So He came to a town of Samaria called SycharSychar is believed to be the modern-day village of Askar, located near the ancient city of Shechem. This area is significant in biblical history, as it was a central location in the land of Samaria, which was often at odds with Judea. The Samaritans were a mixed race, resulting from the Assyrian conquest and resettlement, and they had their own version of the Pentateuch and worship practices, which caused tension with the Jews. Jesus' decision to travel through Samaria and engage with its people was countercultural and demonstrated His mission to reach all people, breaking down ethnic and religious barriers.
near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph
This plot of ground is historically significant, as it is associated with Jacob, one of the patriarchs of Israel. According toGenesis 33:19 andJoshua 24:32, Jacob purchased this land and later bequeathed it to Joseph, whose bones were eventually buried there. This connection to Jacob and Joseph highlights the deep historical and spiritual roots of the location, emphasizing the continuity of God's promises to the patriarchs. The reference to Jacob and Joseph also foreshadows Jesus as the fulfillment of God's covenant, as He brings a new covenant that transcends the old.
Persons / Places / Events
1.
JesusThe central figure of the New Testament, the Son of God, who is traveling through Samaria.
2.
SycharA town in Samaria, significant for its historical and religious context, as it is near Jacob's well.
3.
SamariaA region between Judea and Galilee, often avoided by Jews due to historical enmity and religious differences.
4.
JacobA patriarch in the Hebrew Bible, who had given this plot of land to his son Joseph, establishing a deep historical connection.
5.
JosephJacob's son, whose inheritance of the land ties the account to the promises and history of the Israelites.
Teaching Points
Historical SignificanceUnderstanding the historical and cultural context of Sychar and Samaria enriches our comprehension of Jesus' ministry and the barriers He broke.
Breaking BarriersJesus' journey through Samaria and His interaction with the Samaritan woman demonstrate His mission to reach all people, regardless of societal divisions.
Living WaterThe setting of Jacob's well introduces the theme of living water, symbolizing the spiritual life and satisfaction found in Christ alone.
Heritage and PromiseThe reference to Jacob and Joseph connects Jesus' ministry to the fulfillment of God's promises to the patriarchs, emphasizing continuity in God's redemptive plan.
Witness and EvangelismJesus' presence in Samaria foreshadows the spread of the Gospel beyond Jewish boundaries, encouraging believers to share the message of Christ with all nations.
Bible Study Questions and Answers
1.What is the meaning of John 4:5?
2.How does John 4:5 illustrate Jesus' intentionality in reaching the marginalized?
3.What cultural barriers does Jesus cross in John 4:5, and why is this significant?
4.How can we apply Jesus' example in John 4:5 to our daily interactions?
5.What Old Testament connections can be drawn from Jesus' journey to Samaria in John 4:5?
6.How does John 4:5 challenge us to engage with those different from us?
7.What is the significance of Jesus traveling to Samaria in John 4:5?
8.How does John 4:5 challenge cultural boundaries and prejudices?
9.Why is the location of Sychar important in John 4:5?
10.What are the top 10 Lessons from John 4?
11.What is the significance of Jacob's Well?
12.What are all the names in the Bible?
13.What evidence supports that a Jewish rabbi would openly converse with a Samaritan woman, considering the strong cultural barriers in John 4:9?
14.Where is the archaeological or historical corroboration for Jacob purchasing land and setting up an altar at Shechem in Genesis 33:18–20?What Does John 4:5 Mean
So He came to a town of SamariaJesus chose to travel through Samaria rather than skirting around it, showing deliberate purpose in reaching people others avoided (John 4:4;Luke 9:52–56).
• His footsteps remind us of God’s heart for every nation (Acts 1:8).
• Passing through Samaria fulfills the prophetic pattern of the gospel pressing past cultural walls (Isaiah 49:6).
• The Lord’s presence in a place long marked by division echoes earlier moments when prophets entered hostile territories to bring grace (2 Kings 17:24–28).
called SycharSychar lay close to ancient Shechem, a site rich with covenant history (Genesis 12:6;Genesis 33:18–19).
• Here Abraham first built an altar; here Jacob later settled.
• The name links Jesus’ ministry to God’s ongoing storyline: promises made in Genesis find fulfillment in Christ’s arrival (Galatians 3:8).
• By stepping into Sychar, Jesus walks onto ground saturated with God’s past faithfulness—perfect soil for new revelation.
near the plot of ground“So He came … near the plot of ground” roots the scene in a precise location, underscoring Scripture’s historical reliability.
•Genesis 33:19 records Jacob purchasing this tract. Real places, real deeds, real transactions.
•Joshua 24:32 notes that Joseph’s bones were later buried here, tying Exodus deliverance back to Genesis promise.
