasted his seed on the ground in order not to give\u00a0offspring to his brother.<\/span>10\u00a0<\/span>But what he did was displeasing in the sight of the\u00a0Lord<\/span>; so He\u00a0took his life also.<\/span>11\u00a0<\/span>Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, \u201cRemain a widow in your father\u2019s house until my son Shelah grows up\u201d; for he\u00a0thought, \u201cI am afraid<\/i>\u00a0that he too may die like his brothers.\u201d So Tamar went and lived in her father\u2019s house.<\/strong><\/span>(Genesis 38:6-11)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n If a woman was lucky enough to have a father still alive it was common to go “back home” after a divorce or widowing. We saw this same thing with Samson’s wife after he sent her away for giving away the answer to his riddle. The same thing happened with the unnamed Levite in Judges 19.<\/p>\n But after a while, in the time of wheat harvest, Samson visited his wife\u00a0with a young goat, and said, \u201cI will go in to my wife in\u00a0her<\/i>\u00a0room.\u201d But her father did not let him enter. (Judges 15:1)<\/p>\n Now a Levite who lived in a remote area in the hill country of Ephraim took a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah.\u00a0But she was unfaithful to him. She left him and went back to her parents\u2019 home in Bethlehem, Judah. (Judges 19:1-2)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n What we do not know about the Samaritan woman is whether or not her father was still alive and if he was alive, what was the reason she did not go back to live with him. We have a lot of gaps in the information. All we know is that she was repeatedly divorced (not of her own doing) and that her current living situation was with a man whom she was not married to.<\/p>\n Divorced woman in ancient times often had to turn to prostitution in order to gain access to money and provide for themselves a place to stay. Since prostitution was very common in ancient times it was not a difficult thing to accomplish.<\/p>\n Today women are more educated then men and have a world of opportunity awaiting them if they choose. They are increasingly putting off marriage and family in order to finish school and start jobs. But 2000 years ago that was not the case. In fact, in Jesus’ time most women were seen as having only one purpose; making babies. Moreover, barrenness was seen as a curse from God.<\/p>\n If\u00a0there is<\/i>\u00a0a man who lies with his uncle\u2019s wife he has uncovered his uncle\u2019s nakedness; they will bear their sin. They will die childless.<\/span>\u00a021\u00a0<\/span>If\u00a0there is<\/i>\u00a0a man who takes his brother\u2019s wife, it is\u00a0abhorrent; he has uncovered his brother\u2019s nakedness. They will be childless. (Lev. 20:20\u201321)<\/span><\/p>\n Thus says the\u00a0Lord<\/span>, (Jer. 22:30)<\/p>\n For the\u00a0Lord<\/span>\u00a0had closed fast all the wombs of the household of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham\u2019s wife. (Get 20:18)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n It was common for women to be known in history for providing many sons. Often women who were despised were written down in history as having no children or that the Lord caused them to be barren.<\/p>\n Michal, the wife of King David and Daughter of Saul was known as an immoral wife and worshipped idols. The author of II Samuel recorded her death thusly,<\/p>\n Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death. (II Sam 6:23)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Beyond being considered cursed by God, barren women were often divorced so that a man could marry another woman who might better provide a son. This was not always the case, however. It was not unheard of for a man to take on a second wife in order to gain a son. But it was much more common to divorce the woman cursed by God and marry another who would be able to provide sons.<\/p>\n We see one woman in the Bible struggle deeply with such issues as barrenness and taking on a second wife.<\/p>\n Now there was a certain man from\u00a0Ramathaim-zophim from the\u00a0hill country of Ephraim, and his name was\u00a0Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.<\/span>\u00a02\u00a0<\/span>He had\u00a0two wives: the name of one was\u00a0Hannah and the name of the other Peninnah; and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. (1 Sam 1:1)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Then Hannah rose after eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of\u00a0the temple of the\u00a0Lord<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a010\u00a0<\/span>She,\u00a0greatly distressed, prayed to the\u00a0Lord<\/span>\u00a0and wept bitterly.<\/span>\u00a011\u00a0<\/span>She\u00a0made a vow and said, \u201cO\u00a0Lord<\/span>\u00a0of hosts, if You will indeed\u00a0look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a\u00a0son, then I will give him to the\u00a0Lord<\/span>\u00a0all the days of his life, and\u00a0a razor shall never come on his head.\u201d (1 Sam 1:9-11)<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Additionally, a man who was left without a son was also viewed as cursed.\u00a0A childless Jewish scholar was\u00a0not eligible to sit on the Sanhedrin (San. 36b.) and would have been limited also in his business dealings.<\/p>\n I believe that there is a real chance that the Samaritan woman was barren and that she was unable to remain married because she could not provide a son for any of her husbands. If she wanted to live a life of immorality she could have become a prostitute and not had to lean on the help of a man. She did not have to be married to a man to live a life of sin. The harlots Delilah and Rahab\u00a0both had their own places to live as far as the story leads us to believe.<\/p>\n The other reason I think she might have been barren is that Jesus encountered prostitutes and immoral women. When he did we are told that he forgave there sins and told them to go and sin no more. No such exchange happens in this passage.<\/p>\n Lastly, she bears no sign of being embarrassed or remorseful for her living situation. Other sinful women fall at Jesus’ feet and repent. She does nothing of the sort. While this does not mean that my thesis is correct, it’s that her behavior is slightly different than other women depicted in the gospel of John.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" TLDR Video Summary The Woman of Samaria (John 4:7-30) 7\u00a0There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her,\u00a0\u201cGive Me a drink.\u201d\u00a08\u00a0For His\u00a0disciples had gone away into\u00a0the city to buy food.\u00a09\u00a0Therefore the\u00a0Samaritan woman said to Him, \u201cHow is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7911,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1544,3,9,1564,1756],"tags":[5781,5778,5777,5779,5780,5782,1466,1468,5776],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7785"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7785"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7785\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18027,"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7785\/revisions\/18027"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Samaritan](\"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Samaritan-Woman-Video-Thumb-1024x576.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\nThe Woman of Samaria (John 4:7-30)<\/span><\/h3>\n
\n3. Women typically could not divorce their husbands<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n![\"First](\"http:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/First-Century-Certificate-of-Divorce-267x300.png\")
<\/a>
“… You are free to become the wife of
any Jewish man you may wish”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n2. Women of divorce (or widows) could not survive on their own<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n
\n1. Barren women had no value\u00a0and were cursed by God<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n
\n<\/span>\u2018Write this man (Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah) down\u00a0childless,
\nA man who will\u00a0not prosper in his days;
\nFor no man of his\u00a0descendants will prosper
\nSitting on the throne of David
\nOr ruling again in Judah.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\nConclusion<\/h3>\n
\n