Spokes 4 and 21 – Drawing water from the well (John 4)

[gilgal]

Please note that we have been discussing how the theme of 'drawing water' relates to Spokes 2 and 4. Genesis 24, Exodus 2 and John 2 relate to Spoke 2 of the respective Inner Cycles, and John 4 relates to Spoke 4 of the Inner Cycle of John.

Now, the theme of drawing water has a very interesting side in the way the word 'draw' (antleo) appears in John. This word occurs only in John and nowhere else in the NT. How many times does it appear in that book? Four! And how are the occurrences distributed? Twice in Chapter 2 and twice in Chapter 4! This 'drawing' motif really has something to do with Spokes 2 and 4!

John 2:8 And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it.

9 When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,...

John 2
9 When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine , and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,
10 And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine ; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.

This must've been included intentionally by John to show that Jesus' word and salvation is better than man's. Likewise the Samaritan woman was asked to give him water and in return she would have eternal life.

[Victor]

This must've been included intentionally by John to show that Jesus' word and salvation is better than man's. Likewise the Samaritan woman was asked to give him water and in return she would have eternal life.

Exactly correct! The use of the word draw (antlheo) in John is carefully used and the attentive reader will notice the correlation. John wants to link the accounts in chapters 2 and 4.

Jesus transforms the water into wine in the wedding at Cana and asks for physical water but offers spiritual water in the episode at the well in Samaria.

The foundation is laid in chapter 1 when we learn that John the Baptist was baptizing with water but Jesus would baptize with Holy Spirit. John the Baptist was the last prophet connected with the Old Covenant, the one who was announcing the New. The Old Covenant is symbolized by the water in the waterpots at Cana. ("And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews.") Christ tranforms the Old into the New, just like the water (John's baptism) is turned into wine (His blood). His shed blood opens the way for the Holy Spirit to be outpoured.

This links to chapter 4 when Christ outlines the same Old/New-Earthly/Heavenly parallelism: the Samaritan woman gives Him natural, physical, water but the water that Christ offers her is spiritual: the Holy Spirit and His gifts. The New builds upon and transforms the Old.

And there's much much more!

[gilgal]

And there's much much more!

You should add this to your signature.

The well is part of spoke 21 right?

[Victor]

You should add this to your signature.

Hahaha! Indeed, there's so much to say. The study of Scripture is truly infinite. May the Lord bless me with more time to document the wonders of His Word.

The well is part of spoke 21 right?

It doesn't seem to be exactly the word "well". I would say that "drawing water from the well" is part of Spoke 21. Once this link is established, we can go one step further and say that "well is part of Spoke 21" as a coordinated theme, since the story of the Samaritan woman is so distinctive in John.

The fourth Gospel is a well of deep waters. Spoke 21 is very profound because of the presence of John, which is a very deep book.

The Greek word for "well" in John 4 (Pege) also appears in Revelation 21:

Rev 21:6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountainof the water of life freely.

Think about it! The words in Revelation 21 strongly resonate with what Christ says to the Samaritan woman in John on Spoke 21!

Joh 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

These verses are "keylinked" through several word combinations. One of the sets is (water, life, well/fountain).

[Rose]

It doesn't seem to be exactly the word "well". I would say that "drawing water from the well" is part of Spoke 21. Once this link is established, we can go one step further and say that "well is part of Spoke 21" as a coordinated theme, since the story of the Samaritan woman is so distinctive in John.

The fourth Gospel is a well of deep waters. Spoke 21 is very profound because of the presence of John, which is a very deep book.

The Greek word for "well" in John 4 (Pege) also appears in Revelation 21:

Rev 21:6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountainof the water of life freely.

Think about it! The words in Revelation 21 strongly resonate with what Christ says to the Samaritan woman in John on Spoke 21!

Joh 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

These verses are "keylinked" through several word combinations. One of the sets is (water, life, well/fountain).

Isn't that absolutely fabulous!

Rev. 21:6 and Rev. 22:17 are my all time favorite verses, also the link between Rev. and John is another strong witness as to the authorship of Revelation being the Apostle John.

Rose

[gilgal]

Looking for:
give,,him + water + life + thirst
John 4
1 When therefore the LORD knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John,
2 (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,)
3 He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee.
4 And he must needs go through Samaria.
5 Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
6 Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.
7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
8 (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)
9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.
10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:
18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.
26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
27 And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her?
28 The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,
29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?
30 Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.
31 In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat.
32 But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.
33 Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat?
34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.
36 And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.
37 And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.
38 I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.
39 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did.
40 So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days.
41 And many more believed because of his own word;
42 And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.
43 Now after two days he departed thence, and went into Galilee.
44 For Jesus himself testified, that a prophet hath no honour in his own country.
45 Then when he was come into Galilee, the Galilaeans received him, having seen all the things that he did at Jerusalem at the feast: for they also went unto the feast.
46 So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum.
47 When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death.
48 Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.
49 The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die.
50 Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way.
51 And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth.
52 Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.
53 So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house.
54 This is again the second miracle that Jesus did, when he was come out of Judaea into Galilee.
Revelation 21
1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.
10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
12 And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
13 On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.
14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15 And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.
16 And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
17 And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.
18 And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.
19 And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;
20 The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.
21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.
22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.
26 And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.
27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.