• Such detail helps us trust every word God has breathed (2 Timothy 3:16).
that Jacob had givenJacob’s gift to his family line reveals a patriarch mindful of inheritance (Genesis 48:21–22).
• His generosity prefigures the Father’s greater gift in sending the Son (John 3:16).
• Jacob’s bequest became a tangible reminder of covenant love—a heritage now visited by its ultimate fulfiller.
• God’s pattern: what He pledges, He protects through generations (Psalm 105:8–11).
to his son JosephJoseph, once rejected by brothers yet exalted to save many lives (Genesis 37; 50:20), points ahead to Jesus Himself.
•Acts 7:16 recalls Joseph’s bones resting in this very parcel, linking patriarchal faith to New Testament faith.
• The mention of Joseph underscores God’s ability to bring blessing out of suffering; fittingly, that theme culminates as Jesus sits by the well to offer living water (John 4:6, 10).
• Every thread—Jacob, Joseph, Sychar—converges in Christ, the One in whom all God’s promises are “Yes” (2 Corinthians 1:20).
summaryJohn 4:5 situates Jesus at Sychar, on land once deeded by Jacob to Joseph. The verse is more than geography; it testifies to Scripture’s accuracy, God’s covenant continuity, and the Savior’s intentional pursuit of the lost. On soil rich with patriarchal memory, Jesus begins a life-changing conversation that showcases grace crossing every boundary and fulfilling every promise.
(5) The "Samaria" of this chapter is the province into which the older kingdom had degenerated, and which took its name from the capital city. This was the Shom?ron built by Omri, on a hill purchased from Shemer (
1Kings 16:23-24). The city was given by Augustus to Herod the Great, who rebuilt it, and called it after the Emperor, Sebaste, a name which survives in the modern village
Sebustieh.Sychar involves questions of greater uncertainty. The reading may be regarded as beyond doubt, the attempts to substitute "Sychem," or "Sichem" being obviously made to avoid the topographical difficulty. The older geographers, followed by many modern commentators, suppose the word to be an intentional variation of the word Sychem, by which the Jews expressed their contempt for the city of the Samaritans, the sound being very nearly that of the Hebrew words for "lie" and "drunken." Others suppose the change of termination is a natural dialectic variation. (Comp.Ben, the Hebrew for son, as inBenjamin,Genesis 35:18, which in the later language becameBar, as in SimonBar-Jona,Matthew 16:17.) These explanations assume that Sychar is the same place as Shechem; but it is very improbable that St. John would have spoken of a city so well known as Shechem with the prefix "which is called," or would have thought it necessary to define it as "near to the parcel of ground. . . ." The only other places with the same prefix are Ephraim (John 11:54), the Pavement (John 19:13), and Golgotha (John 19:17), but in the latter instances, as in the mention of Thomas called Didymus (John 11:16;John 20:24), the words do not imply a soubriquet (comp. Farrar,Life of Christ, i. 206, note, and Grove in Smith'sDictionary of Bible, "Sychar"), but are a citation of the names in Hebrew and Greek, for the benefit of Greek readers. To assert that Sychar is meant to convey a double meaning is to imply that this would be understood by readers for whom it is necessary to translate Gabbatha and Golgotha, Thomas and Cephas (John 1:42), for whom Messias has been rendered in Greek inJohn 1:41, and is to be again in this very discourse (John 4:25). Shechem, moreover, was then known by the Greek name Neapolis, which has become the presentNapl-s (see Ewaldin loc., and comp. Jos.Wars, iv.), and this name would have been as natural in this Gospel as,e.g., Tiberias, which is found in it only (John 6:1;John 6:23;John 21:1). Nor can it be said that Shechem was near to Jacob's well, for admitting that the old city extended considerably "farther eastward than at present," it must still have been more than a mile distant. . . .
