Ἰωάννην 4:20

Greek Modern Translation

Οι πατερες ημων εις τουτο το ορος προσεκυνησαν, και σεις λεγετε οτι εν τοις Ιεροσολυμοις ειναι ο τοπος οπου πρεπει να προσκυνωμεν.

Parallel Translations

SBL Greek New Testament (2010)
οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν ἐν τῷ ὄρει τούτῳ προσεκύνησαν· καὶ ὑμεῖς λέγετε ὅτι ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις ἐστὶν ὁ τόπος ὅπου ⸂προσκυνεῖν δεῖ⸃.

Tischendorf 8th Edition
οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν ἐν τῷ ὄρει τούτῳ προσεκύνησαν· καὶ ὑμεῖς λέγετε ὅτι ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις ἐστὶν ὁ τόπος ὅπου προσκυνεῖν δεῖ.

Textus Receptus (1550/1894)
οι πατερες ημων εν τουτω τω ορει προσεκυνησαν και υμεις λεγετε οτι εν ιεροσολυμοις εστιν ο τοπος οπου δει προσκυνειν

Westcott/Hort UBS4 (1881)
οι πατερες ημων εν τω ορει τουτω προσεκυνησαν και υμεις λεγετε οτι εν ιεροσολυμοις εστιν ο τοπος οπου προσκυνειν δει

Byzantine/Majority Text
οι πατερες ημων εν τω ορει τουτω προσεκυνησαν και υμεις λεγετε οτι εν ιεροσολυμοις εστιν ο τοπος οπου δει προσκυνειν

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

fathers: Genesis 12:6, Genesis 12:7, Genesis 33:18-20, Deuteronomy 27:12, Joshua 8:33-35, Judges 9:6, Judges 9:7, 2 Kings 17:26-33

and ye: Deuteronomy 12:5-11, 1 Kings 9:3, 1 Chronicles 21:26, 1 Chronicles 22:1, 2 Chronicles 6:6, 2 Chronicles 7:12, 2 Chronicles 7:16, Psalms 78:68, Psalms 87:1, Psalms 87:2, Psalms 132:13

Reciprocal: Exodus 20:24 - in all places Deuteronomy 12:11 - a place Isaiah 66:1 - where is the house Jeremiah 3:16 - The ark Matthew 10:5 - of the Samaritans 1 Corinthians 10:1 - our

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Our fathers worshipped in this mountain,.... Mount Gerizim, which was just by, and within sight; so that the woman could point to it; it was so near to Shechem, or Sychar, that Jotham's voice was heard from the top of it thither, Judges 9:6. By the "fathers", this woman claims as theirs, are meant, not the immediate ancestors of the Samaritans, or those only of some few generations past; but the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, whose descendants they would be thought to be; and they improved every instance of their worshipping in these parts, in favour of this mountain, being a sacred place. And Abraham did indeed build an altar to the Lord, in the plain of Moreh, Genesis 12:6 and which the Jews themselves z own, is the same with Sichem; but their tradition which Theophylact reports, that Isaac was offered upon the Mount of Gerizim, is entirely false: Jacob, it is true, came to Shalem, a city of Shechem; and upon this very spot of ground, the parcel of a field, he bought of the children of Hammor, and gave to his son Joseph, he built an altar, and called it Elelohe-Israel,

Genesis 33:18. And also upon this very mountain, the tribe of Joseph, with others stood, when they were come over Jordan, and blessed the people; all which circumstances, the Samaritans failed not to make use of in vindication of themselves, and their worship in this mountain; and which this woman might be acquainted with, and might refer unto: but as for any temple, or place of worship on this mount, there was none till of late years, even after the second temple was built. The occasion of it, as Josephus a relates, was this; Manasseh, brother to Jaddua the high priest, having married Nicasso, daughter of Sanballat, governor of Samaria, was on that account driven from the priesthood; he fled to his father-in-law, and related the case to him, expressing great love to his daughter, and yet a regard to his office; upon which Sanballat proposed to build him a temple on Mount Gerizim, for which he did not doubt of obtaining leave of Darius the Persian monarch, and make him an high priest. Darius being overcome by Alexander the Great, Sanballat made his court to him, and petitioned him for the building of this temple, who granted him his request; and accordingly he built one, and Manasseh became the high priest; and many of the profligate Jews, that had married strange wives, or violated the sabbath, or had eaten forbidden meat, came over and joined him. This temple, we are told b, was built about forty years after the second temple at Jerusalem: and stood two hundred years, and then was destroyed by Jochanan, the son of Simeon, the son of Mattathiah, who was called Hyrcanus, and so says Josephus c; it might now be rebuilt: however, this did not put a stop to worship in this place, about which there were great contentions, between the Jews and the Samaritans; of which we have some instances, in the writings of the former: it is said d, that

"R. Jonathan went to pray in Jerusalem, and passed by that mountain (the gloss says, Mount Gerizim), and a certain Samaritan saw him, and said to him, whither art thou going? he replied, that he was going to pray at Jerusalem; he said to him, is it not better for thee to pray in this blessed mountain, and not in that dunghill house? he replied, why is it blessed? he answered, because it was not overflowed by the waters of the flood; the thing was hid from the eyes of R. Jonathan, and he could not return an answer.''

