Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews say that the place where one must worship is in Jerusalem.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.”
- KJV Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
- NKJV Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.”
- NASB Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and yet you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one must worship.”
- NLT So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
She raises the dispute over the right place to worship: the Samaritans' mountain or Jerusalem. The question moves the dialogue to the heart of true worship.
Overview
Samaritans worshiped at Mount Gerizim, while Jews insisted on Jerusalem, a longstanding point of division. Whether deflecting or genuinely seeking, the woman brings up the deepest religious difference between the two peoples. Jesus will answer by transcending the question of place altogether.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Deut 12:5–11Instead, you must seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to establish as a dwelling for His Name, and there you must go.
- Gen 33:18–20After Jacob had come from Paddan-aram, he arrived safely at the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan, and he camped just outside the city.
- Gen 12:6–7Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the Oak of Moreh at Shechem. And at that time the Canaanites were in the land.
- Deut 27:12“When you have crossed the Jordan, these tribes shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin.
- Deut 11:29When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess, you are to proclaim the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal.
- 2 Chr 7:12the LORD appeared to him at night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice.
- 1 Chr 21:26And there he built an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. He called upon the LORD, who answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering.
- Ps 132:13For the LORD has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His home:
- Judg 9:6–7Then all the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo gathered beside the oak at the pillar in Shechem and proceeded to make Abimelech their king.
- 1 Chr 22:1Then David said, “Here shall be the house of the LORD God, as well as the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”
- Josh 8:33–35All Israel, foreigners and citizens alike, with their elders, officers, and judges, stood on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the LORD facing the Levitical priests who carried it. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded earlier, to bless the people of Israel.
- Luke 9:53But the people there refused to welcome Him, because He was heading for Jerusalem.
- 1 Kgs 9:3And the LORD said to him: “I have heard your prayer and petition before Me. I have consecrated this temple you have built by putting My Name there forever; My eyes and My heart will be there for all time.
- 2 Chr 7:16For I have now chosen and consecrated this temple so that My Name may be there forever. My eyes and My heart will be there for all time.
- Ps 78:68But He chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which He loved.
- 2 Kgs 17:26–33So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, “The peoples that you have removed and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the requirements of the God of the land. Because of this, He has sent lions among them, which are indeed killing them off.”
- 2 Chr 6:6But now I have chosen Jerusalem for My Name to be there, and I have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’
- Ps 87:1–2A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A song. He has founded His city on the holy mountains.
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Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
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Original language
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