Verse 5. -
He cometh therefore to a city of Samaria, called Sychar (
Συχάρ, with all the principal uncials; not
Σιχάρ, as read by the Elzevir edition of Stephens, with one cursive, 69); not "the city" Shechem - the
Συχέμ of
Acts 7:16, or
Σίκιμα of Josephus (
Genesis 33:18;
Joshua 20:7;
Judges 9:7) - not Sebaste (Samaria), but "a city," one of the cities requiring special designation beyond its mere name, which would hardly have been necessary, if so renowned a spot as the metropolis of the ancient kingdom, or the ancient patriarchal city of Shechem or Sychem, had been thought cf. The similarity of the names Sychar and Sichem led many to suppose that John confounded either the names or the places. Those who were anxious to undervalue the accuracy of the author have attributed it to mistake. Schenkel still sees the error of a Gentile Christian. Others have supposed that the word meaning "town of drunkards" (
Isaiah 28:1,
שֵׁכָר), or "town of liars"
Habakkuk 2:18,
שֶׁקֶר), was intentionally applied by John to
Shechem, or that some provincial pronunciation of the name of the old city had thus been commemorated. Hengstenberg suggested that Sychar was a suburb of Siehem or Shechem, and Robinson placed the latter much nearer to Jacob's welt than the present
Nablous. Tholuck gave a philosophical solution - that
m and
r in the two words, being
liquids, were interchanged; and Meyer at one time held that John simply applied the vulgar name. Jerome ('Quaest. Web. in
Genesis 48.') said it was a corruption of the name Sichem. But Eusebius discriminated Shechem from Sychar in his 'Onomasticon,'
sub voce; and a place called
Sochar or
Sichra is mentioned, and also its "well," in the Talmud. Delitzsch ('Zeitsehrift flit Luth. Theol.,' 1856) has quoted seven passages which refer to the place as the birthplace of rabbis, and as having been alternately occupied by Jews and Samaritans. Moreover, in late years, Palestine explorers have found, within
half a mile of Jacob's well, a village,
El '
Askar, preserving to the present day the old name. Nor has the name been in late years drawn from this narrative and given to this insignificant village, for a Samaritan chronicle, dating from the twelfth century, preserves the name as
Iskar. A priori it is far more probable that a woman of Sychar, than one of Shechem, should have come to draw water, in consequence of the nearer proximity of the former "city" than of the latter to Jacob's well. It is further characterized
as near to the parcel of groundwhich Jacob gave to his son Joseph. In
Genesis 33:19;
Genesis 34:25;
Genesis 48:22 (LXX.);
Joshua 24:32, we see that Jacob's treaty with the sons of Humor, and the summary violence of his sons in punishment of Dinah's dishonour, were treated by him as giving him special possession in Shechem (the LXX., in
Genesis 48:22, have translated the word for "portion,"
שְׁכֶם as
Σίκιμα, erroneously supposing that the word was a proper name, instead of an allusive play on the word "Shechem"), and he solemnly bequeathed it to Joseph. In
Joshua 24:32 we find the bones of Joseph were deposited there. (Knobel translates
Genesis 48:22 as the portion which he, Jacob, (by his sons)
would win (not had won) with sword and bow.) Geiger, 'Urschrift.,' p. 80 (referred to by Edersheim
, i.e., 1:404), shows that St. John's interpretation of Genesis is perfectly in harmony with rabbinic tradition.
Parallel Commentaries ...
Greek
Soοὖν(oun)Conjunction
Strong's 3767:Therefore, then. Apparently a primary word; certainly, or accordingly.He cameἔρχεται(erchetai)Verb - Present Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 2064:To come, go.toεἰς(eis)Preposition
Strong's 1519:A primary preposition; to or into, of place, time, or purpose; also in adverbial phrases.a townπόλιν(polin)Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 4172:A city, the inhabitants of a city. Probably from the same as polemos, or perhaps from polus; a town.of SamariaΣαμαρείας(Samareias)Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular
Strong's 4540:Of Hebrew origin; Samaria, a city and region of Palestine.calledλεγομένην(legomenēn)Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3004:(a) I say, speak; I mean, mention, tell, (b) I call, name, especially in the pass., (c) I tell, command.Sychar,Συχὰρ(Sychar)Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 4965:Sychar, a city of Samaria. Of Hebrew origin; Sychar, a place in Palestine.nearπλησίον(plēsion)Preposition
Strong's 4139:Near, nearby, a neighbor. Neuter of a derivative of pelas; close by; as noun, a neighbor, i.e. Fellow.theτοῦ(tou)Article - Genitive Neuter Singular
Strong's 3588:The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.plot of groundχωρίου(chōriou)Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular
Strong's 5564:A place, piece of land, field, property, estate. Diminutive of chora; a spot or plot of ground.JacobἸακὼβ(Iakōb)Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2384:Of Hebrew origin; Jacob, the progenitor of the Israelites.had givenἔδωκεν(edōken)Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1325:To offer, give; I put, place. A prolonged form of a primary verb; to give.toτῷ(tō)Article - Dative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588:The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.hisαὐτοῦ(autou)Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 846:He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.sonυἱῷ(huiō)Noun - Dative Masculine Singular
Strong's 5207:A son, descendent. Apparently a primary word; a 'son', used very widely of immediate, remote or figuratively, kinship.Joseph.Ἰωσὴφ(Iōsēph)Noun - Dative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2501:Joseph, a proper name. Of Hebrew origin; Joseph, the name of seven Israelites.
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NT Gospels: John 4:5 So he came to a city (Jhn Jo Jn) 
