Ἰωάννην 4:12

Greek Modern Translation

μηπως συ εισαι μεγαλητερος του πατρος ημων Ιακωβ, οστις εδωκεν εις ημας το φρεαρ, και αυτος επιεν εξ αυτου και οι υιοι αυτου και τα θρεμματα αυτου;

Parallel Translations

SBL Greek New Testament (2010)
μὴ σὺ μείζων εἶ τοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν Ἰακώβ, ὃς ἔδωκεν ἡμῖν τὸ φρέαρ καὶ αὐτὸς ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἔπιεν καὶ οἱ υἱοὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰ θρέμματα αὐτοῦ;

Tischendorf 8th Edition
μὴ σὺ μείζων εἶ τοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν Ἰακώβ, ὃς ἔδωκεν ἡμῖν τὸ φρέαρ, καὶ αὐτὸς ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἔπιεν καὶ οἱ υἱοὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰ θρέμματα αὐτοῦ;

Textus Receptus (1550/1894)
μη συ μειζων ει του πατρος ημων ιακωβ ος εδωκεν ημιν το φρεας και αυτος εξ αυτου επιεν και οι υιοι αυτου και τα θρεμματα αυτου

Westcott/Hort UBS4 (1881)
μη συ μειζων ει του πατρος ημων ιακωβ ος εδωκεν ημιν το φρεαρ και αυτος εξ αυτου επιεν και οι υιοι αυτου και τα θρεμματα αυτου

Byzantine/Majority Text
μη συ μειζων ει του πατρος ημων ιακωβ ος εδωκεν ημιν το φρεας και αυτος εξ αυτου επιεν και οι υιοι αυτου και τα θρεμματα αυτου

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

John 8:53, Isaiah 53:2, Isaiah 53:3, Matthew 12:42, Hebrews 3:3

Reciprocal: Matthew 12:41 - behold John 3:4 - How Revelation 22:14 - may have

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Art thou greater than our father Jacob,.... A person of greater worth and character than he, who was content to drink of this water; or wiser and more knowing than he, who could find out no better fountain of water in all these parts? she calls Jacob the father of them, according to the common notion and boasting of these people, when it served their turn; otherwise they were not the descendants of Jacob; for after the ten tribes were carried away captive by the king of Assyria, he placed in their room, in the cities of Samaria, men from Babylon, Cuthah Ava, Hamath, and Sepharvaim, Heathenish and idolatrous people; see 2 Kings 17:24. And from these, the then Samaritans sprung; only upon Sanballat's building a temple on Mount Gerizzim, for Manasseh his son-in-law, when put away from the priesthood by the Jews, for his marriage of his daughter, several wicked persons of the like sort, came out of Judea, and joined themselves to the Samaritans: and such a mixed medley of people were they at this time, though they boasted of Jacob as their father, as this woman did; and so to this day, they draw their genealogy from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and particularly call Joseph their father, and say, from whence are we, but from the tribe of Joseph the just, from Ephraim w? as they formerly did x;

"R. Meir saw a Samaritan, he said to him, from whence comest thou? (that is, from what family;) he answered, from the (tribe) of Joseph.''

Which gave us the well; Jacob gave it indeed to Joseph and his posterity, along with the parcel of ground in which it was; see John 4:5; but not to this mixed company:

and drank thereof himself and his children, and his cattle; which shows both the goodness and plenty of the water: though our Lord had spoken of living water, this woman understood him of no other water, but spring water; called living water, from its motion, because it is continually springing up, bubbling, and ever running: so carnal persons, when they hear of spiritual things under earthly metaphors, think of nothing but carnal things; as Nicodemus, when Christ talked of being born again; and the Jews at Capernaum, when he discoursed concerning eating his flesh, and drinking his blood; for spiritual things are neither known nor received by the natural man.

w Epist. Samar. ad Scaliger. in Antiqu. Eccl. Oriental. p. 123, 124, 126. x Bereshit Rabba, sect. 94. fol. 82. 1.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Art thou greater? - Art thou wiser, or better able to find water, than Jacob was? It seems that she supposed that he meant that he could direct her to some living spring, or to some better well in that region, and that this implied more knowledge or skill than Jacob had. To find water and to furnish a good well was doubtless considered a matter of signal skill and success. It was a subject of great importance in that region. This shows how ready sinners are to misunderstand the words of Christ, and to pervert the doctrines of religion. If she had had any proper anxiety about her soul, she would at least have “suspected” that he meant to direct her thoughts to spiritual objects.

Our father Jacob - The Samaritans were composed partly of the remnant of the ten tribes, and partly of people sent from Chaldea; still, they considered themselves descendants of Jacob.

Which gave us - This was doubtless the tradition, though there is no evidence that it was true.

And drank thereof ... - This was added in commendation of the water of the well. A well from which Jacob, and his sons, and cattle had drank must be pure, and wholesome, and honored, and quite as valuable as any that Jesus could furnish. People like to commend that which their ancestors used as superior to anything else. The world over, people love to speak of that which their ancestors have done, and boast of titles and honors that have been handed down from them, even if it is nothing better than existed here - because Jacob’s cattle had drunk of the water.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse John 4:12. Our father Jacob — The ancient Samaritans were undoubtedly the descendants of Jacob; for they were the ten tribes that revolted in the reign of Rehoboam: but those in our Lord's time were not genuine Israelites, but a corrupted race, sprung from a mixture of different nations, sent thither by Salmanezer, king of the Assyrians. See 2 Kings 17:24.