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.
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.
- BSB So He came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given 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 children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.
- Gen 33:19And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for an hundred pieces of money.
- Gen 48:22Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.
- John 4:12Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.