John 4:5

“So he comes to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of land that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.”
John 4:5 · direct translation from the Greek

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With the Greek beneath

Soοὖνhe comesἔρχεταιtoεἰςa townπόλινof Samariaτῆς ΣαμαρείαςcalledλεγομένηνSychar,Συχὰρnearπλησίονthe plot of landτοῦ χωρίουthatὃJacobἸακὼβgaveἔδωκενto his sonτῷ υἱῷ αὐτοῦJoseph.τῷ Ἰωσὴφ

Theme · Joshua 24:32

Go to Joshua 24:32

John places Sychar near the plot of land Jacob gave to Joseph; Joshua 24:32 says that in that piece of ground at Shechem, bought by Jacob, the bones of Joseph were buried.

The same term appears in both passages.

ἸωσὴφIōsēphG2501יוֹסֵףyosefH3130“Joseph”
ἸακὼβIakōbG2384יַעֲקֹבyaakovH3290“Jacob”

John 4:5, word by word

he comesἔρχεταιerchetai

come

To move to where someone is or to a place, and be present there.

Where else “erchetai” appears

a townπόλινpolin

city, town

City, town.

Where else “polin” appears

of SamariaΣαμαρείαςSamareias

Samaria

See it on the map Where else “Samareias” appears

calledλεγομένηνlegomenēn

call

To call someone by a name.

Where else “legomenēn” appears

SycharΣυχὰρSychar

Sychar

See it on the map Where else “Sychar” appears

nearπλησίονplēsion

near

A short distance from a place.

Where else “plēsion” appears

the plot of landχωρίουchōriou

plot of land

A piece of land that someone owns and can sell or give.

Where else “chōriou” appears

JacobἸακὼβIakōb

Jacob

Jacob, son of Isaac, also called Israel; father of the twelve tribes.

Where else “Iakōb” appears

gaveἔδωκενedōken

give

To hand something to another freely, as a gift.

Where else “edōken” appears

to his sonυἱῷhuiōi

son

A son.

Where else “huiōi” appears

JosephἸωσὴφIōsēph

Joseph

Joseph, the name of several men in the Bible: the son of Jacob, Mary's husband (a descendant of David), Joseph of Arimathea, and others.

Where else “Iōsēph” appears

Translation note

See Genesis 33:19; 48:22; and Joshua 24:32.

Places in this verse

Approximate location. A “?” means it is not known for sure where it was.

1Samaria
Today: northern West Bank (Sebastia, Samaria hills)
A city and region in central Israel, between Judea and Galilee.
Omri founded the city as capital of the northern kingdom (1 Kgs 16:24); the Assyrians conquered it (2 Kgs 17:6). Jesus passed through the region, and Philip preached there (John 4:4; Acts 8:5).
1 Kings 16:24 2 Kings 17:6 John 4:4 Acts 8:5
2Sychar ?
Today: possibly Askar, near Nablus, West Bank
A town in Samaria near Jacob's well; probably near Shechem.
At Jacob's well near Sychar, Jesus spoke with a Samaritan woman (John 4:5-7).
John 4:5

The context

4And he had to pass through Samaria.

5 · This verse (above)

6Jacob’s well was there. So Jesus, tired from the journey, was sitting like that by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

Read all of John 4

To study John 4 in a group

1. What it says
What does Jesus ask of the Samaritan woman at the well, and what does he offer her? (vv. 7-15)
2. What it means
Jesus says God seeks worshipers who worship “in spirit and truth.” What answer does he give to her question about the place? (vv. 20-24)
3. How I live it
The woman left her water jar and told others what had happened to her (vv. 28-29). Whom could you invite to “come and see” something good?

How to use it