So He came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.
Parallel translations
- WEB So he came to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son, Joseph.
- KJV 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.
- NKJV So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
- NASB So He *came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of land that Jacob gave to his son Joseph;
- NLT Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
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
Jesus came to Sychar in Samaria, near the field Jacob gave to Joseph. The patriarchal setting links the scene to Israel's history.
Overview
The location near Jacob's plot of land roots the story in shared ancestral memory between Jews and Samaritans. This common heritage becomes significant in the dialogue about worship and the true source of living water. The specific detail underscores the historical reliability of John's account.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Josh 24:32And the bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought up out of Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the plot of land that Jacob had purchased from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces of silver. So it became an inheritance for Joseph’s descendants.
- Gen 33:19And the plot of ground where he pitched his tent, he purchased from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces of silver.
- Gen 48:22And to you, as one who is above your brothers, I give the ridge of land that I took from the Amorites with my sword and bow.”
- John 4:12Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock?”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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.
How John 4:5 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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