Bible Strands
John 4:20
Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews say that the place where one must worship is in Jerusalem.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The Samaritan woman addresses Jesus at Jacob’s well, contrasting her ancestors’ worship on Mount Gerizim with the Jewish insistence on Jerusalem as the proper place of worship.
The words — προσεκυνήσαν (prosekunēsan) means "worshiped," and ὄρει τούτῳ (orei toutō) means "on this mountain."
The thread — The text states that ancestral worship occurred on this mountain, while Jewish tradition designated Jerusalem as the chosen location, echoing Deuteronomy 12:5’s command to seek God’s chosen place and the patriarchal settlements at Shechem recorded in Genesis 12:6 and 33:18.
Why it lands — The verse requires the reader to acknowledge that the debate centers on geographic location, which Jesus immediately corrects by declaring that neither site will hold exclusive authority over future worship.
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
Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 12:5 Instead, you must seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to establish as a dwelling for His Name, and there you must go.
- Genesis 33:18 After Jacob had come from Paddan-aram, he arrived safely at the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan, and he camped just outside the city.
- Genesis 12:6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the Oak of Moreh at Shechem. And at that time the Canaanites were in the land.
- Deuteronomy 11:29 When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess, you are to proclaim the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal.
- Deuteronomy 27:12 “When you have crossed the Jordan, these tribes shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin.
- 2 Chronicles 7:12 the LORD appeared to him at night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice.
- Joshua 8:33 All Israel, foreigners and citizens alike, with their elders, officers, and judges, stood on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the LORD facing the Levitical priests who carried it. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded earlier, to bless the people of Israel.
- Judges 9:6 Then all the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo gathered beside the oak at the pillar in Shechem and proceeded to make Abimelech their king.
- 1 Kings 9:3 And the LORD said to him: “I have heard your prayer and petition before Me. I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting My Name there forever; My eyes and My heart will be there for all time.
- 2 Kings 17:26 So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, “The peoples that you have removed and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the requirements of the God of the land. Because of this, He has sent lions among them, which are indeed killing them off.”