Bible Strands
John 4:30
So they left the town and made their way toward Jesus.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrator reports that the Samaritan townspeople leave the city to approach Jesus, placing this action between the woman’s invitation and the disciples’ request for food. The text records their physical departure without attributing internal motives.
The words — The Greek ἐξῆλθον (exēlthon) translates “they went forth” and ἤρχοντο (ērchonto) translates “they were coming,” describing a coordinated movement away from the town. The particle οὖν (oun) marks this departure as a direct consequence of the preceding testimony.
The thread — This pattern of responsive gathering aligns with the summons in Acts 10:33 and the pilgrimage imagery of Isaiah 60:8, while Matthew 2:1 similarly records outsiders converging on a central location. The text uses physical movement to illustrate the response to divine revelation.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition that spoken testimony precedes personal encounter, requiring a tangible response rather than passive agreement. It asks the reader to move from hearing to approaching without delay.
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
Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.
Cross-references
- Acts 10:33 So I sent for you immediately, and you were kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has instructed you to tell us.”
- Isaiah 60:8 Who are these who fly like clouds, like doves to their shelters?
- Matthew 2:1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem,
- Matthew 8:11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
- Matthew 11:20 Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles had been performed, because they did not repent.
- Matthew 12:40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
- Matthew 20:16 So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
- Luke 17:16 He fell facedown at Jesus’ feet in thanksgiving to Him—and he was a Samaritan.
- Acts 8:5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ to them.
- Acts 13:42 As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people urged them to continue this message on the next Sabbath.