Bible Strands
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?”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well poses this question to Jesus immediately after he offers living water, contrasting his claim with her ancestor’s provision.
The words — The particle μὴ (mē) frames a negative expectation, while μείζων (meizōn) and σὺ (su) carry the literal challenge: "Surely you are not greater than our father Jacob?"
The thread — This rhetorical challenge reappears in John 8:53 regarding Abraham and aligns with Hebrews 3:3’s comparison of Jesus’ glory to Moses.
Why it lands — The text demands a reader to evaluate whether Jesus’ offer of water surpasses the ancestral inheritance of Jacob, requiring a direct assessment of his identity.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
Cross-references
- Matthew 12:42 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and now One greater than Solomon is here.
- John 8:53 Are You greater than our father Abraham? He died, as did the prophets. Who do You claim to be?”
- Hebrews 3:3 For Jesus has been counted worthy of greater glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself.
- Isaiah 53:2 He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no stately form or majesty to attract us, no beauty that we should desire Him.
- John 4:6 Since Jacob’s well was there, Jesus, weary from His journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.