[Victor]

Since I provided the textual connections between Genesis 24 and John 4, I’m now doing the same for Exodus 2 and John 4.

Exo 2:15 Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well.
Exo 2:16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock.
Exo 2:17 And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.

Joh 4:1 When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John,
Joh 4:3 He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee.
Joh 4:4 And he must needs go through Samaria.
Joh 4:5 Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
Joh 4:6 Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.
Joh 4:7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
Joh 5:18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

These are the points in common:

• Both Pharaoh and the Pharisees hear something about Moses and Jesus respectively. The phonetic similarity between Pharaoh and Pharisees is remarkable. Therefore the parallelism between 'Pharaoh heard' and 'Pharisees heard' can only be intentional on the author's part.
• In face of the situation, Moses and Jesus leave.
• Pharaoh sought to kill Moses as the Pharisees sought to kill Jesus.
• Moses and Jesus sit down by a well.
• Zipporah and her sisters draw water. Then Moses does the same. The Samaritan woman draws water. Then Christ promises that He will give living water to the woman.

The many literary connections prove that John wrote the account in Chapter 4 with Exodus 2 in mind, and interwove it with the story of Genesis 24.

[gilgal]

Since I provided the textual connections between Genesis 24 and John 4, I’m now doing the same for Exodus 2 and John 4.

Exo 2:15 Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well.
Exo 2:16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock.
Exo 2:17 And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.

Joh 4:1 When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John,
Joh 4:3 He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee.
Joh 4:4 And he must needs go through Samaria.
Joh 4:5 Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
Joh 4:6 Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.
Joh 4:7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
Joh 5:18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

These are the points in common:

• Both Pharaoh and the Pharisees hear something about Moses and Jesus respectively. The phonetic similarity between Pharaoh and Pharisees is remarkable. Therefore the parallelism between 'Pharaoh heard' and 'Pharisees heard' can only be intentional on the author's part.
• In face of the situation, Moses and Jesus leave.
• Pharaoh sought to kill Moses as the Pharisees sought to kill Jesus.
• Moses and Jesus sit down by a well.
• Zipporah and her sisters draw water. Then Moses does the same. The Samaritan woman draws water. Then Christ promises that He will give living water to the woman.

The many literary connections prove that John wrote the account in Chapter 4 with Exodus 2 in mind, and interwove it with the story of Genesis 24.

Was it the Pharisees who sought to kill him? Jesus had a lot of things in common with Moses.

[Victor]

Was it the Pharisees who sought to kill him? Jesus had a lot of things in common with Moses.

John says that it was "the Jews" who sought to kill him, in 5:18. I should have said the Jews too. Of course by the way John writes his Gospel and by the witness of the other Evangelists, we infer that they included the Pharisees.

And in fact the fourth Gospel makes many parallels to show that Jesus was a second Moses.

[Victor]

The many literary connections prove that John wrote the account in Chapter 4 with Exodus 2 in mind, and interwove it with the story of Genesis 24.

The Gospel of John is a well of deep waters. It takes more than a lifetime to draw from its depths. Bible students have written about this Gospel for millennia and there are always new significant insights coming up. It is a fountain that never runs dry.

In this thread we have another example of this. The account of the Samaritan woman at the well subtly points to another great theme in the Fourth Gospel: marriage. The sources that John relies on demonstrate this point.

A meeting in a foreign land between a man and a woman by a well: this scene in both Exodus 2 and Genesis 24 leads up to a marriage! Moses meets Zipporah at the well in Midiam and they get married. (Exo 2:15-21) Similarly, Abraham doesn’t want a Canaanite wife for Isaac so he sends his servant to his former land to find a suitable wife for his son. The servant of Abraham meets Rebekah at the well in Haran and she is led to her future husband Isaac. (Gen 24)

When John narrates the account in Chapter 4 using literary elements from these two stories, what does he mean if not presenting a typological image of marriage in the scene of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at a well?

In chapter 2 we find the story about a wedding feast. This theme is very dear and significant to John. We read about water being drawn and Jesus providing wine as if He were the bridegroom who was the one supposed to do that.

Joh 2:9 When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,
Joh 2:10 And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.

If Christ is being put in parallel with the bridegroom, who is the bride? In Chapter 3, John the Baptist explicitly calls Jesus the bridegroom and explains who the bride is.

Joh 3:25 Then there arose a question between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying.
Joh 3:26 And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him.
Joh 3:27 John answered and said, (…)
Joh 3:29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.
Joh 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease.

The bride is formed by the disciples baptized by Jesus, many of them former disciples of John.

The Bride is, of course, the Church!

When we arrive at Chapter 4, we find a scene that triggers Old Testament betrothal imagery. In the account of the Samaritan woman, Jesus is in a foreign land and meets a woman at a well. John is thus providing a description of the Church’s formation. It is subtly hinted that the Samaritan woman is an image of the Church on a spiritual level. The details will become clear in a future post.