Bible Strands
John 4:7
When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus, resting by Jacob’s well at the sixth hour after traveling, speaks to a Samaritan woman who has arrived to draw water while His disciples are absent in town.
The words — The Greek verb Ἔρχεται (erchetai) literally means “comes,” noting her approach, while λέγει (legei) means “says,” recording His direct verbal response.
The thread — The scene recalls Elijah meeting a widow at a city gate (1 Kings 17:10), mirrors Jesus’ later statement of thirst (John 19:28), and aligns with the principle that providing even a cup of water to a follower carries weight (Matthew 10:42).
Why it lands — The text places a tired man in need before a culturally distant woman, requiring the reader to acknowledge that divine engagement often initiates through a plain, unembellished request for physical sustenance.
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
There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
Cross-references
- Matthew 10:42 And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is My disciple, truly I tell you, he will never lose his reward.”
- 1 Kings 17:10 So Elijah got up and went to Zarephath. When he arrived at the city gate, there was a widow gathering sticks. Elijah called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup, so that I may drink.”
- John 19:28 After this, knowing that everything had now been accomplished, and to fulfill the Scripture, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”
- Genesis 24:43 Here I am, standing beside this spring. Now if a maiden comes out to draw water and I say to her, ‘Please let me drink a little water from your jar,’
- 2 Samuel 23:15 David longed for water and said, “Oh, that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!”
- John 4:10 Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God and who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”