This story is told elsewhere e, with a little variation, and more plainly as to the place, thus;

"it happened to R. Jonathan, that he went to Neapolis, of the Cuthites, or Samaritans, (i.e. to Sichem, for Sichem is now called Naplous,) and he was riding upon an ass, and an herdsman with him; a certain, Samaritan joined himself to them: when they came to Mount Gerizim, the Samaritan said to R. Jonathan, how came it to pass that we are come to this holy mountain? R. Jonathan replied, whence comes it to be holy? the Samaritan answered him, because it was not hurt by the waters of the flood.''

Much the same story is told of R. Ishmael bar R. Jose f. It is to be observed in this account, that the Samaritans call this mountain the holy mountain, they imagined there was something sacred in it; and the blessed mountain, or the mountain of blessing; no doubt, because the blessings were pronounced upon it; though a very poor reason is given by them in the above passages. And they not only urged the above instances of the worship or the patriarchs at, or about this place, which this woman refers to; but even falsified a passage in the Pentateuch, as is generally thought, in favour of this mount; for in Deuteronomy 27:4, instead of Mount Ebal, in the Samaritan Pentateuch Mount Gerizim is inserted. So stood the ease on one side of the question; on the other hand, the Jews pleaded for the temple at Jerusalem.

And ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship; that is, in the temple, there; who urged, and very rightly, that God had chosen that place to put his name, and fix his worship there; and had ordered them to come thither, and bring their offerings and sacrifices, and to keep their passover and other feasts; see Deuteronomy 12:5. This was built by Solomon, according to the command and direction of God, some hundreds of years before Mount Gerizim was made use of for religious worship; and they had not only these things to plead, but also the worship which was here given to God in this place before the temple was built upon it, which they failed not to do. So the Targumist on 2 Chronicles 3:1 enlarges on this head;

"and Solomon began to build the sanctuary of the Lord in Jerusalem, on Mount Moriah, in the place where Abraham worshipped and prayed in the name of the Lord: ארע פולחנא

הוא אתר, "this place is the land of worship"; for there all generations worshipped before the Lord; and there Abraham offered up his son Isaac, for a burnt offering, and the word of the Lord delivered him, and a ram was appointed in his stead; there Jacob prayed when he fled from Esau his brother; there the angel of the Lord appeared to David, when he disposed the sacrifice in the place he bought of Ornan, in the floor of Ornan the Jebusite.''

And since, now there were so many things to be said on each side of the question, this woman desires, that seeing Christ was a prophet, he would be pleased to give her his sense of the matter, and inform her which was the right place of worship.

z Misna Sota, c. 7. sect. 5. T. Bab. Sota, fol. 33. 2. a Antiqu. l. 12. c. 1. Vid. Juchasin, fol. 14. 2. b Juchasin, fol. 14. 2. & 15. 1. c Antiqu. l. 13. c. 17. d Bereshit Rabba, sect. 32. fol. 27. 4. & Shirhashirim Rabba, fol. 16. 3. e Debarim Rabba, sect. 3. fol. 238. 2. f Bereshit Rabba, sect. 81. fol. 71. 1.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Our fathers - The Samaritans; perhaps also meaning to intimate that the patriarchs had done it also. See Genesis 12:6; Genesis 33:20.

Worshipped - Had a place of worship.

In this mountain - Mount Gerizim, only a little way from Sychar. On this mountain they had built a temple somewhat similar to the one in Jerusalem. This was one of the main subjects of controversy between them and the Jews. The old Samaritan Pentateuch, or five books of Moses, has the word “Gerizim” instead of “Ebal” in Deuteronomy 27:4. On this account, as well as because the patriarchs are mentioned as having worshipped in Shechem, they supposed that that was the proper place on which to erect the temple.

Ye say - Ye Jews.

In Jerusalem - The place where the temple was built. This was built in accordance with the promise and command of God, Deuteronomy 12:5, Deuteronomy 12:11. In building this, David and Solomon were under the divine direction, 2 Samuel 7:2-3, 2 Samuel 7:13; 1 Kings 5:5, 1 Kings 5:12; 1 Kings 8:15-22. As it was contemplated in the law of Moses that there should be but one place to offer sacrifice and to hold the great feasts, so it followed that the Samaritans were in error in supposing that their temple was the place. Accordingly, our Saviour decided in favor of the Jews, yet in such a manner as to show the woman that the question was of much less consequence than they supposed it to be.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse John 4:20. Worshipped in this mountain — Probably pointing to Mount Gerizim, at the foot of which Sychar was situated. The patriarchs had worshipped here - Jacob builded an altar on this mountain, and worshiped the true God: see Genesis 22:2; Genesis 33:20. Thus she could say, Our fathers worshipped in this mountain. On this mountain Sanballat had built them a temple, about 332 years before our Lord's incarnation. See Joseph. Antiq. xi. c. viii. s. 4, and 2 Macc. John 6:2.

Many heathens considered particular places as having a peculiar sanctity or fitness, for the worship of their deities, beyond others. Such places abound in Hindostan; and in them they think men ought to worship.

In the Hebrew Pentateuch, Deuteronomy 27:4, c., where the Israelites are commanded to build an altar on mount EBAL, and offer sacrifices, &c., the Samaritan Pentateuch has GERIZIM instead of Ebal and Dr. Kennicott strongly contends, Dissert. vol. ii. p. 20, &c., that Gerizim is the genuine reading: but our blessed Lord, by the following answer, shows that the place was a matter of little importance, as the Divine worship was no longer to be confined to either: John 4:21. Deuteronomy 27:4.